The Cold Lake Library has some big plans for 2017. They’re hoping next year they’ll be able to reach out to the Elizabeth Metis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations with pop-up libraries.
“We’re still in the planning process,” says Public Services Manager Christine Pilkington. “So January would be when it would actually start going out.”
The pop-up libraries will regularly visit the Elizabeth Metis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations. While there, residents will be able to sign out and return books as well as access public internet through laptops provided by the library. A librarian will be there with a laptop of their own to create memberships and all the other typical duties.
“We’ve been wanting to this for a long time. What makes this possible is the money recently set aside by the provincial government. That’s what allowing us to go forward. We’ve recognized that this is a thing that needed to happen for a long time. It’s just having the financial support really helps make it possible.”
“The reason we’re still in the planning stages is because I’m trying to connect with the communities and to talk to the people that I’ll be serving. We want to set this up in a way that works for them. That’s why we’re not just doing it overnight, we’re trying to meet the need. There may be lots of things we hadn’t thought of. We just want to hear what the communities are asking for before we go get set up.”