A new branch is coming — because libraries matter
An open house on Saturday will celebrate the imminent arrival of a library branch in James Bay — the 12th location for the Greater Victoria Public Library.
A new branch is a reminder that library users in Greater Victoria borrow more items, per capita, than library users in other urban centres in Canada.
Technology has not reduced the need for libraries. The entire community needs, and benefits from, a public library now more than ever.
That is why municipalities invest in libraries. They demonstrate confidence in the value libraries provide, and the increasing public demand for library services.
For more than 100 years in Canada, public libraries have remained a cornerstone of our communities: Places where people come to socialize, learn, connect, create and share knowledge.
Some people might immediately connect libraries with reading, but what if you are not an avid reader? Libraries matter to everyone, and books represent just one aspect of library service.
As modern technologies give rise to unprecedented change, the community needs libraries more than ever to make sure no one is left behind.
In the 1990s and early 2000s, libraries in Greater Victoria helped residents move into the digital age. Many people learned to use a computer at the library.
Today, people come to the library to learn skills such as coding and digital-media production.
The library is the most economical way to keep pace with what is changing around us. You do not have to pay a fee to get a library card, nor do you need one to use the library. But for those who have a thirst for knowledge that is greater than the cash available to buy their own reading material, movies and streaming music subscriptions, the library is second to none.
The books we borrow, the public programs we attend and the interactions we have with other community members at the library form the foundation of inclusive and informed societies.
The latest Vital Signs report from the Victoria Foundation focused on this very issue.
Beyond books, what does the library offer?
Staff members deliver hundreds of freely accessible programs, often in collaboration with more than 100 community partners.
GVPL offers free newcomer kits with information about health care, childcare, continuing education and government services. Our culture and recreation passes provide free access to local museums, galleries, historic sites and fitness facilities.
We have movies, digital magazines and audio books, as well as video tutorials such as Lynda.com. It has never been easier for library users to watch, listen and learn anywhere there is Wi-Fi access — including, of course, at their local library branch.
People in Greater Victoria feel connected to each other, and that means they help their neighbours when help is needed.
The library does its part. For example, at the end of October, GVPL waived overdue fines up to $5 per cardholder in exchange for donations of non-perishable food items.
It’s a way to support the community and remove a financial barrier to using the library. In the past four years, library users donated more than 250 large boxes of food to local food banks.
The new branch in James Bay will extend the library’s impact further. (Learn more about the branch at the open house, which will be from 1 to 4 p.m. Saturday at the library’s central branch.)
The municipal investment in libraries pays off, and helps the Greater Victoria system expand its reach every year.
Here is the bottom line: Libraries make sense. People benefit from them if they use them, and even if they do not.
Like investments in our public-education and health-care systems, we all reap the rewards of a literate, healthy society. Food for thought.