The Honourable Elmer MacFadyen, Minister of Community and Cultural Affairs, has invited Islanders to connect with their local public library during the week of October 21 -27, 2002. "Public libraries on PEI are a cultural treasure connecting residents to a world of information, culture and heritage. I urge all Islanders to check out what the library offers; from our island history to the development of our future – it's all at the library."
This year's library week's theme, "Libraries: Connecting Communities," demonstrates the connections libraries can provide for various groups of Islanders including seniors, families, community leaders, researchers, and combinations of people across generations. Libraries have the resources and potential for meeting information, education, and recreation needs of many groups of Islanders. With almost 60,000 members, one in every three Islanders is a registered library user. This year, libraries will be making a special effort to introduce their services to those who are not already familiar with this Island treasure.
In towns and villages across the province, library staff are taking their library week activities out to the community. Branches are inviting community groups to hold their regularly scheduled meetings in the community library facility, and other branches are offering new programs and activities to draw attention to the rich resources tucked within the walls of the 26 library locations across the province.
Planned programs include delivering a display of large print and audiocassette materials to a seniors' residence, taking armchair travel books and videos to the Women's Institute meeting, providing a display of cookbooks with some tantalizing tried-and-true recipes at the local supermarket, creating a display of library materials at the local co-op, and reading stories and showing puppets to young library patrons. Visit the library website at www.library.pe.ca for more details of activities in each of the Island's libraries.
During Library Week, the Provincial Library Service is sponsoring two contests. Get Graphic@your library contest invites budding young artists to design a book cover for their favourite book and, for those who love brain teasers, we are challenging Islanders of all ages with the Trivia Challenge. Prizes for both contests will be book gift certificates. Contest rules are available at all of the province's public libraries.
This year, Library Week is a partnership between the PEI Provincial Library Service and Nova Scotia Provincial Libraries, with major funding from the Atlantic Provinces Library Association.