I am a retired librarian and as such naturally biased in favour of libraries, but perhaps also in a position to share some close-up insights about the valuable contributions this library makes to our city every day. I am also a 35-year resident of St. Albert and an avid library user myself.
Picture this: on any given day you might see a retired university professor browsing the magazine collection while close by a newly unemployed worker is getting help with submitting an online job application, a group of teens is playing a board game, a child with reading difficulties is getting help from a “reading buddy”, a group of knitters chat in an open seating area, budding local writers plan their upcoming anthology launch at the library, the Seniors Book Club meets for a lively discussion of a new novel, new immigrants get help navigating Canadian bureaucracy, adults of all ages listen and engage with a visiting author, new parents learn songs and stories for their babies and toddlers, a single mom checks out a big stack of great books for her little readers, a senior gets help at the reference desk with using her ipad to access free ebooks, magazines and music or low income adults are using the free computers.
The amazing and hugely popular Summer Reading Game the Children’s staff put on every year is legendary in the community and invaluable for keeping up children’s reading skills over the summer. Starfest – the annual Reader’s Festival – has put St. Albert on the map as a top notch literary destination, attracting authors and audiences from far and wide.
These services are the glue that holds a community together and levels the playing field for all, regardless of income, age, ethnic origin, sexual orientation or disability.
Many St. Albertans may not have used the library themselves in a while and perhaps don’t realize how important a role it plays in the well-being of the community as a whole – not only are they missing out on some great opportunities for enhancing their own lives, but their inattention is endangering a vitally important and valuable service for the most vulnerable in our society - seniors on fixed incomes, single parents, children from disadvantaged families, new immigrants, job seekers, disabled adults, “misfit” teens.
The library offers priceless value for a few tax dollars (only $16 a year per taxpayer would be saved by this devastating cut of 35 per cent of the library’s budget).
St. Albert is a highly educated and prosperous community – it is deeply disappointing and frankly embarrassing that library cutbacks of this magnitude are even being contemplated.
Let’s be the kind of community that champions literacy and supports readers of all ages – something the world desperately needs more of these days. Don’t let a few uninformed, but loud voices guide your decisions.
Luise Mendler-Johnson, St. Albert
