Callander library staff are in the early stages of putting together a five-year plan that will help guide programming and operations. They recently launched a survey to find out what people would like to see the library provide, and over 125 people responded, “which I thought was pretty good for a community the size of Callander,” said Melissa Sones, the library’s CEO.
Sones is pleased with the community’s response, and grateful, as the feedback will be cobbled together over the next few weeks and presented to the library board. The goal is to finalize the plan in the upcoming months, most likely over the summer.
So, what do people want from Callander’s library? More puzzles to piece together? Back issues of National Geographic, or an extra copy of War and Peace to nestle within the stacks? Well, the general feedback from patrons is that more in-person programming should be delivered.
Not a surprise, Sones acknowledged, given the rough past two years of pandemic waves that have been keeping people apart. She recalled the early days, when people could not access the library at all during that fist lockdown in 2020.
It brought home the idea of accessibility, and the staff has done much to reach out to the community to ensure their programs and catalogue were kept available to those who wanted them. For example, over the past years the library began delivering materials to seniors, loaning out Wi-Fi hotspot sticks, and lending games and puzzles for patrons to stave off the boredom of lock downs.
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The library also implemented some on-line author series, and this past November eliminated all late charges and overdue fees. Because of these changes, “the library is in a very different place now then we were then,” Sones said.
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There is always room for improvement, which is the purpose of this new plan. Sones explained that staff does plan to increase the amount of in-person programming, and now that restrictions are lifting, those plans will ideally materialize sooner than later.
After all, “if we could do story time in the library again, I think they would be very happy,” Sones said, speaking of the kids who used to flock to the readings. And the knitting club? “I know they would love to come back to the library,” Sones admitted. “People are looking to make those social connections again.”
More programming will serve as a cornerstone of the new plan, and overall, Sone is pleased that patrons are very happy with the library as is. People “really enjoy the atmosphere” and “how friendly and welcoming the library is,” Sones said, so the plan might not be too revolutionary, but rather focus on continuing what the library is already doing well to please the patrons.
David Briggs is a Local Journalism Initiative reporter who works out of BayToday, a publication of Village Media. The Local Journalism Initiative is funded by the Government of Canada.
