Library to mark 40th anniversary during Library Card Month

“Our Library Card Month theme is ‘It’s Your Library, Everywhere You Are,’ and it really says where we are heading as your library,” says Gary Archibald, chair of Western Counties Regional Library board of directors. “We are celebrating 40 years as a regional library serving Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties, and the biggest change has been in the area of technology.” “With access to the Internet, you can browse our collection and order books to your nearest branch or even to your door,” he says. “By the end of the year, you will be able to download a book to your iPod or MP3 player online through our website with your library card.”

The month is kick-started with a visit to the Yarmouth library by the Yarmouth Junior A Mariners players and staff on Thursday, Oct. 8, and ends with 40th-anniversary celebrations on Oct. 29 at all the branches. The Mariners will sign up for library cards at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 8 and then they will be available to meet the public and sign autographs.

Throughout the month the 10 branches are packed with programming including Games at the Library Week from Oct. 18 to 24. That week, there will be specialized programs for all ages such as cribbage and Scrabble tournaments, Pictureka and Cranium games, cards and checkers. Participants will be entered into a provincewide draw for a Nintendo Wii game system.

There is also the opportunity to win some prizes locally. During October people who sign up for a library card at their branch of Western Counties Regional Library are eligible to win a brand new laptop computer provided by NovaNewsNow.com. They will also get their name entered into a draw for a six-month subscription to The Digby Courier, The Yarmouth Vanguard or The Shelburne Coast Guard, published by Transcontinental Media Inc., sponsor of Library Card Month.

The library is continuing its tradition of challenging elementary schools throughout the region to achieve 100 per cent registration of staff and students. Parents should be on the lookout for registration forms coming home from school because children under 14 will need their parents’ consent. One French or French immersion school and one English school with the highest percentage of registrations will win a box of new books from Scholastic for its school library.

Signing up for a library card is as easy as visiting one of 10 local branch libraries or by filling out the online registration form at www.westerncounties.ca. Library services are provided free of charge to all residents of Yarmouth, Shelburne and Digby counties. “We encourage you during Library Card Month to sign up for a library card and experience all that is available at your public library,” says Archibald. “You can borrow books, CDs and DVDs, research your genealogy, learn how to build furniture or to repair homes, research medical information, make use of databases on the library’s website, take computer courses, and more.”

Every branch will mark the official 40th anniversary of the formation of the regional library on Thursday, Oct. 29. There will be cake served, tours of the branches and a showing of an EastLink TV mini-documentary on the history of the regional library. People are asked to check with their local branch for the official time of the celebration that day.

Throughout the month the branches have created a library memory board as part of the 40th anniversary celebration. Library patrons can use a marker to write out their memory on a piece of paper and post it on the board.

Branches are located in Barrington, Clare, Clark’s Harbour, Digby, Lockeport, Pubnico, Shelburne, Weymouth, Westport and Yarmouth. Western Counties Regional Library has been serving residents of Digby, Shelburne and Yarmouth counties since 1969.