Ways to help fund the Flin Flon Public Library were on the agenda as Creighton town council met last week.
Council met with Cindy McLean of the Flin Flon Public Library and Audrey Mark of Pahkisimon Nuye-áh Library System, which oversees northern libraries, to discuss alternate funding options for Flin Flon’s cost-shared library.
Mark asked council to “come up with activities to create and generate interest” in the library.
McLean said current programs such as the Adopt A Shelf campaign generate minimal revenue but more interest in the library.
She said she can notice a positive difference in children who spend time at the library.
“I see it all the time,” McLean said.
Important
Ald. Shirley Owen agreed that libraries are important not only to youth, but to all members of the community.
“The province is really pushing for reading programs,” said Owen.
Mark said it is important for local MLAs and other dignitaries to hear about the public interest in the library.
She brought attention to the library in Pelican Narrows, which has been out of service for six months with another six months potentially on the line.
“What would people do or think [if the Flin Flon Public Library] closed?” she rhetorically asked council. “What would people think of the impact of a loss of the library here? That’s what our MLAs need to hear. People aren’t even complaining [about Pelican Narrows] and we need people talking about it.”
McLean noted that the computers currently available for use at the Flin Flon library feature Windows XP and will no longer be suitable in 2015.
With the price tag of an upgrade roughly $6,000, the library has so far received half of the required funding from the Rotary Club.
