“I think people are reading more because they have a lot more time on their hands and limited opportunities for other activities,” said Branch Librarian, Lori Crighton. “People are saying they appreciate libraries more now.”
“Our online apps, Libby and Hoopla, are showing an increase in circulation all over the province. As far as our local library, people have been asking for all genres, but we’ve seen an increase in humour and mystery, along with books on skills such as cooking, macrame, quilting, gardening, and woodworking. Romance, thrillers, inspirational fiction, science fiction and westerns remain popular and of course DVDs, and CDs, And don’t forget magazines; they can be checked out here.”
“I’m also seeing more requests for historical books,” said Lois Seeley, Assistant Librarian. “People are reading about times of struggle and difficulty. Books on anxiety, self-help, and faith are being checked out more often as well.”
Lori added that books about WWII have always been popular. “We’ve had more requests for books about healthy living, the environment, kindness, community, science, and critical thinking. Our patrons have a wide range of interests.”
One Province, One Library Card means that your library card is good at any of over 300 public libraries in Saskatchewan: Items can be borrowed from and returned to any public library in Saskatchewan. All libraries share resources via Saskatchewan Information Library Service Consortium (SILS).
“To view our library online, please go to www.palliserlibrary.ca . You have access to all items in the province, or you can limit your search to items we have here. When you find items you would like, you can place a request (hold). If you are an Assiniboia patron your items will automatically come here, but you can always choose which library you would like them delivered to. If you are camping or have a summer cottage, you can send your book to the location nearest you.”
“Our Spring Silent Auction fundraiser finished on May 6th. We expanded it from on-site to Facebook to allow extra options for bidding. Everything is donated, and as usual, we had a great variety of items like homemade quilts, fabric art, cards, books, puzzles, ink on basswood, toys and much more. We will have another Silent Auction later in the year.
“Our used Book Sale is on-going with books, DVDs, CDs, and magazines. You can fill a bag for five dollars or buy single items. We just received an excellent donation of vinyl records for our sale.
“We just purchased a Zoom license and we’re looking forward to making connections such as a “Book Share” where readers might like to share a good book they’ve read, or “Bedtime Books” where we read a children’s bedtime story. “Crafting Kids” is another possibility where crafts for children can be demonstrated on our zoom platform. We’ve also considered “Author Talk” to highlight and learn from local authors.”
“We also take care of printing needs,” reminds Lori. “Email us your print jobs at the.library.prints@gmail.com and pick them up here. They are 30 cents per page for one sided black and white or 50 cents per page for double sided, and 70 cents for colour. Paper size doesn’t affect price. Photo paper is slightly higher priced. You can also scan to a flashdrive, and we’ve recently added scan to email. Right now our library is only equipped for cash or cheque but we’re working on getting e-transfers in place. We don’t offer fax service.”
Since re-opening in June 2020, the library has been at several different stages. “If people are uncomfortable coming into the library, they can come to the door or we can meet outside,” says Lori. “Or you can always visit our website at www.palliserlibrary.ca to order books. Also, visit us on Facebook.”
Library Hours: Monday 1 pm - 6 pm; Tuesday – 10 am – 7 pm; Wednesday 10 am - 8 pm; Thursday 10 am – 7 pm; Friday 10 am – 7 pm; Saturday 1 pm – 6 pm. Call 306-642-3631
