I had thought that the first Sunday after school was back in session was the Sunday
the the library would be open. Not so! I checked the PRPL on line site but that was
as useless as … !
Can anybody in the know tell us when the library will be open Sundays?
I personally have enjoyed the salute to OUR library’s Centenary from the City in the
closure of it for the last week of August.
Perhaps a few less wasted trips to Alaska would enable the City to possibly keep our
library open, dare I say, even on Mondays?
[quote=“97 B-LINE”]I had thought that the first Sunday after school was back in session was the Sunday
the the library would be open. Not so! I checked the PRPL on line site but that was
as useless as … !
Can anybody in the know tell us when the library will be open Sundays?
I personally have enjoyed the salute to OUR library’s Centenary from the City in the
closure of it for the last week of August.
Perhaps a few less wasted trips to Alaska would enable the City to possibly keep our
library open, dare I say, even on Mondays?[/quote]
Hey folks, I work at the library. My boss reads, but doesn’t have an account, and he asked me to post the following:
WM
-=-=-=-=-=-=-
Hello Everyone:
I am Joe Zelwietro, the Chief Librarian of the Prince Rupert Library. I can explain the unexpected closure of the Library on Sundays this fall. 2013 has been a bittersweet year for the Prince Rupert Library.
We are quite proud and busy celebrating the 100th anniversary of the First Reading Room in Prince Rupert and are pleased to see that so many people in the community care about literacy, personal development, recreation and continuing education.
As well, we had to face some financial realities. We are limited in our expenditures to the funds we have. Although we do apply for government (provincial and federal) grants as well as corporate and non-profit donations our primary funder is the City of Prince Rupert. This year (2013) our Community Enhancement grant was not sufficient to provide as much service to the public as the Library Board, management and staff would have liked. We have been cutting costs internally throughout the year; including collections reduction and reduced staffing. The Sundays closure may be the worst that the public will feel. We recognize that the Sunday closures on top of the already closed Mondays is hurtful to many of our patrons and we are sorry. We are hopeful that we can resume Sunday openings in November or possibly late October.
The Library Board members are dedicated to making the Library a useful and progressive institution and have advocated strongly to City Council about the necessity to increase the Library’s grant. We have requested a greater dollar amount for the forthcoming year and will continue to pursue other donations. You can help by letting the Mayor and Councillors know your feelings. Public libraries are for everyone, rich and poor. Even in difficult times the Library is here to help you improve your life, so come in and learn, relax and dream.
I tell my kids not to be cheap on some things in life: buy good shoes, buy good tires. A community should never be cheap on its library.
I hear repeatedly from people who have left town that their new place has a library “but it’s not as good as Rupert’s”. It escapes me as to why our library staff and board have to cut and close, and the City has caused this.
I will go through my book collection for donations for the next used book sale.
Thank you library staff and board. You guys do a great job. I didn’t know things were this bad.
[quote=“windchime”] … A community should never be cheap on its library…
I hear repeatedly from people who have left town that their new place has a library “but it’s not as good as Rupert’s”. It escapes me as to why our library staff and board have to cut and close, and the City has caused this.
Thank you library staff and board. You guys do a great job…[/quote]
Rupert has an exceptional library for its’ size notwithstanding lacklustre support from the City, including because of the council’s enthusiasm for spending money on their annual appearance at the 4th of July parade in Ketchikan under the guise of promoting business.
I’ve seen a wide range of people in the library over the years, but I’ve yet to see a City council member there. Not once.
It would be good if before making spending decisions the mayor and council members would occasionally stop by and see for themselves how important the Library is to the community. They might also benefit from reading a book.
Yes additional funding should be a priority but as usual council has it’s nose up it’ arse.
In todays times, libraries, are an even more vital part of a community … but trips and other crap are taking priority as usual
I personally see library’s these days as a waste of city money. Times have changed from when you’d go to the library to get a book or to study. Schools have their own libraries, elementary, middle and high schools. Maybe I’m being ignorant but I know I sure don’t use the library, there’s computers, cellphones and tablets to get information from, E-readers are popular, ipads and tablets have downloadable books to read. I understand people love libraries as a place to go and relax and read your book, but now we need to increase it’s funding? It’s summer employees (students) get paid pretty good, I know that for a fact. What do you think most students do with the extra cash they’re not putting towards tuition?..
But you do know literacy is a very essential investment.
Grade school libraries aren’t open on the weekends.
Not a lot of people can afford a smartphone, a tablet, an e-reader, or even a decent computer with a decent internet connection. Especially in Rupert.
And not every publication is available in e-book format. Do you honestly think a book that’s old or rare would be made available online? BTW, real books don’t require the use of electricity, and they’re easier on the eyes.
Also, unless you’re very gullible, some of the information you find on the internet is usually crap. (ie. social media)
Because it’s underfunded? Hence not open on Sundays and Mondays.
Why the city is throwing money in the bottomless pit called CityWest? Why $7 million is being borrowed for the airport that can’t even sustain itself?
Dunno. Live? Don’t have to beg their parents for allowance?
Lots of short sightedness in earlier post (smellie cat) I am in victoria for a few more months, even with all the technology out there the library is very busy most days that I go to it here …
I still see student using books, yes books not e-readers, many people also who maybe cannot afford computers, or internet from shaw or telus is expensive so it’s handy… A library is about everyone having access to materials and information regardless of back ground… I wish the city could make it a priority… yes libraries do pay good living wages even to summer students, and the higher staff have had many years of school to be where they are, good living wages are vital to a community… good point about the airport that always puts a b in my bonnet too… literacy is essential to a community one of the most basic of rights…
I dunno, I’d rather see the City spend money on the Library than on fancy internet & cable for Terrace & Kitimat. While I’m sure the residents of those cities appreciate Prince Rupert providing those services for them, I think it’s time Prince Rupert started thinking about Prince Rupert first.
[quote=“MiG”]I dunno, I’d rather see the City spend money on the Library than on fancy internet & cable for Terrace & Kitimat. While I’m sure the residents of those cities appreciate Prince Rupert providing those services for them, I think it’s time Prince Rupert started thinking about Prince Rupert first.
But what do I know?[/quote]
You sure said a lot of truth in just a few words there… the services are provided at better rates up the line and Rupert cannot properly even maintain the basic services like a library …
As your friendly neighbourhood library worker, I present:
THINGS AVAILABLE THROUGH YOUR LIBRARY THAT YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T KNOW ABOUT
DVDs: Ranging from the Nolan Batman triology and Lord of the Rings to BBC series like Sherlock and Downton Abbey to non-fiction like Discovery Channel stuff like Life After People and Dragons to popular series like Friends or the Deadliest Catch.
Databases: Need to fix your truck? We’ve got ALLDATA and the ARRC. We’ve got the schematics. Want to look at the paper the day you were born? We have the Daily News on microfilm, and are digitizing it on prnewspaperarchives.ca (currently from day 1 to the end of '32, but I’m working on '33-'47…)
Audiobooks: Both in the library on CD (and yes, a few cassettes) and through Overdrive and OneClick Digital through princerupertlibrary.ca (You’ll need a library card, though.)
eBooks: Through Overdrive, you can download on just about everything except a Kindle. (Amazon’s lawyers are still talking to Overdrive’s lawyers, I think, as it’s available in the US.)
Reference Service: Have a question that Google-Fu fails you? (Yes, there are still things that you can’t find out through Google.) Ask us, and we’ll do our darndest to find an answer. (Personal favourite: When did Star Wars play at the theatre in Prince Rupert? Answer: It didn’t, the theatre was undergoing renovations about that time. (If you remember watching the original Star Wars in the theatre in '79, feel free to correct me on that one, but I couldn’t find any evidence.))
Meeting space: Need to hold a meeting somewhere and your basement won’t do? You can rent out our multipurpose room for it.
Projector and Screen: Want to watch a movie on the whole wall? Rent our projector and plug a blu-ray player. Want to go camping and watch it powered by your truck? Take the screen too.
-=-=-=-=-
And that’s just what we do with the money we have. With more funds…imagine a tool library where you could check out a power washer for a weekend, or a hackerspace where you could 3-D print a part or a miniature for a game in plastic, or just have a space to spread out while you put something together. Heck, imagine a new building with breakout spaces for group projects or small meetings or…there’s lots of possibilities out there folks. With money and staff, the library can do a heck of a lot of neat things.
Inter-Library Loan Service: If we don’t have a book you want, we can get it from another library, usually no charge (sometimes the other libraries charge a fee, and we have to pass it along).
BC-wide convenience: Going to the Okanagan for the summer? Take a book out here, read it on the trip, drop it off when you get there. Then head in, sign your card up for BCOne, and take something out there. You can drop it off when you get back, if you don’t finish in time.
(I’m sure there’a few more things that people don’t know we have that I’m forgetting…)
[quote=“crip75”]WOW …!!!
Did not know a bunch of those things.
How much for a library card ?[/quote]
Cards are free for the first one as long as you live in Rupert, Edward, or one of the surrounding communities. Bring your license, BCID, status card, picture school ID or those new health services cards and proof of address if there’s no address on it. (Utility bill or something similar.)
(If you’ve had an account before and lost your card, it’s $5 for the replacement.)
I should note there’s a fee to rent the projector and screen, and there may be a fee to rent the multipurpose room, depending on the event. The rest of the services are included, though. (Not counting overdues!
Thanks Will for your list. I have always appreciated the library and its staff and how much it has helped me and the community. Could you add some of the programs that the library and individual librarians help organize. I am thinking of reading programs, book club, knitting club etc.
Yeah, Leah was instrumental in starting the library knitting club (meets every Thursday except the first one of the month) and Lou is a driving force behind the Friends of the Library book club (currently reading Louise Erdrich’s The Round House, meets on the third Tuesday of each month).
I left them out because they’re not official library business, but honestly, they should get even more credit for doing things like this off the clock and making the library better. I also left off Beth’s children’s programs because I’m assuming that everyone knows about those, but she spends a ton of time helping kids learn to love reading, on and off the clock. I love working here; we have a pretty awesome crew.
