Joining the ranks of several libraries across Canada, the New Westminster Public Library is thrilled to announce the launch of a Seed Library, beginning February 11, 2023.

“We hope people will take some seeds, grow a garden however and wherever they are, then bring some of the seeds they produce back to us for sharing,” says Caitlin MacRae, librarian at NWPL and coordinator of the Seed Library. “Saving seeds is actually fun, free, and a great way to expand your knowledge of gardening while being a part of a larger community effort to go green.” Users will have free access to a variety of seed types including vegetables, flowers and a variety of herbs.

The idea of a seed library is not new for libraries but is for the New Westminster Public Library. “It’s one thing to loan out books about gardening” says Christopher Koth, Manager of Community Programs and Engagement, but after being approached by local members of the community “we realized there was an amazing opportunity to support city-wide efforts to promote issues around climate action and food security by offering this kind of a service”. The library’s 2021-2025 strategic plan emphasizes the City’s Seven Bold Steps for Climate Action as a priority, and Koth notes this is one way of lending support.

Starting Saturday, February 11, gardeners of all types can come to the Main Branch of the Library, fill out a short registration form, and then ‘check out’ some seeds. There are also a small number of gardening tools and planting templates available for loan, whether folks are planting a small container on a balcony or starting their own garden in a backyard. Details about this unique collection are available at: www.nwpl.ca/seeds

To launch the service, the library has partnered with FarmFolk CityFolk and Gardens4Kids to offer an all-ages celebratory “Seedy Saturday” event, February 11 from 10am to 2pm. The day will feature a range of programming including a number of gardening talks like how to build a container garden, and how to support pollinators, while also offering a special seedy storytime & activities for kids. There will also be an ask-a-gardener booth, a garden gear swap, and, of course, an introduction to the seed library! Some of New West’s favourite food trucks will also be on hand outside the library, with some door prizes to be won.

The event is planned to take place indoors and outdoors, rain or shine. As with all library services programming is free and open to all. “Above all, we want to encourage people to exercise their curiosity about local gardening of all types, and connect with others who share these interests” notes MacRae.

Anyone wanting more information about the Seed Library or the Seedy Saturday launch events can contact the library at 604-527-4660, email askus@nwpl.ca or check out the website at www.nwpl.ca/seeds .

Contact: Caitlin MacRae at 604-636-3541 or cmacrae@nwpl.ca

New Westminster – New Westminster Public Library is excited to announce it will no longer charge overdue fines on library materials. As part of the roll-out to this new policy, the library will be granting a one-time amnesty that will erase all fines from all accounts that were in place prior to September 10, 2022.

“The New Westminster Public Library Board of Trustees join with other libraries across Canada who have come to understand how traditional library represent a serious equity issue,” said Library Board Chair Norah Andrews. “By eliminating fines, hundreds of library users will again be able to check out library materials and take advantage of everything the library has to offer. This is a key element of our 2021 – 2025 Strategic Plan that emphasizes equity of access and the reduction of barriers to library use.”

“New Westminster Public Library is proud to support our commitment to equitable library service for all. By eliminating overdue fines and nearly all fees, we want to encourage more residents to use and enjoy the library”, said Chief Librarian Jorge Cardenas.

In August of 2021, the Library Board and library staff began to explore the costs and benefits of moving to a fine-free model. Following this review and in consultation with the City of New Westminster, the Library Board unanimously passed an updated policy on June 21, 2022 eliminating the charging of overdue fines as well as other fees related to costs to replace a library card, and regular holds pick-up fees. The library has actually not assessed these fines since the arrival of COVID-19 in March 2020.

In the lead-up to the Board decision, Library staff reviewed data on borrowing trends, cardholder trends, use patterns of other fine-free libraries, and revenue generated by overdue fines. As a result, it became clear that overdue fines and the blocked library cards that often resulted from fines, affected services for many New Westminster residents, in particular those with lower incomes and marginalized communities. “When we looked at library materials since we paused fine charges during COVID, there was no difference in terms of wait times and the overall return rate, and any revenue from the fines that were collected accounted for less than 1% of the library’s budget” said Cardenas.

Now, the Library will charge minimal costs for some services, such as printing, Interlibary Loans requested and not picked up, and lost or damaged materials, though this charge will be waived if items are returned in good condition. Staff will exercise empathy and compassion when enforcing library policies around charges incurred on borrower accounts.

Library staff will work with all partners in the month of September and as well as with affected customers during the transition period. In most cases Library customers won’t notice much on their accounts, except that those with fees related to late or overdue materials will see them removed.

An official announcement of the new policy will be made by Mayor Jonathan Cote and Library Leadership as part of the Summer Reading Club Wrap-up party scheduled September 10, 2022, 1:30 – 3:00pm at the Queens Park Oval.

For more information, please visit www.nwpl.ca/finefree or contact Jorge Cardenas, Chief Librarian at 604-527-4675 or jcardenas@nwpl.ca.

We’re looking for volunteers to help suggest some changes to our website!

We want to make it easier for you to find what you need on our website.

To do this we would like to meet with you (virtually via zoom, or in person one-on-one) for no more than 15 minutes. You will be taken through a short set of tasks to see if what we are planning will actually make things easier for website visitors.

In-person meetings will be physically distanced, in our 2nd floor Gallery Room, and volunteers will be required to wear a mask for the duration of the session. Sanitization supplies will be available. If you prefer, we can meet over Zoom to complete the tasks.

If you are interested in participating we’d love to hear from you. Email askus@nwpl.ca or call 604-636-4342 and ask for Liz.

We thank you in advance for helping us improve our services to the community!

There are two construction projects currently underway at the library. We have provided some details and information related to each below:

Building Envelope Repair

When will the construction occur?

  • November 15 – January 2022

What is being done?

  • Work will be done to repair a leak into the lower level of the library and apply waterproofing to that same area.

How will this affect me?

  • Fencing and construction equipment will be set up in the area around the library parking lot as well as along the Ash Street Plaza. The pathway itself will remain open.
  • Landscaping has been temporarily removed from the area concerned and will be replaced once the project is complete.
  • Construction crews will be digging and at times drilling so there may be noise during their working hours of 7:30am – 4:30pm (though start times may vary according to weather).
  • As waterproofing is applied to the exterior area, there may be some smell from the material that is being used.

 

DVD Shelving Installation

When will the construction occur?

  • November 15 – 21

What is being done?

  • The shelves that house our DVD collection are being installed throughout our multi-media collection. They will prevent units from dropping behind the shelving, and reduce the amount of missing or lost items as a result.

How will this affect me?

  • DVD’s have been temporarily relocated, and there may be some disruption to accessing these and some CD’s during the week of November 15 – 21.
  • There may be noise in the library while the shelving is being assembled.

Questions? Please write to us at AskUs@nwpl.ca

We are thrilled to welcome our new Chief Librarian, Jorge Cardenas, who started at NWPL just after Thanksgiving. Jorge comes to us from Burnaby Public Library where he was the Manager of Community Development. So who is Jorge and what does he have planned for the NWPL? We wanted to know as much as you do, so we sat down to ask him!

What would you like the community to know about you?

I’m an immigrant in Canada who is still trying to understand the different communities and cultures around here. I love biking, reading and sports. I’m passionate about community development, anti-racism, and finding solutions for the climate crisis.

Where does your passion for libraries come from?

I have been a library user since I was a kid. Oaxaca (Mexico), my hometown, has many amazing libraries with great spaces, many books, movie screenings, and activities… it was easy to become a regular and to take advantage of the free and welcoming environment. It wasn’t until I came to Canada, however, that I thought about working in a library because as amazing as libraries are in Oaxaca, the concept of the library here includes things I wasn’t aware of: intellectual freedom, digital services, information hubs, support for immigrants and businesses and many more. Discovering that brought my passion to a new level.

What can you tell us about the Library’s new Strategic Plan?

I’m very excited about it! For me, the NWPL’s Strategic Plan both reflects my vision of what libraries should be and do, and it aligns with my career trajectory, so it’s a great fit. I’m looking forward to the work ahead where we figure out what this means for our day to day operations.

What’s the most pressing issue for libraries in Canada?

There are several things that are pressing, but as we emerge from the emergency phase of the COVID pandemic, one issue that I’m concerned about is how to recreate the library as a vital public space. When libraries were shut down because of the pandemic, one of the only types of public spaces that is open to everyone disappeared. It’s pretty clear how important that space is to inclusive and engaged communities, and its importance is even greater now as libraries provide resources for virtually-employed community members without a home office. I’m looking forward to seeing how library space can play an even more crucial role in Canadian society going forward.

What’s the thing about New Westminster that most piques your interest?

I am trying to eat my way around New West. I’m sure I’ll find great food of every kind but I’m trying to find excuses to talk to people and get to know the community better, and talking about what you eat or your next best meal are great topics and conversations starters.

I know you’re a cyclist, where do you like to ride in New West?

Before working here, I used to bike to the Quay and along the Waterfront, to Steel and Oak the local brewery, and a few times took the bike path that follows the Skytrain. Now, however, I want to bike every street of New West, every neighbourhood is beautiful and I think the city is very bikeable despite the terrible hills!

What have you been reading lately?

Finding the Mother Tree by Suzanne Simard and Inventario by Jose Emilio Pacheco. I always try to read one book in Spanish and one in English – I don’t want to lose touch with either my current reality or my heritage.

Where’s your favorite place to read?

Anywhere, really, but I tend to read more in bed.

What are you looking forward to most about your role?

Getting to know the people I work with and the different communities in New West. This means also trying to find new and collaborative ways to understand  community needs and to solve those needs using the expertise library staff has.

———

Thanks so much for helping us get to know you a bit better, Jorge. A warm welcome from all of us here in New Westminster!

On May 26, 2021 the library will be performing system maintenance that will affect public access to some library card services. The process is expected to take most of the day but in the event we are able to restore services earlier, we will post a message on our website’s home page notifying you that the systems are back online.

On May 26 you will still be able to:

  • Use the self-checkouts to check material out
  • Search for items in the catalogue
  • Use a public computer, print, scan and photocopy

You will not be able to:

  • log in to your library account (Bibliocommons catalogue)
  • renew items using your library account or the Telephone Renewals system
  • Place holds or access updated holds or renewals information
  • Use online resources that require you to enter your library card and PIN

Once the migration process is complete, the system will be updated with any items checked out while the system was down.

We apologize for the inconvenience. If you have an urgent question or issue, please contact us at AskUs@nwpl.ca.

Library users can enjoy a return to in-person borrowing as New Westminster Public Library announces a planned reopening of its Uptown Main Branch, Tuesday, August 4.

“After several months of closure we are looking forward to welcoming our community back to their library” says Julie Spurrell, Chief Librarian. “Our Board, Staff and City partners have all worked extremely hard to ensure our community has access to Library services while doing everything we can to make it safe for them to do so.”

The Main Branch will re-open seven days a week, with slightly modified hours. The first hour of Monday to Saturday will be reserved for seniors, the vulnerable and first responders.

On entry, customers can expect some changes to the library’s interior reflective of the City’s continuing commitment to safeguard the health of staff and the community against transmission of COVID-19. As well as safety, priority has been given for access to collections, information assistance, and for those with little or no access to computers and the internet, access to computer stations.

Plexiglass barriers have been installed throughout various service points, public Internet stations have been spread out, and some furniture has either been removed or re-arranged to ensure safe passage throughout the various service areas.  There will be limits on how many customers can enter the building at one time and everyone will be encouraged to maintain physical distancing and keep their visits as short as possible. Though not required, and in the interest of safety all visitors to the library will be encouraged to wear face masks.

The library has also worked on the development of an interior signage plan that will not only remind the community about the ways they can use the library safely, but also provide guidance to entrances, exits, stairwells, washroom and elevators.

The reopening of the Queensborough Branch will follow this Fall along with the opening of the Queensborough Community Centre.

Further details about the library’s future hours, available services, and what to expect on arrival will be available on the library’s website at www.nwpl.ca beginning July 17.

Each year the New Westminster Public Library chooses titles to purchase in book club sets – multiple copies of the same title so all book club members can read it at the same time. The library runs its own monthly book club and also makes sets available to any book club that wishes to use them.

For 2020/2021, we want your input to help us choose titles we purchase as book club sets. You can join us at New West City Reads, or read the books with your own book club. After reading about the choices below, (links take you to NWPL catalogue descriptions), cast your vote in our online survey for your 6 favourites.

Access the Online Survey Here

(open until July 15 only)

  • Circling the Sun by Paula McLain: “Set against the majestic landscape of early-twentieth-century Africa, this powerful tale reveals the extraordinary adventures of a woman before her time, the exhilaration of freedom and its cost, and the tenacity of the human spirit.”
  • Underground Railroad by Colson Whitehead: “As Whitehead brilliantly re-creates the unique terrors for black people in the pre-Civil War era, his narrative seamlessly weaves the saga of America from the brutal importation of Africans to the unfulfilled promises of the present day.”
  • Hillbilly Elegy by JD Vance: Hillbilly Elegy “tells the true story of what a social, regional, and class decline feels like when you were born with it hung around your neck.”
  • Loving Frank by Nancy Horan: In this historical fiction about Frank Lloyd Wright’s affair, the author “weaves little-known facts into a compelling narrative, vividly portraying the conflicts and struggles of a woman forced to choose between the roles of mother, wife, lover, and intellectual.”
  • Our Endless Numbered Days by Claire Fuller: A survivalist father kidnaps his daughter and convinces her they are the only two people left on earth.
  • Moccasin Square Gardens by Richard Van Camp: “These stories are filled with in-laws, outlaws and common-laws. Get ready for illegal wrestling moves, pinky promises, a doctored casino, extraterrestrials, love, lust and prayers for peace.”
  • Crow Winter by Karen McBride: “What would you do if you found yourself in contact with the trickster demigod that you heard stories about growing up? What would you do if you found out that you could contact the Spiritual world, and cross between through memories and dreams?”
  • Small Game Hunting at the Local Coward Gun Club by Megan Coles: “A blistering Newfoundland Gothic for the twenty-first century, a wholly original, bracing, and timely portrait of a place in the throes of enormous change, where two women confront the traumas of their past in an attempt to overcome the present and to pick up a future.”
  • Frying Plantain by Zalika Reid-Benta: “A rich and unforgettable portrait of growing up between worlds, Frying Plantain shows how, in one charged moment, friendship and love can turn to enmity and hate, well-meaning protection can become control, and teasing play can turn to something much darker.”
  • Educated by Tara Westover: “Tara Westover was seventeen the first time she set foot in a classroom. Born to survivalists in the mountains of Idaho, she prepared for the end of the world by stockpiling home-canned peaches and sleeping with her “head-for-the-hills bag.”
  • Aria by Nazanine Hozar: “This extraordinary, gripping debut is a rags-to-riches-to-revolution tale about an orphan girl’s coming-of-age in Iran – an Iranian Doctor Zhivago.”
  • Bina by Anakana Schofield: “My name is Bina and I’m a very busy woman. That’s Bye-na, not Beena. I don’t know who Beena is but I expect she’s having a happy life. And I don’t know who you are, or the state of your life. But if you’ve come this way to listen to me, your life will undoubtedly get worse. I’m here to warn you …”
  • Dead Wake by Erik Larson: The sinking of the Lusitania “is a story that many of us think we know but don’t, and Erik Larson tells it thrillingly, switching between hunter and hunted while painting a larger portrait of America at the height of the Progressive Era.”
  • Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswell: ” A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages.”
  • Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller: “A thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad.”
  • Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer: “Drawing on her life as an Indigenous scientist, and as a woman, Kimmerer shows how other living beings–asters and goldenrod, strawberries and squash, salamanders, algae, and sweetgrass–offer us gifts and lessons, even if we’ve forgotten how to hear their voices.”
  • This Place: 150 Years Retold: A graphic novel anthology, “beautifully illustrated, these stories are an emotional and enlightening journey through magic realism, serial killings, psychic battles, and time travel. See how Indigenous peoples have survived a post-apocalyptic world since Contact.”
  • Recursion by Blake Crouch: “Investigating a suicide, New York City police officer Barry Sutton finds a connection to the outbreak of a memory-altering disease and a controversial neuroscientist working to preserve precious memories.”
  • Killers of the Flower Moon by David Grann: “1920s Oklahoma. The richest people per capita in the world were members of the Osage Indian nation in Oklahoma after oil was discovered beneath their land. Then, one by one, the Osage began to be killed off.”
  • The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin: “A lone human ambassador is sent to the icebound planet of Winter, a world without sexual prejudice, where the inhabitants’ gender is fluid. His goal is to facilitate Winter’s inclusion in a growing intergalactic civilization. But to do so he must bridge the gulf between his own views and those of the strange, intriguing culture he encounters…”

 

Join us for our August meeting of the New West City Reads Online!

We know that many of you prefer to read your eBooks in Overdrive. We’ve heard you and we are thrilled to make our August book (no meeting in July) available through Overdrive.

Please vote on the possible selections for our next meeting. Because they are eBooks, we are thrilled that we can offer some brand new titles (no need to wait for paperbacks).

Without further ado, here are the five potential books for our August meeting. Click through the links to read more about each title.

  1. On Earth We’re Briefly Gorgeous by Ocean Vuong

“Poet Ocean Vuong’s debut novel is a sweeping and shattering portrait of a family, and a testament to the redemptive power of storytelling. At once a witness to the fraught yet undeniable love between a single mother and her son, it is also a brutally honest exploration of race, class, and masculinity”

  1. Erotic Stories for Punjabi Widows by Balli Kaur Jaswall

“A lively, sexy, and thought-provoking East-meets-West story about community, friendship, and women’s lives at all ages.”

  1. Red at the Bone by Jacqueline Woodson

This novel “explores the ways an unplanned pregnancy changes two families. Woodson’s nuanced voice evokes the complexities of race, class, religion, and sexuality in fluid prose and a series of telling details. This is a wise, powerful, and compassionate novel.”

  1. Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller

“A thrilling, profoundly moving, and utterly unique retelling of the legend of Achilles and the Trojan War. A tale of gods, kings, immortal fame, and the human heart, The Song of Achilles is a dazzling literary feat that brilliantly reimagines Homer’s enduring masterwork, The Iliad.”

  1. The Vanishing Half by Britt Bennett

“The Vignes twin sisters will always be identical. But after growing up together in a small, southern black community and running away at age sixteen, it’s not just the shape of their daily lives that is different as adults, it’s everything: their families, their communities, their racial identities.”

 

Click here to vote on August’s title!

WINNING BOOK WILL BE ANNOUNCED JULY 6th.

ZOOM MEETING WILL BE ON August 20 AT 7:00 AND August 21 AT 10:30.

To take part in the meeting, you must register by emailing AskUs@nwpl.ca . Please indicate your name, and which session you would like to register for. When you register you’ll also gain access to the eBook. We will purchase copies depending on registration numbers, so please register early.

If you need help accessing Overdrive (also known as Library2Go or Libby), please drop us a line by email (AskUs@nwpl.ca) or phone (604-527-4660). We’ll be happy to assist you!

Happy reading!

Please join us for our June online book club!

Thanks to those who participated in our poll, we will be reading The Whale Chaser by Tony Ardizzone.

You can access the book through Freading on our website or search for it on the Freading app on your phone or tablet. If you’d like to read the paired non-fiction book, it is The Whaling People of the West Coast of Vancouver Island and Cape Flattery by Eugene Arima and Allan Hoover (this is optional but may help provide some context to the novel).

Our discussion for the book(s) will be held on June 25 at 7:00 p.m. and June 26 and 10:30 a.m. If you’d like to join us, please email AskUs@nwpl.ca and let us know your name and which session you’d like to come to. The meeting will be held by Zoom, and closer to the date, registered participants will be sent a secure link to join the meeting. For anyone who has never used Zoom before, we will also host a practice meeting before the discussion date so you can be sure your setup is going to work.

Happy reading!