The Burns Lake Public Library is now offering an extension service to the Southside starting this week.
Residents with a library card can call the library and request books and other library materials. The items will then be available for pickup on the words on wheels (WOW) bus - a retired school bus that was retrofitted in 2009 to become a travelling book mobile - every Monday on the Southside.
Library director Sashka Macievich said the Burns Lake Public Library has a large number of patrons on the Southside who will benefit from this initiative.
“Southside residents will have more access to library materials with this new service; a trip to the library is one stop when they come to town,” she said. “Lots of times they can’t make it to town so they renew their items multiple times; this way they can return those items and check out more items.”
Items requested will be available for pickup at three Southside stops - at the Southside Health and Wellness Centre from 10:45 a.m. to noon; at Takysie Lake from 12:20 p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; and at the SEDA building from 2 p.m. to 3:10 p.m.
The deadline for requests is 7 p.m. on Thursdays. Requests must be called in, as emails or web requests cannot be accommodated at this time. Library material can be dropped off at the WOW bus or in the drop box at the Southside Health and Wellness Centre.
If you don’t have a library card, bring photo identification with proof of address to the WOW bus. For more information or to make a request, call 250-692-3192.
In 2016, over 22,000 people visited the Burns Lake Public Library - this equates to over 10 visits each hour the library was open. Approximately 60 per cent of items circulated at the library are books while 40 per cent include other materials such as DVDs. The library also offers a collection of over 70,000 electronic resources available through its website, including e-books, audio books and magazines.
In addition, since May 2017, the Burns Lake Public Library has been offering access to the library edition of ancestry.ca., a subscription-based website that offers access to 129 million searchable Canadian family history records.