Use your library card and be rewarded in October
October is Library Card Month and Canadian Library Month, a time to celebrate, visit and use your public library.
“With the shortening of days, it is an ideal time to make use of your free library card and the services that come with it,” says Western Counties Regional Library Director Erin Comeau. “During the month of October, there is the added bonus of winning some wonderful books.”
The celebration is tied to Canadian Library Month with its theme A Visit Will Get You Thinking. Libraries serve as community cultural centres, hosting authors, art exhibits, book clubs, story hours and a variety of programs for all ages.
Branches offer wireless and wired Internet access, computers, books, magazines, movies, music, historical documents, online databases, and trained personnel to help you find what you seek.
Card holders can borrow and download eBooks, audiobooks and magazines anytime and from anywhere.
“This is a convenient option, especially for those who are unable to visit their library on a regular basis,” says Comeau. “With a computer or mobile device, the library is available 24/7.”
During the month of October, anyone who becomes a library member, or who is already member, and uses their card to borrow an item can have their name entered into a draw for a collection of signed books by Nova Scotia authors provided by Coles Yarmouth.
The library is also challenging schools throughout the tri-counties to register 100 per cent of staff and students for library cards. Parents should be looking for registration forms arriving from school. The French and English schools with the highest registration percentage will win a box of new books from Scholastic Canada for its school library.
The regional library has more than 150,000 titles in its collection and can provide additional access to over 2 million items from public libraries across the province.
Signing up for a library card is as easy as visiting one of 10 local branches or filling out the online registration form at westerncounties.ca. Comeau reminds people that library cards expire and require renewal every three years. Renewing a card only requires contacting one of the library’s 10 branches.
Branches are located in Barrington, Clare, Clark’s Harbour, Digby, Lockeport, Pubnico, Shelburne, Weymouth, Westport and Yarmouth. The regional library has been serving residents of Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties since 1969.