Tom Lancaster wishes his threeyear-old didn't have to wait up to three weeks to borrow a popular book from the library, but it's a minor complaint for the resident of Riley Park who appreciates the diverse materials and activities the Vancouver Public Library offers.
"The library, for me, [was] this stodgy old, musty old place that smells of mahogany where you can't say anything or do anything," the 39-year-old, District of North Vancouver city planner said.
Now his two pre-school-aged daughters enjoy checking out books at bustling branches, and he and his wife enjoyed singing in the library with their kids through literacy programs Man in the Moon and Mother Goose.
Lancaster and his family recently submitted their suggestions and praise to the Vancouver Public Library in a fun 10-minute Choose Your Own Adventure-type activity as part of Free-for-all: Reinventing Your Library.
The second installment in the four-part Free-for-all focuses on what materials, including books, movies, music and digital resources, the public wants the library to invest in. "We're asking people to consider the very diverse role that libraries play in community, because we're not about books," said chief librarian Sandra Singh. "[They've] been our iconic symbol but that's not what we're about, really. We're about learning, we're about cultural expression and we're about personal capacity building and enjoyment and exposure to the world of ideas, so we need to explore all these different roles that we play."
The library learned when it consulted the public in November that users want a quiet place for contemplation and study, space for learning through discussion and more access to the Internet. "Last year we had 1.4 million Internet sessions on our 600 public access computers across the system," Singh said. "It's a growth area."
The importance of Internet access through the library has increased as governments increasingly use the web for public consultation. Continuing education programs have also migrated online.
The library will focus on adult learning programs in April, and on children and families in June. It wants to continue to help shape young minds. "The research is undeniable," Singh said. "Reading results in better critical thinking, more empathy, better decision making, just a broader world view."
She says libraries also need to help hone critical thinking skills in youth. "There's this myth of the digital native, that kids, because they can search Google. that they understand how to actually search for information, when they find it, how to evaluate it, and we know that's not true," Singh said.
Insight gleaned through Freefor-all is posted on the library's website. The library will ultimately devise three potential scenarios for its future and ask the public to help it shape those into a single vision. Choose Your Own Adventure kits about resources are available at each branch and online until Feb. 27. Kits are available in English, Chinese and large print. Those who express their views can win one of three prizes, which include an iPod nano.
For more information, see vpl. ca/freeforall.
crossi@vancourier.com Twitter: @Cheryl_Rossi
