The 'Build a Book Bag' service is no longer available. You can find books and other Library materials by searching the catalogue. Ebooks and audiobooks are also available through the Libby app.
As a little kid in the 1980s, I had assumed public libraries only existed on television — that they were part of a dream world that was totally unattainable in my own life as a child of Chinese immigrants. But when I was eight-years-old, a friend’s mother suggested we go get some books at the Library. In Calgary? Really? We had more than just school libraries here?Roaming among shelf after shelf of books, I was hooked. I memorized the location of the Thorncliffe Library (now called Judith Umbach Library) and asked my mother to bring me back for my own Library card the following week. For a shy bookish girl, it was a dream come true.I read almost everything, but my favourite books were by Beverly Cleary, Roald Dahl, and Judy Blume. As I got older I enjoyed reading The Baby-Sitters Club, Sweet Valley High, and other series. It was a treat to find them at the Library, since $3.95 for a book was pretty much an impossible sum of money to me as a kid.Now as a mother of three, I have become a regular Library user again. At first, I signed up for a card so I could attend a baby class at Country Hills Library with my eldest, but then I got the Library app on my phone and everything changed.It’s so easy to put books on hold through the app, and it has revitalized my reading. Last year I read 64 books, and most of those books were from the Library. I bring my kids to Country Hills Library at least every other week — sometimes more! — and they love to pick out all sorts of reading material. We take out about 20 books at a time. My girls, ages eight and seven, are big readers, and my three-year-old also loves to be read to. The Library has always represented limitless possibility to me — so many books waiting to be read — and all that reading has inspired me to write my own book manuscript, a graphic memoir on postpartum depression. While working on the book, I borrowed a lot of graphic novels and memoirs from the Library so I could get a good sense of other books in the genre. And I just want to say that whoever is responsible for acquiring graphic novels for the Library is doing an excellent job. The Library has been an invaluable resource for me both personally and professionally.Follow Teresa and view her drawings on Instagram at @by_teresawong.We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories "I Read Almost Everything" Discovering the Library was a dream come true in Teresa Wong's Library Story"Giselle brings companionship and books to homebound readers
Read more about "Meet our Volunteers: Giselle Wong"Twelve 2SLGBTQIA+ books to read
Read more about "Read With Pride"Books to support teachers and parents as they help their kids navigate the digital world.
Read more about "Media Literacy: Read About It"From fun rhymes to words that inspire wonder, these books are a great way to celebrate National Poetry Month with school age kids.
Read more about "Pass Me a Poem!"Read and listen to picture books in 65+ languages, including English, French, Spanish, Ukrainian, Punjabi, Tagalog, Arabic, German, and Russian.
Read more about "LOTE4Kids"Manage your contact details, access your print balance, book rooms, register for programs, and submit suggestions for titles to add to the catalogue.
Read more about "My Account"Find book recommendations, tips for hosting, discussion questions to get you started, and more from the American Library Association.
Read more about "ALA Resource Guide"Indigenous stories from Treaty 7 authors Indigenous languages have long been underrepresented in literature — especially in children's books. This collection of Treaty 7 Language Books were written by authors from or with a connection to the Treaty 7 land on which Calgary is located. In this series, hear the authors of the books perform their stories. Stream it now on YouTube
Read more about "Indigenous stories from Treaty 7 authors"Books for teens by Canadian authors
Read more about "Great Write North"Inspiring books that move beyond the stigmas and stereotypes around getting older.
Read more about "Aging, Longevity, and Health"Discover the magic of reading at your library with our handpicked book list for kids.
Read more about "Kids, Love Your Library!"Books for gay, straight, cis, trans, queer and questioning youth.
Read more about "Teen Pride"For our littlest readers, going to school for the first time is a huge adventure. Help them feel prepared with these titles, inspired by our Kindergarten Book Bags.
Read more about "Let's Go to Kindergarten"You can keep books, magazines, CDs, and audiobooks for three weeks, and DVDs and Blu-rays for one week.
Read more about "Library loans for three weeks."