The Cold Lake Public Library is popping up all across the map.
Soon services will be more accessible to Elizabeth Métis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations thanks to the new Pop-up Library program.
The program was recently granted provincial funding, which will help cover the cost of bringing the library to those communities.
Christine Pilkington, public services manager for the Cold Lake Library, said the program is in the planning stages, but they are hoping to have it up and running in the new year.
“The project that we are working on is trying to make sure that we are offering services to the under served communities in our area,” she explained. “We are recognizing these communities are geographically a little further out, and just are having a harder time accessing our public libraries, one way we are trying to solve that is to go out and offer library service in the communities.”
Over the years, Cold Lake First Nations and the Elizabeth Métis Settlement have been under served due to a lack of funding.
Previously, the library charged a non-resident fee for those living outside of the city, however, Pilkington said, “It was a financial barrier for people to get library cards.”
Thanks to the funding they have received from the government, which is to go specifically towards programs such as this, the library can now offer library cards to those living outside of the city limits for free.
Pilkington added there are options when it comes to making library services accessible in areas outside city limits, including offering return bins right in those communities, bringing laptops to the residents, or bringing the library to them.
The Pop-up Library would travel to a community once a week, biweekly, or more, and would ideally include laptops and a small collection of books. Currently the library is trying to determine the best time and location for the libraries that would allow the most people to gain access to their services.
“The idea has been there for a really long time,” Pilkington explained.
In the past, the library has offered a similar service to several communities in the area, including the Elizabeth Métis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations.
The service was called the Book Mobile and would travel to outlying communities. Last winter the program came to a halt due to the age and condition of the vehicle used.
“It wasn't sustainable to continue to offer services in these communities until we dealt with this issue of funding,” said Pilkington, adding at the time, the library was not charging a non-resident fee.
The library decided to kick-start the program again this year in a different light, as a Pop-up Library.
Pilkington has been making connections with locals within the Elizabeth Métis Settlement and Cold Lake First Nations, to better determine the best location and time for the program, which also helped determine the need.
Pilkington said the library provides more than just books; it offers computer access, databases, learning tool for kids, and story time, and because of the geographical barrier some communities face, it can be difficult for them to access those services.
“We are hoping to reduce that barrier by coming to them at least some of the time.”
