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Library month in BC -

October has been dubbed library month in order to raise public awareness about the role libraries play in the lives of Canadians.
66072traildailytimesBeaverValleylibrarianRhondaGiles10-04-12
Beaver Valley children’s librarian Rhonda Giles began tidying up after Mother Goose

October has been dubbed library month, according to the B.C. government.

The goal of the designation is to help raise public awareness about the role libraries play in the lives of Canadians and the communities in which they live.

The theme of this year’s Library Month is “Libraries Connect.” In response, local libraries are ramping up literacy campaigns with a special treat, a local librarian noted Wednesday.

The Beaver Valley Public Library (BVPL) will be inviting three local authors for readings, including one today.

“Margo Talbot authored the book ‘All That Glitters’ and she’ll be here at the local high school,” said children’s librarian Rhonda Giles of the Beaver Valley Public Library, adding that plans for Talbot’s presentation haven’t been finalized.

The library will also host Rita Moir, the One Book One Kootenay winner, also today at 7 p.m., with Mike Deas on Oct. 9 at the Fruitvale Elementary School.

Libraries transform lives, enrich communities and define our society, said Annette DeFaveri, executive director of the British Columbia Library Association, much like the Trail and District Public Library (TDPL) does.

The TDPL is taking a somewhat different approach to connect with the community.

“We want to attract people that are traditionally pulled in by libraries,” TDPL’s library director Belinda Wilkinson said. “Libraries have many important roles and one of the roles that we’re currently working on is to try and be more involved with the community.

“We want to be actively involved with others so that we can offer unique programming that appeals to the community.”

She revealed that TDPL is collaborating with the Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy on an after-school reading program geared for children between the ages of seven and nine.

Wilkinson was optimistic the program could be up and running shortly, and hoped to gauge the community’s interest by offering a pilot-program in mid-October.

“We need to do some outreach before we can launch any new programs,” she said. “So we’ll be having a community story time at Webster Elementary on (Oct. 25) and every second week we’ll have it in library.”

For more information about either celebration, contact the BVPL at 250-367-7114 or the TDPL at 250-364-1731.

The Fruitvale library will be closed on Monday for Thanksgiving Day.