A look beyond the books at Port Colborne’s library
Libraries are still important.
Port Colborne’s director of library services demonstrated that Saturday during an open house.
“We’re evolving. It’s not just books in Dewey (decimal system) and you come in to do reference work,” said Susan Therrien.
“Now you come in for recreation, education and reading for pleasure … we’re a place to just relax.”
The library is a community hub and so much more, Therrien said.
“We have books and movies … a digital collection. We exist virtually and physically.”
Port Colborne’s library — on what the city calls a cultural block on King Street beside the L.R. Wilson Heritage Research Archives and Port Colborne Historical and Marine Museum — sees hundreds of patrons come through its doors each day.
“We have our regulars, occasional visitors and newcomers. It’s a variety, which it should be,” said Therrien.
Patrons have access to some 50,000 physical books, magazines, boards games and even micro-film they can take home and peruse.
“Our ebook collection has several hundred thousand in it. You can never get bored here … I don’t.”
One reason Therrien never gets bored in her own library is due to the fact that new books come in every day.
“Our collection is fluid. We have bestsellers coming in, we get requests from the public, and we have a collection development where if we see a gap of some sort we bring in books to cover that.”
Books that are outdated are taken out of the collection and updated.
“If you want something, we’ll get it for you. Whether it’s through the shared program or if its something we think need in our collection we will purchase. We rely on the public to say, ‘Hey, you’re missing something,’” she said.
And when the public comes through the doors these days they’ll find a much more accessible library.
From late October to late November the library underwent changes that saw new carpeting installed, brand-new accessible shelving and more comfortable seating.
“It was three projects in one,” Therrien said, adding it was a library board mandate to save funds and get the renovations done.
While the changes took place over the past month, Therrien said it took more than a month to get ready for the work.
Therrien, who started as a part-timer in 1993 and became the director in July 2017, said more changes are coming in the new year.
“We’ll have an accessible universal washroom on the main floor so that people don’t have to go down the stairs. It will be more convenient.”