October 14th, 2007 Celebrate Public Library Week

Tomorrow marks the beginning of Public Library Week in Ontario. This annual event provides a forum for people to reflect on and celebrate the role of public libraries in their communities and in their lives.

The Thunder Bay Public Library can trace its roots back to 1876 with the opening of a Mechanics Institute in the Port Arthur schoolhouse. Membership fees were $20.00 for life or $2.00 per year. Over the years the library moved many times until the present building at 285 Red River Road opened on June 1, 1951 as the Port Arthur Public Library.

Library services for Fort William began in 1885 when CPR employees opened a bath, smoking and literary room, with a library attached in the Round House, West Fort William. Fees were $1.25 per year for CPR employees; outsiders were required to pay $1.25 for use of the tub. In 1912, with the assistance of a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation, the Fort William Library was opened at 216 South Brodie Street.

The Westfort Branch library, 151 West Brock Street opened in 1938. The Fort William Library saw its first major change when an addition was added to the south side of the building in 1955. The floor area was increased from 14,000 square feet to 23,150 square feet. In 1966 the front entrance was rebuilt. Mary J. L. Black was the librarian of the Fort William Library from 1909-1937. She was one of Canada's leading librarians in her day, and the Fort William Library was widely regarded as a fine small city library. She was the first woman president of the Ontario Library Association. It seems appropriate that the Westfort Branch was named the Mary J. L. Black Library in Miss Black's honour.

The present Thunder Bay Public Library officially came into being in 1970, after the amalgamation of Port Arthur and Fort William. The inaugural meeting of the Library Board was held in January, 1970. The Library has changed a lot since 1970, but our fundamental role as a dynamic community resource has not. Computers revolutionized the way staff do their work as well as how people find information. In addition to providing the community with a collection of books, magazines, music and movies to borrow, we also provide access to quality online collections and services. Fittingly, the theme of this year’s Public Library Week is “The world at your fingertips.”

Our Virtual Collection includes world-class databases of information from thousands of academic and media sources. We have online interactive tools like Career Cruising and Auto Repair Reference Centre. Tumblebooks are fun, interactive online books for children, and help with learning to read – they even come in French and other languages! We have ebooks from NetLibrary and streaming music from Naxos. You can chat with our Reference Staff via MSN Messenger, ask a question from a form on our website, and register for a program online. You can save a “preferred search” in our online catalogue, and sign up to receive email notices of new material you’re interested in.

The blog for this column (libdetective.blogspot.com) encourages you to “talk back” to us with your comments. The Library has a del.icio.us account where you can explore staff-selected websites, and we’ve posted photos from Library events on Flickr. Do you have Facebook? If so, join the Thunder Bay Public Library group and voice your opinions or chat about the book you’re reading. With these resources and more, you can enjoy a visit to the Library from the comfort of your home computer.

For those without the luxury of a home computer with internet access, all branches have public internet stations. In addition to the Virtual Library, we also continue to lend books (in hardcover, paperback, large print, easy reading, braille and other languages), magazines, cds, audiobooks, movies (on dvd and video), cd-roms and more. We also offer a wide range of programs for all ages. For children we have drop-in story times, puppet shows, concerts and stories and craft programs. For teens the Youth Advisory Council offers fun social events and a chance to help choose books for the Teen collection. For adults we have film nights, book clubs and special-interest programs, as well as computer classes ranging from basic searching to special topics.

Why not celebrate Public Library Week by visiting your library (virtually or in person!), taking out something new, leaving us a comment, and attending a program? Here’s a list of this week’s activities:

Monday October 15th

10:30 a.m., Brodie Library
Media Conference: Public Library Week Events and Aboriginal Art Commission

10:30 a.m., Mary J.L. Black Library, Beginning With Books, drop-in story time for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, with parent or caregiver

1:00 p.m., Mary J.L. Black Library, Novel Lunch Bunch, bring your lunch and discuss books about the British Empire

7:00 p.m., Waverley Library, StoryTimz Storytelling Circle, all ages welcome to listen to stories and share a story of your own

Tuesday October 16th

7:00 p.m., Waverley Library, Citizens Concerned About Pesticides presents “Gardening without Pesticides”, all welcome to attend

Wednesday October 17th

10:30 a.m., Brodie Library, Drop-in Storytime, for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, with parent or caregiver

Thursday October 18th

10:30 a.m., Waverley Library, Drop-in Storytime, for babies, toddlers and preschoolers, with parent or caregiver

7:00 p.m., Mary J.L. Black Library, Reading Rendezvous, Mass-Book Club Meeting, please call Roberta at 624-4206 to RSVP

Saturday October 20th

2:30 p.m., Waverley Library, Hallowe’en Haunts, for children age 5 and over, please register online or by phone

Joanna Aegard, Head of Virtual Library Resources