Calgary libraries underline how we can think big

Number of users has soared amid economic doldrums

There have been times during this soon-tobe left behind year when it seemed as though Calgary was stuck in neutral, and no matter how hard we collectively pushed and pulled, we couldn’t budge.

So in this, the true season of hope, we need to find some real success somewhere, a glimmer that proves that, yes, we are in fact moving forward as a city and remain one that collectively still can think big and act even bigger.

Thankfully, such a task isn’t too difficult at all. Quite easy, truth be told. All we need do is go wander into our local library.

Yes, the quiet but nevertheless dramatic success story of these past 12 months is the expansion on every level of the Calgary public library system, and not just because we are midway through the building of an iconic new central branch that — wonders never cease — remains on time and on budget.

Now in many places on this continent, there’s an attitude that libraries are old hat, that they resemble mausoleums and a dying pastime of finding some dust-covered book on a creaking shelf as some hawk-eyed shrew over at the far counter waits impatiently to cry “shush.”

Not in our town. Nope, the 19 public libraries dotted across Calgary are a riot of all sorts of people noisily doing all sorts of things in numbers never before seen. And doing so for free.

The numbers are quite awe-inspiring. There are now 640,000 active library users — folks who have a library card, the cost of which is now zip, zero and zilch, and have used it at least once in 2017. Three years ago, that number was 250,000.

So far, our system has seen 6.7 million visits, and by year’s end, that number is expected to hit a record-setting seven million.

Far from being a dying institution, Calgary libraries have become civic hubs of social, intellectual and educational knowledge where kids can play and learn, teens can hang out, adults can sign up for courses, groups can book meeting rooms, and those seeking work can even print off a resume for free. Oh, and you can still even borrow a book, or 99.

At the start of this almost done year, every kid in the public school system was given direct access to the whole gamut of online library resources merely by using his or her email address, a service that will expand to separate schools in 2018.

Meanwhile, bookmobiles travel to licensed day cares across the city handing out and retrieving kiddies’ books to those youngsters. Next year, that will be expanded to include smaller, neighbourhood day cares with the admirable goal of eventually reaching every child in Calgary.

Perhaps, with so many people using the system, it isn’t that surprising the hefty $245-million price tag for the new Central Library, which will open in November in the East Village, hasn’t caused too much of a ruckus, unlike virtually every other civic spending initiative rolled out during the past few years of what has been a financially difficult time for Calgary ratepayers.

Library board chair Janet Hutchinson understands — big-ticket public spending usually invites big-ticket criticism.

“Any new public system invites criticism about the use of public dollars, but the fact that we’ve had so little of it speaks to what the library has done in the past and is doing now. Just look at the early childhood literacy programs we run — they fill up within minutes of going online.”

Library CEO Bill Ptacek has been driving this expansion since he took over in 2014. He wants to capture every single Calgarian and, with, well, over half of us already in his net, he might actually succeed. Ptacek’s goal is simple, but never confuse simple with small.

“We want to make Calgary the most literate place on Earth.”

And who said this city doesn’t dream big any more?

Correction: In last Wednesday’s column, I wrote UCP Leader Jason Kenney hinted he’d balance Alberta’s budget in a year. Actually, he’s said it would likely take three years if elected premier. Sorry about that.