Volunteer meeting on March 22

By Michelle Forbes

At the heart of every community is a public library, filled with books accessible to people of all ages, from beginning readers, to the avid scholars. Many libraries offer services beyond merely checking in and checking out books, and Kimberley’s Public Library is currently looking at different ways to become a more integral part of the community, reaching out to help even more people foster a love of reading.

Anke Brander has been working to bring new library initiatives to Kimberley, including bringing books to people who are unable to make it to the library, and reaching out to invite different groups to come and visit the library. She has put together braille books and books on CD for visually impaired individuals, and brings books to shut-ins, who are unable to make the trek to the library, especially in the snowy winter months.

But Brander’s vision goes far beyond this. “We have outreach services, to work with Day Care groups and schools. We want to get out into the community more, and be able to reach more people.”

The library has school tours with scavenger hunts for younger children, and is planning a locked room game for a high school tour.

“It has been a lot of fun for the volunteers,” Brander said. “They had a lot of fun putting it together.” She hopes that offering different opportunities to experience the library helps people to discover the library in new and different ways.

She is working to have something from the library available at the markets this summer, First Saturday events, and other community events, in addition to setting up book clubs for seniors and for nine to 13-year-olds.

There are also requests to have someone from the library come to The Pines to read one-on-one, or to read with a group of three or four residents on a weekly basis.

This Saturday, March 10 is also ‘Seedy Saturday,’ a chance to learn about planting seeds, planting a garden, and using the seed library which is available at the Public Library, where people take seeds out, plant a garden, and bring seeds back at the end of the growing season. Having the seed library is another way that the library fosters learning, and taking that learning out into real world situations, with people from the community there to answer questions about gardening.

All of these initiatives require volunteers to help make them a reality, and ideas are welcome for other ways to help integrate the library into the community.

A Volunteer Meeting is being held Thursday, March 22, at 3 p.m. in the library meeting room (upstairs). Anyone who is currently a volunteer or who is interested in volunteering in the library or in the community is invited to come to the meeting to discuss opportunities to get involved, and for the library to thank the current library volunteers.

Whether you have two or three hours a week, a couple of hours a month, or want to get more involved, you are welcome to come and learn about opportunities available.

If you have any questions or are unable to attend, but would like to volunteer, please phone Anke at 1-250-427-3112.

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