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Library using partial shutdown to add services, renovate building

They may not be fully open to the public at the moment, but there’s still things happening at the Flin Flon Public Library - a renovation, new programs and books inside and a delivery service outside.
bark
A birch bark biting by Pat Bruderer hangs in the front window of the Flin Flon Public Library. The piece was placed at the library by staff and by the Flin Flon Arts Council. - PHOTO BY ERIC WESTHAVER

They may not be fully open to the public at the moment, but there’s still things happening at the Flin Flon Public Library - a renovation, new programs and books inside and a delivery service outside.

The Library recently received two grants from the Vancouver-based Kimberley Foundation - first came funding to support a book delivery service, then came another $5,000 grant to enhance the library’s programming.

Library administrator Elizabeth Andres plans to use that grant money to bring in more books written by Indigenous authors and for Indigneous audiences.

“We were one of eight libraries in Canada to get that funding and we will be using that funding to purchase Indigenous books, written by Indigenous people or published by Indigenous publishers.”

“We will be starting with beginner books, so that when young Indigenous people - because we get a lot of kids in the library when there's no COVID-19 - come into the library, we want them to see themselves in our library material. We’re going to be starting with that, then moving up.”

Andres said while the number of Indigenous children accessing the library’s services has gone up, the amount of children’s books with Indigenous authors or subjects at the library is small - part of one small shelf in the children’s area.

“This is going to be something we’re going to be doing going forward - purchasing Indigenous books. This will be our starting point,” Andres said.

The funding is part of a revitalization process planned by administrators, including a rebuilding of the library’s lobby. The library facility is currently closed temporarily for the renovations.

“We’re working to get our staff out of the back into the front,” said Andres.

The main counter of the library - which, as it turns out, was filled with heavy concrete, causing the floor to sag underneath its weight - has been removed, in place of wood desks around part of the entrance area. A new front counter is coming in - though it hasn’t yet been installed - and library employees’ office space will be moved into the open.

“We have workstations that are being ordered so that they can be socially distanced and keep an eye on the library,” said Andres.

Events that were previously held in the main lobby that require space, Andres said, will be moved into the library’s downstairs meeting area. That area is only accessible to the public via a staircase, but Andres is looking into applying for accessibility grants to install a chairlift on the staircase to allow people with mobility issues to get to the lower level.

“We’re looking into the future. It’s a really good time to be doing this,” she said.

“We’re trying to be very forward thinking.”

During COVID-19, the library itself has routinely been closed to the public, but staff continue to work inside and provide book deliveries to interested readers.

“It’s going good. It's slowly creeping up. When we first started, for a couple weeks, it was like nothing - nobody was using it - but we've actually had four or five deliveries a week, which is pretty good, considering it's new and people are hearing about it,” said Andres.

“People that are using it are people who maybe have underlying health conditions. We have people undergoing cancer treatments, people who are actually self-isolating for two weeks and they're reaching out to us, we're taking books to them. That's working really well and I'm really happy about it.”

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