GLENDON – The Glendon community will soon be opening a long-awaited public library, located within Glendon School’s library. The library will offer a public space for literacy, learning, and community connection.
The Village of Glendon is excited for their residents “to get on board” and access the public library, said Daryn Galatiuk, deputy mayor for the Village of Glendon, and a teacher at Glendon School.
Glendon has been without any type of library for a “very, very long time,” explained Galatiuk, who has lived in Glendon for 23 years. So, the village’s council decided to create a public library system as part of its mandate.
The village worked with the Northern Lights Library System (NLLS) to bring services to its residents.
James MacDonald, executive director of NLLS, said the “driving motivation” behind NLLS is to “increase access to information, entertainment, and resources in every community in Alberta.” NLLS, one of the seven regional library systems in the province, serves over 50 municipalities.
Then, Northern Lights Public Schools (NLPS) was brought into the initiative, in order to create the public library within Glendon School’s existing library.
Using the infrastructure that is already in place at the school, “this makes it easy to get public library services up and rolling,” which MacDonald said benefits the school as well.
Nicole Garner, communications and public relations manager at NLPS, explained that when “NLPS was approached by [NLLS] to see if the division would partner with them and the Village of Glendon to provide services to local residents,” it was an easy ask since it is something that is already being done at two other NLPS community schools.
“It has worked quite well for both the schools and the communities,” she said. Schools that already have public libraries within NLPS are Wandering River School and École Plamondon School.
NLLS then provided an establishment grant to “access the software needed and help purchase items” required to set up the library, said Garner. The Village of Glendon also set up a new library board, and once it is established, the agreement between NLPS and Glendon’s community library board will be finalized.
Galatiuk said that “everybody has been on board and very willing to work together,” dubbing the collaboration between the Village of Glendon, Glendon School, NLPS, and NLLS as an “amalgamation of minds."
Access
When asked about library cards, Galatiuk said library cards for residents of Glendon will be free.
Once the library is up and running, there will be a drop-off and pick-up location within the school library for physical books. The library will also offer electronic resources.
Having a public library “allows everyone here to access this brand-new world of information,” said Galatiuk.
MacDonald echoed those thoughts, stating that once residents of Glendon get their library card, they will be able to access “a ton of electronic resources” available at the NLLS website. These electronic materials include audiobooks, video streaming, and much more.
Glendon residents “don’t need to wait for the Glendon Library to officially open,” according to MacDonald, and they can “go get a library card right now” by stopping by the Bonnyville or St. Paul municipal libraries, for example.
While it will take some time before NLLS can deliver books directly, eventually residents will have access to an abundance of reading materials available through The Regional Automation Consortium (TRAC), which is a partnership between the Marigold Library System, Northern Lights Library System, Peace Library System, Yellowhead Regional Library, and their member libraries.
Once everything is in place, residents can request a book in the TRAC catalogue, which will then be delivered to Glendon and can be returned to Glendon.
Strong impact
According to MacDonald, the public library will significantly increase the quality of life for the residents of Glendon.
Galatiuk agrees, stating the library will have a “strong impact” on the community.
Garner also echoed Galatiuk and MacDonald’s thoughts, stating, “Glendon School is already a hub for the community, hosting numerous community events throughout the year.” She added that a joint library will “further strengthen the connection between the school and community,” and provide Glendon residents “access to library resources, services and programming.”
“NLPS is thrilled to be able to offer space in its facility to host the community library and help provide these valuable services to our students and local residents. We are excited about the opportunity to further enhance connections between the school and community,” said Garner.
Maureen Ference, principal at Glendon School, also offered some thoughts, saying Glendon School is focused on “community connections.” She explained, “this focus is a priority identified by our staff, students, and our school council members and developed alongside our parents and community members.”
“Welcoming the Northern Lights Library System to Glendon School will help support and strengthen this important priority that will not only benefit our students, but our community as a whole,” said Ference.
