Dear Editor:
At their Jan. 14 meeting, Rimbey town council voted to sell the town hall building to the Rimbey Municipal Library Board for $1. This will enable an expansion of the library to meet Alberta Municipal Affairs recommendations and to better serve our community.
Libraries are unique public institutions: regulated by the province, funded by municipalities and governed by an independent volunteer board. This protects the integrity of the collections and programs, ensures certain standards are met and grants the local autonomy required to meet local needs.
Every year libraries in Alberta are required to fill out a report that is sent to the Alberta Government showing how we have met the needs of the community. They have identified 18 service responses that libraries are expected to address according to the needs of the community. Today’s libraries are much more than a warehouse of books. They are vibrant hubs of the community, centres of literacy, social meeting places and levelers of the socio-economic playing field.
In Rimbey, our children’s programming supports and encourages the skills identified in the five key areas of development; however our main focus is literacy. A recent report indicates that for every dollar spent on early childhood development, the (socio-economic return?) ranges between $1.50 and $3; a figure that increases to double digits for children from disadvantaged families (CBC news Nov. 27, 2012). Additional benefits of a literate community include lower rates of alcohol and drug abuse and higher rates of home ownership. The Rimbey Library provides age appropriate literacy programs for children from birth to early teen years.
The library’s programming does not end with children. We offer family programs, adult programs, and programs geared towards seniors. The library board embraces the importance of providing opportunities for adults to interact with each other, exchange ideas and access educational, informative and leisure reading, viewing and listening material to continue lifelong learning and personal growth.
The written word is still a staple of modern society, whether in print, digital, audio or video format. Despite the Internet (and Google) most authoritative information is not freely available. Magazines and newspapers, books, movies, the Internet and even television are paid for by purchase or subscription. Through the public library, all citizens have access to physical material, digital content and high-speed internet regardless of their age, income, or technical savvy. In addition to physical items such as books, magazines, DVDs and computers, the library provides online access to millions of published books and articles including 331 Canadian newspapers and 2000 newspapers from 96 countries, World Book Encyclopedia, more than 20,000 digital books, and even a language learning program. We also provide services to the print disabled, such as CNIB talking books and the machines with which to play them. And we even help patrons learn to use new technology, software and devices.
The idea that libraries are becoming obsolete is absurd. People are using the Rimbey Municipal Library in record numbers:
Visitors ~ 2003: 20,100 - 2011: 35,000 - Increase: 74%
Collection size ~ 2003: 19,000 – 2011 - 19,000 – Increase: 0%
Circulation ~ 2003: 23,388 – 2011: 34,578 – Increase: 48%
Program attendance ~ 2003: 2,568 - 2011: 6,631 – Increase: 158%
Computer use ~ 2003: 947 – 2011: 2,940 – Increase: 210%
The zero increase in collection size is due to the lack of space in which to house the collection. That will be one of the benefits you will see in our expanded library.
The library board and staff thank the Town of Rimbey very much for their support. I invite you all to come in and participate in our programs, borrow library material, have a cup of coffee and see what a difference we can make in your life.
Jean Keetch,
library manager,
Rimbey Municipal Library