Inspire, Innovate, Support, Educate.
It’s the mantra of the Cochrane Public Library and a mission they dedicate each day to, which has resulted in creating one of the busiest rural public libraries in the province.
“Four years ago, we averaged 65 people a day. Now we average more than 400 and sometimes almost 500 people a day coming through the doors of this building,” said Jeri Maitland, the library’s executive director.
She attributes that success to her dedicated staff and the high-level skills of her professional librarians.
“Okotoks, in comparison, they have one librarian and we have three, including myself. Having professional librarians … helps with our structure. Having professional librarians doing that higher-level work makes all the difference,” said Maitland. “We get rewarded for what we do and acknowledged by all the other rural libraries in Alberta so we’ve kind of set the bar and (the staff) are aware of that and they’re really proud. They take a lot of pride in what we do here.”
The staff’s enthusiasm and dedication to not only providing top-notch programming but also being community builders is another factor in the library’s success.
“This is a very vibrant library. I have worked in a number of public libraries and I have worked in academic libraries and it’s a really unique environment. We do a lot of very interesting programming here, especially for the size of the community and size of library,” said Sarah Birch, community outreach and program librarian.
“When we get together for programming meetings and we start bouncing ideas off one another we get more and more excited,” added Andrea Johnston, community outreach and program librarian.
The array of programming at the library is truly what makes it special. There are drama and storytime programs, computer classes, ukulele classes, a 3-D printer available for the public, a well-stocked makers space and more, all housed in a welcoming and comfortable environment. When it comes to lending, it’s not just books either, with the “things” library offering gardening tools, power tools and life jackets available for rent.
“I really enjoyed the life jacket launch this year. Our friend Rachel from the Life Saving Society helped fit kids in the life jackets, we had a green space up and our little selfie printer. Families could try on the life jackets and figure out which ones fit them and then they could pick the background of their choice and we had one little girl who was so excited that she asked to have several photos taken and that inspired her to write a little story,” recalled Birch.
The little girl’s enthusiasm caught the interest of one of Birch’s colleagues in the Marigold Library system who turned it into a concept for a summer reading initiative, which Birch said demonstrates how everything they do at the library comes full circle in promoting the core goal of literacy.
“What a natural way to pick up with the community. We’re doing something fun, giving people cake, letting them interact with our make space stuff, having a guest coming in and we’ve got literacy coming out of that as well,” she said.
With the popularity of the things library, Birch added they are now applying for grants to help expand the concept to include winter offerings.
“The life jackets, in particular, have been so well received (106 rentals as of Aug. 20) we’ve been getting inquiries from the community about getting more outdoor equipment. The garden tools and life jackets really speak to our wonderful summer seasons but that is not the only time to get outdoors. So we’re asked for snowshoes, ice cleats, hiking poles and an avalanche safety kit,” said Birch.
Another value-added service in the library’s repertoire is its community outreach, which endeavours to bring services and literacy to neighbouring communities.
“Andrea and I both do quite a bit of outreach. Andrea is often going down to Bragg Creek and Redwood Meadows and I go out to Morley. I have been going out all summer long and we’re working really hard to get the Dolly Parton imagination library off the ground. We just need to enrol a few more children. It’s a really wonderful program where registered children can get one book a month mailed to them and it’s for birth to age five,” said Birch.
Maitland added the plan is to also look into providing satellite services at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre, if the funding can be found.
“We’re looking at doing some grants to get some funding for a satellite branch down at Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre,” she said adding that might look like some programming and a place for library-goers to drop off and pick up materials, which would alleviate some of the pressure at the main building.
With rentals, outreach and programs, one would be forgiven for thinking that encompasses the whole of what the library does in the community, but the icing on the cake is its special events, Medieval Day, an annual book sale, Women Empowering Women, locked room events, and bringing Fred Penner to town to name a few. Those special days are also when the library’s staff members really show their community spirit.
Johnston gets excited when talking about the opportunity to dress up for events such as Medieval Day, adding that the whole staff gets involved raiding the library’s “tickle” trunk to look the part.
With plans for Halloween and Christmas-themed storytimes and another murder mystery event, Johnston won’t have any shortage of costume opportunities.
“In October, it’s another murder mystery night. It’s called Terror in Transylvania and it’s on Friday, Oct. 18. I hope people register for that, it’s going to be a ton of fun,” she said. “The last time we did it an impromptu gunfight broke out. I was laughing so hard I barely got it on video.”
With 55 per cent of the community holding a library card and transit expected to bring new clientele, Maitland repeatedly touched on the need for a larger space. While a new library is part of the town’s tri-site plan, there isn’t a timeframe for when a new space might be realized.
One thing is certain, all the librarians agree that any new space must include the magic the library has been able to conjure at its current location.
“There is some concern that if we get a new library space are we going to lose this warmth and charm but we will recreate that. People love this space, the murals the artist … there’s something for everyone,” said Maitland.
