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Read more about "Beanstack"Find the right job for you, build a website, start a business, prepare for college, and more.
Read more about "Gale Courses"Explore aviation and space exploration in the Air & Space Digital Magazine (1986 to the present) and read about science, history, art, popular culture and innovation in the Smithsonian Digital Magazine (1970 to the present). Find full colour images, maps, and documents.
Read more about "Search the history of aviation at the Smithsonian"Wedding and engagement photography is allowed in all Library locations.
Read more about "Wedding Photography"Teens and Adults Challenge Map (ages 13+)
Read more about "Track your progress"The Business Plans Handbook in Gale eBooks includes hundreds of actual business plans compiled by, and aimed at, entrepreneurs seeking funding for small business. Use these examples to learn how to approach, structure and compose business plans for your own business ventures.
Read more about "Actual Business Plans by and for Entrepreneurs "The Business Plans Handbook in Gale eBooks includes hundreds of actual business plans compiled by, and aimed at, entrepreneurs seeking funding for small business.
Read more about "Business Plans Handbook"Stream this documentary about the Library’s experiences of meeting the challenges of COVID-19.
Read more about "The Library During COVID"This special bird puppet project, seeks to connect people of all cultures, to celebrate the land, and to remember our Canadian values of generosity and courage. Children and...
Read more about "Chinook Blast: WP Puppet Theatre - A Puppet Pop Up"Nellie Befus has volunteered with Calgary Public Library for 44 consecutive years. At age 90, she holds the distinction of being the Library’s oldest volunteer, and one of the Library’s longest-serving volunteers.Her dedication to the Library was sparked on a warm fall day in 1974, when Nellie bumped into her brother-in-law on a downtown street. “How are things with you?” he asked.Nellie was feeling bored; with her four children now grown, she found herself with a lot of free time. Her brother-in-law had an idea. The oil and gas company where he worked had recently received a letter from the Library, recruiting volunteers for a new program.The program, called Homebound Readers, would see volunteers deliver Library items to people who could not visit the Library because of mobility or health concerns. Nellie was intrigued. She had never volunteered before, but something about the letter caught her eye.“I read the letter, then I marched right down to the Library,” she remembers. “I went straight up to the fifth floor and I went to somebody and I said, ‘I would like to be a volunteer.’”‘An Amazing Volunteer’Nearly a half-century later, Nellie continues to volunteer with Calgary Public Library.“Nellie is an amazing volunteer,” says Azmin Poonja, Manager, Volunteer Resources. “She is one of those volunteers that every organization dreams about. She is reliable, committed, and most importantly, she cares about people and has a passion for literacy. Nellie is a perfect fit for the Library, and her dedication to volunteering is exceptional.”Nellie, however, is quick to shrug off any praise. She’s matter-of-fact about why she has volunteered for decades: “There’s just something it does to you when you can do something for somebody else, you know?”Books by Bus and BicycleNellie started volunteering with the Homebound Readers program at its outset. She took city buses — and occasionally rode her bicycle — to deliver books to readers. She travelled across the city, between libraries and various residences. “These people needed reading, and they couldn’t get out,” she says. “Yes, some of the books were heavy, but I wasn’t an old lady then.”Along the way, Nellie, who had never been much of a reader, started to spend her bus rides reading.Nellie has warm memories of the people she befriended through Homebound Readers and the moments they shared: the stories eagerly told over tea, the “melt in your mouth” shortbread cookies she ate (and got the recipe for), the pet bird who could say “pretty Nellie.”Nellie continued to volunteer with the program into her 80s. When carrying books on the bus became challenging, she started helping with Libraries in Residence. Program volunteers display mini libraries of items, selected by Library staff, in seniors’ residences or continuing care facilities. ‘A Very Good Idea’Today, Nellie proudly runs the Library in Residence at the retirement home where she lives, helping fellow residents sign out books. She stays in close touch with Library staff, who deliver fresh titles to the residence every few months.“Nellie goes to great lengths to ensure that the program is running smoothly and to promote the program to new residents,” says Luke Gray, who oversees the Libraries in Residence program in his role with the Library’s Special Services department.“Nellie’s commitment to volunteering is unwavering. I really appreciate her no-nonsense demeanor, her genuine sense of humour, and her passion for literacy. Nellie sincerely recognizes the importance of the Library in the community.”In her seniors’ home and throughout Calgary Public Library, Nellie has become well-known for her optimistic attitude and cheerfulness. “Be nice. See what happens,” she says.Now a great-grandma, Nellie enjoys playing “silly games” on her iPad and working on jigsaw puzzles. She likes to read and lists Catherine Cookson and Mary Higgins Clark as her favourite authors.Looking back, Nellie says joining the Library as a volunteer in the ’70s was “a very good idea.” She plans to continue volunteering for as long as she can. And when she’s no longer able to get her own books, Nellie hopes there will be a Library volunteer to bring books to her.We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories ‘There’s Just Something Volunteering Does to You’ Our longest serving volunteer Nellie Befus has seen a lot over the course of her Library Story"For years, a gold framed photograph lay in a drawer in Central Library’s Local History workroom.The black and white photograph shows Chief and Artist Sitting Wind holding his painting, looking at his work with a proud yet reflective gaze. In the painting, people converge outside four teepees that stand tall beneath a mountain backdrop.Aside from the five-line caption, little is known about the piece and how Calgary Public Library came to hold it.“Bowness Public Library” and “1962” are mentioned in the caption. Bowness was a separate town in 1962, and the town’s library was not yet part of the Calgary Public Library system.The photograph’s journey from Bowness Library to Central Library’s Local History workroom is also vague. But it fell into the spotlight recently, as Local History Librarian Carolyn Ryder began examining the Library’s collection in preparation for the upcoming move to the new Central Library.“We’re looking at a handful of items in our collection that haven’t been processed; we don’t have provenance on them,” Ryder says. “We’re asking if we are the most appropriate place for these items.”Such questions have not always been asked — within libraries and other collections-based institutions.Inside museums, for example, many Indigenous collections contain artifacts that were gathered or confiscated in the late 1800s and early 1900s.Later, more efforts were made to deny Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing, including residential schools and the Sixties Scoop.In recent years, as Canadians have started to acknowledge this disastrous colonial past, the return of cultural property to Indigenous nations has become more common. Such repatriation is one step toward reconciliation.In the case of the Sitting Wind photograph at the Library, the piece’s journey home began in late 2017. Librarian Carolyn Ryder told Teneya Gwin, Indigenous Service Design Lead, about the item.Gwin reached out to Joanne Schmidt, Acting Curator of Indigenous Studies at the Glenbow Museum. Through a cultural organization, Schmidt connected with a friend of the late Sitting Wind who said she could deliver the photograph back to his family.“It’s gone home,” Gwin says. “I think this should be a very proud moment for the Library. Not all organizations realize the cultural significance of some of the items they have in their collection.”Sitting Wind, born Frank Morin on February 28,1925, was given the name Sitting Wind from a Medicine Man when he was a baby.When Sitting Wind’s mother died when he was four, his grandmother and step-grandfather adopted him (and renamed him Frank Kaquitts). He moved from the central Alberta community of Hobbema (now known as Maskwacis) to Morley, a reserve northwest of Calgary, where he later went to residential school. Born a Cree, he was raised a Stoney.Sitting Wind was a soldier, a boxer, a landscape artist who attended the Banff School of Fine Arts, and an actor, known for his role in the 1976 film Buffalo Bill and the Indians, or Sitting Bull’s History Lesson starring Paul Newman.He was also a politician, first elected to serve on the Bearspaw Band Council in 1957, then elected Chief in 1961. When the Stoney Nakoda people voted in favour of merging the Bearspaw, Chiniki, and Wesley First Nations in 1974, Sitting Wind was the first-ever grand Chief of the briefly united Stoney Tribe. Following the return to the three-band system, Sitting Wind served as Chief of the Chiniki Band.Sitting Wind died in 2002, at age 77. His friend — tasked with returning his photo to his family — remembers him as an informed leader, accomplished artist, and jovial human.While the Chief Sitting Wind photograph has gone home, the Library’s work in this area is not over. The Library has a headdress in its Local History collection, also with an unknown story.“The significance of a headdress is enormous,” Gwin says. “For the Library to have one, we need to honour it in an appropriate way or give it back to who it belongs to. We’re working on that.”For Joanne Schmidt, with the Glenbow Museum, helping people with the repatriation process is a growing part of her job. “More and more, I’m having people contact me and say they want to return something to its rightful place, to the community where it came from,” she says.Sometimes that homecoming is straightforward, like it was with the Chief Sitting Wind photo. The roots of other belongings can be harder to trace, such as the headdress the Library has. Returning sacred and ceremonial items can come with further challenges.But cultural property does not help museums, libraries, or individual collectors in the same way it helps the communities where it came from, Schmidt says.“If you can send it back to the community, they can learn new skills, they get a sense of cultural pride, a reconnection to their ancestors, a way to teach their youth,” she says. “All kinds of things can happen that will never come out of it sitting on a desk or hanging on a wall.”Read more about Chief Sitting Wind’s life in The Song and the Silence: Sitting Wind, an award-winning biography by Peter Jonker.
Read more about "Stories Reconciliation at the Library: A Photograph's Journey Home"Back in grade 3, Matthew Tse signed up for the Computer Buddies program through Calgary Public Library and the experience altered the course of his young life.“I remember when I was one of those small buddies, not knowing anything about computers,” says Matthew. “My big buddy taught me everything I wanted to know and more. It was probably one of the best things that had happened in those dreary elementary school days. And so, I like to share with all my 'little buddies' this awesome feeling that I had felt when I was their age.”Soon to start Grade 10 at Western Canada High School, Matthew has been volunteering with the library for three years in the Computer Buddies program.Along with his early positive foray into volunteer supported programs at the Library, his two older siblings spoke highly of their own experience as Library Volunteers. With his mom’s encouragement, Matthew filled out the Volunteer Application.“It’s fun. I meet new people, and I learn new things through coaching,” shares Matthew. “Kids are used to using iPhones, not computers, so it’s great to see their typing improve and to see them having fun learning.”With a love of math and science, Matthew feels that being able to volunteer in a program that matches his interests is more like an extension of his hobbies. While it can be a balancing act to make his schedule work, he believes that it’s not about finding time; it’s about planning ahead and enjoying what he does with every moment of his time.Matthew is not alone. Forty-five per cent of Library Volunteers are between the ages of 12-17. Together with their adult counterparts, they contribute 53,000+ volunteer hours annually and so much more. “I want to demonstrate values like love, patience, commitment, and determination. I show these by patiently coaching my little buddies, and helping them with any challenges they face."
Read more about "Stories Meet our Volunteers: Matthew Tse From little buddy to big buddy, Matthew has a long history with the Computer Buddies program"Helping your child learn from home? Check out these free resources for help guiding their studies. These online options for young children and teens can all be easily accessed from the comfort of your home.BrainfuseThis online tutoring resource is aligned with the Alberta curriculum for students in Grade 2 to Grade 12. Get expert online help with your homework from 2 pm to 11 pm daily. Support for adult learners is also available.SolaroUse this online resource to access course lessons, reviews, and practice tests for students in Grade 3 to 12. Prepare for tests and final exams in Math, Science, Social Studies, and English, through study guides and practice questions aligned to the Alberta curriculum.Study BuddyStudy Buddy is perfect for kids ages six and up. It allows students to find eBooks and articles by searching multiple digital resources at once, including OverDrive for Kids, World Book Kids, National Geographic Kids, Flipster, and Gale Virtual Reference Library. Study Buddy also offers premade searches on popular topics, like Alberta history or nature.TumbleBookLibraryTumbleBooks offers unlimited access to a collection of eBooks for young children, their parents, and teachers, including more than 250 animated, talking picture books, Spanish and French books, read-along chapter books, non-fiction books, and games.Plus Much MoreAre you an adult who wants to learn from home? Check out our Digital Library for free access to learning resources like LinkedIn Learning for Library, Gale Courses, Rosetta Stone, and Pronunciator. Use your free Calgary Public Library card to access all these resources, plus more like eBooks, audiobooks, magazines and newspapers online for free.
Read more about "Stories 8 Resources to Help Students Learn from Home"Additional Resources Canada History WWI resources, activities, articles, and more for the classroom, including information on Indigenous veterans. Educator’s Guide to Using Primary Sources This package from the Canadian Museum of History guides teachers and students through basic critical thinking concepts. Field of Crosses Each November, 3,500 crosses are placed in a park along Memorial Drive in Calgary, to remember the thousands of southern Albertans who fought in past wars. First World War Education Resources From lesson plans to articles to podcasts, a list of resources to remember World War I. Government of Canada Personnel records from the First World War database. The Great War Video Series From Canada's History, these videos explain key Canadian battles during the First World War. Heritage Explorers An elementary school framework for undertaking projects that explore local history. Historica Canada Video stories of our national history, including the Heritage Minutes. Historical Thinking Lesson plans for teaching historical content, available in a searchable database by grade and topic. How to Read Old Newspapers A teacher resource to support students in using newspapers for primary source research. Looking at Primary Sources on Archive Canada Printable worksheets for students that include how to look critically at artwork, artifacts, photographs, and sound recordings. Nationalism and Canadian Identity Sample Project This project by students at Jack James High School shows how your class could bring history to life with a similar assignment.
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