As Calgary Public Library prepares for the opening of the new Central Library on November 1, we’re also saying goodbye to Central Library, our home for the past 55 years. Take a look at photos from our past and see how our beloved downtown Library has served a growing city for more than five decades. Plans for a new Central Library were in the works as early as 1954, amid a space crunch at Memorial Park Library. But after two failed plebiscites for a new library in the 1950s, the project stalled.In 1961, Mayor Harry Hays told Chief Librarian W.R. Castell that a downtown area across from city hall, slated for urban renewal, could include a new library. No plebiscite would be needed this time; the money would come from a surplus in land sales for new subdivisions. In February 1962, construction of a new downtown Library began on the site of a former service station. Central Library, in all its brutalist splendor, officially opened on June 15, 1963. Castell was thrilled. “Except for the day in January 1912 when the doors of the Library opened for the first time to the public, June 15, 1963, will be long remembered as the most important date in the history of the institution,” he said. The Library was designed by J.H. Cook and Associates, a Calgary architectural firm. Its monolithic look was typical of office buildings at the time. Inside, interior details included an orange, gold, and blue-green colour plan, teak bookshelves and catalogue cabinets, white formica tables, and blue and nutmeg carpeting.While opening day featured a speech by Lieutenant Governor Percy Page, not everyone got to hear it. Seventeen people got stuck in an elevator for 35 minutes. As Central patrons know well, elevator challenges have continued over the years. When it opened, Central Library had a children’s area in the basement, next to a newspaper reading room. The main floor housed a circulation desk and a carpeted reading lounge filled with comfortable seating, where smoking was permitted. The second floor, the reference department, offered the Library’s first-ever coin-operated Xerox photocopying machine for patrons. The third floor had music and film rooms, books on art, music, and theatre, and an art gallery operated by the Glenbow Foundation. The fourth floor was used for the storage of books and the fifth floor housed the ordering, cataloguing, and bookbinding departments. Finally, the sixth floor contained the administrative offices and a circular auditorium. In 1963, when Central Library opened, Calgary’s population was just over 275,000. Central Library had a full-time staff of 41, and Calgarians could borrow books free of charge. They used a transaction card system, filling in cards with their names and address to check out books. In the 1970s, as energy prices soared, Calgary became one of the fastest-growing cities in North America. It soon became apparent more room was needed at Central Library.In early 1971, a formal request went to the city for a much-needed extension, and construction started the following year. The six-storey addition to the north of Central Library opened in 1974. A second-floor theatre was added, and the Library was renamed the W.R. Castell Central Library. A metal sculpture was commissioned and added to what was then the front of the Library, a piece of public art by Robert Oldrich known as “Library Frieze.” Over the years, there’s been many renovations at Central Library. A dedicated Canadiana room opened on the main floor in 1967, Canada’s centennial year. In 1981, the fourth floor of Central Library’s north extension was opened to the public. With wider aisles and lower shelves, it was designed to be accessible to people with disabilities. In 1990, work started on major renovations, including an expanded second-floor children’s area, a secure room for the Local History collection, and a new main entrance at the southwest corner. In 1993, Central’s theatre was named in honour of John Dutton, the chief librarian from 1979 to 1991. In 2011, Central Library’s main floor was renovated to accommodate the new City Hall LRT platform. In 2013, a catastrophic June flood profoundly affected Alberta and Calgary, including Central Library’s lower level, where water seepage caused significant damage. In 2016, Central Library welcomed a big addition. A decommissioned fire truck was moved to the main floor. Engine 23 was retrofitted into a space for kids to play, read, learn, and listen to regular storytimes with firefighters. After 55 years in our current home, we can’t wait to welcome you to the new Central Library. Come visit starting November 1.Want to learn more? Read The Calgary Public Library: Inspiring Life Stories Since 1912 by Brian Brennan, explore the online Calgary Public Library Archives: Our Story in Pictures, and visit the Vintage Media Lab in the new Central Library.
Read more about "Stories Saying Goodbye to Central Library Photos Through the Years (1962 – 2018)"Houmou Guiro is no stranger to libraries. She has visited them since she was seven years old, checking out books every few weeks. But when Houmou moved from France to Canada two years ago, she discovered a library system much different than the one she was used to.There were books to read in Calgary’s libraries, plus so much more. Houmou joined an ESL Coffee and Conversation Club to practice her English, and later signed up for an ESL Writing Club. She improved her English skills and met friends at the programs, which helped her to feel more at home in a new city.“The Library in Calgary is very awesome,” Houmou says. “In Paris, you take your books and that’s it. Here, you have services for babies, for newcomers. If you want to open a business, you have services. It’s all free and open and you can take 99 books out.”Houmou credits a resumé development program she took at the Library with helping her get her first job in Canada, at a retail store downtown. “I had a French resumé, but it’s very different how you do it in Canada. So I learned how to do it and got help to improve my resumé,” she says.She now works for a not-profit organization called PIA, which offers services and programs to francophone immigrants and refugees in Calgary. In this role, Houmou tells other newcomers about available services in the city, including all they can do with a free Library card.“I tell them ‘You have to go to the Library! It’s very good. You can take out a lot of books and a lot of everything else too,’” she says.Houmou is also an avid reader, regularly checking out French and English titles. She blogs about the books she’s reading and her life in Canada. Lately she’s been reading a lot of books about entrepreneurship and marketing, as she works on launching her own business: a French tutoring service for kids.When Houmou had her first child, Demba, she took him to a weekly Baby Rhyme Time program. “I didn’t know any English songs, so it was very good for me to meet some parents, talk about our babies, and sing with them in English. It was so cool,” she says.She brings 19-month-old Demba to Louise Riley Library or the new Central Library every few weeks, just as her family used to take her to the Library in France. “We play, we take books out, we read. He likes turning the pages,” she says. “He really likes coming here. I like the Library so much too.”We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories 'It's all free and open and you can take 99 books out' Houmou Guiro's Library Story helped her feel more at home in a new city"The Library’s vibrant and quality programming for children is made possible with the help and the dedication of student volunteers. Their passion and support in mentoring younger students makes these programs come alive, leaving a lasting positive impact on both participants and volunteers. The Bright Futures Scholarship provides three scholarships, one valued at $3,500 and two valued at $1,000 each to young Library volunteers who are committed, enthusiastic, and takes initiative in their volunteer role. The scholarship is made possible by a gift from Barbara Killick, formerly a senior staff member at Calgary Public Library, and witness to the positive impact made by young volunteers on the lives of Calgarians. Meet the 2020 recipients of the Bright Futures Scholarship:Debadrita Chowdhury ($3,500 scholarship) Debadrita has been an enthusiastic volunteer in a variety of Library youth programs, including Reading Buddies and Make it Messy Art. She draws upon her volunteer experience at the Library to influence her work with students in the community. Inspired by the youth she mentored in Library programs, Debadrita started a poetry club for Grade 9 students at her school and helps them prepare for regional and national competitions. She is also a founding member of the Calgary Science Spelling Bee. After graduation, Debadrita plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.Keerthana Chockalingam ($1,000 scholarship) An active and engaged volunteer with the Library since 2016, Keerthana enjoys programs like Reading Buddies that help students develop their literacy and problem-solving skills. Her volunteer work at the Library inspires her to continually seek opportunities to engage with her community. She has volunteered with a variety of other local programs, including a summer camp for children with disabilities. Mentoring students in Library programs helped Keerthana discover a passion for working with children. She is now investigating a career path where she can combine her passion for health science and working in pediatrics.Risham Sharma ($1,000 scholarship) Risham has logged many volunteer hours with the Library and enjoys teaching technology to kids in programs like Coding Buddies. Volunteering with the Library motivated Risham to mentor students at her school in robotics and engineering programs, in addition to teaching coding to children fighting cancer at Alberta Children’s Hospital. Risham has been positively impacted by the relationships she formed in Library programs and enjoys seeing the outcomes of her coaching as students learn and grow. Risham is pursuing post-secondary study in Engineering. Congratulations to this year’s winners! Submissions for the 2021 Bright Futures Scholarship will open next spring.
Read more about "Stories"For many years, Glenna Cardinal traveled to her nearest Calgary Public Library to sign herself and her family up for their free Library memberships. Each year they came, they were told that they were not eligible for a free card, as they live outside of Calgary city limits on the Tsuut’ina Nation. Cardinal wrote letters of concern and contacted many people, but no changes were made.“At the time, free public library membership was still unavailable to Indigenous peoples living outside Calgary, unless they paid the non-resident fee, which was over a hundred dollars,” explains Mark Asberg, Calgary Public Library CEO. “This situation amounted to a fundamental institutional unfairness, in that Indigenous communities across Alberta have not had access to the free public library services available to others in almost all municipalities across the province.”Cardinal resigned herself to paying the non-resident fee in 2016, but when she went to purchase her Library membership, she was pleased to find the situation had changed. In 2016, the Government of Alberta provided libraries with funding to support free membership for Indigenous communities in their surrounding areas. When Cardinal heard about the initiative, she was keen to work with the Library to memorialize the journey to making this change, which took 104 years to implement – from 1912 to 2016.Cardinal approached the Library about working on a project to create Library cards that celebrated Indigenous women. The women featured on the cards are members of Glenna’s ancestry. These cards create a direct and tactile connection between Indigenous communities and the Library, and will inspire Library members from other communities to ask questions and learn more about Indigenous communities in Treaty 7.These new cards mark a more inclusive period of Library service in Calgary and point to an opportunity for us to work together on ensuring we all have access to life-enriching public library resources, services, and connections.Available at all Library locations as of December 4, 2019, these limited-edition Library cards are available to new and existing Library members. The cards feature photographs of Winnie Bull (nee Crowchild) and her baby daughter Elsie Bull (Jacobs), who are Glenna’s great grandmother and grandmother.Ask a staff member at your Library about switching your card to this new design at no cost.About the ArtistGlenna Cardinal grew up with one foot in the City of Calgary and the other on the Tsuut’ina Nation reserve. Her art practice is heavily influenced by the loss of her childhood home to the construction of the South West Calgary Ring Road. As a contemporary artist, she deconstructs the reserve reality that patriarchy and colonialism have created in her community. Cardinal’s work revives the matriarchal voices of her Tsuut’ina grandmothers.
Read more about "Stories Limited Edition Membership Card Now Available The cards feature Tsuut'ina artist Glenna Cardinal's family photos and her work promoting inclusion"The Library’s vibrant and quality programming for children is made possible with the help and the dedication of student volunteers. Their passion and support in mentoring younger students makes these programs come alive, leaving a lasting positive impact on both participants and volunteers. The Bright Futures Scholarship provides three scholarships, one valued at $3,500 and two valued at $1,000 each to young Library volunteers who are committed, enthusiastic, and takes initiative in their volunteer role. The scholarship is made possible by a gift from Barbara Killick, formerly a senior staff member at Calgary Public Library, and witness to the positive impact made by young volunteers on the lives of Calgarians. Meet the 2020 recipients of the Bright Futures Scholarship:Debadrita Chowdhury ($3,500 scholarship) Debadrita has been an enthusiastic volunteer in a variety of Library youth programs, including Reading Buddies and Make it Messy Art. She draws upon her volunteer experience at the Library to influence her work with students in the community. Inspired by the youth she mentored in Library programs, Debadrita started a poetry club for Grade 9 students at her school and helps them prepare for regional and national competitions. She is also a founding member of the Calgary Science Spelling Bee. After graduation, Debadrita plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.Keerthana Chockalingam ($1,000 scholarship) An active and engaged volunteer with the Library since 2016, Keerthana enjoys programs like Reading Buddies that help students develop their literacy and problem-solving skills. Her volunteer work at the Library inspires her to continually seek opportunities to engage with her community. She has volunteered with a variety of other local programs, including a summer camp for children with disabilities. Mentoring students in Library programs helped Keerthana discover a passion for working with children. She is now investigating a career path where she can combine her passion for health science and working in pediatrics.Risham Sharma ($1,000 scholarship) Risham has logged many volunteer hours with the Library and enjoys teaching technology to kids in programs like Coding Buddies. Volunteering with the Library motivated Risham to mentor students at her school in robotics and engineering programs, in addition to teaching coding to children fighting cancer at Alberta Children’s Hospital. Risham has been positively impacted by the relationships she formed in Library programs and enjoys seeing the outcomes of her coaching as students learn and grow. Risham is pursuing post-secondary study in Engineering. Congratulations to this year’s winners! Submissions for the 2021 Bright Futures Scholarship will open next spring.
Read more about "Stories"The Library’s vibrant and quality programming for children is made possible with the help and the dedication of student volunteers. Their passion and support in mentoring younger students makes these programs come alive, leaving a lasting positive impact on both participants and volunteers. The Bright Futures Scholarship provides three scholarships, one valued at $3,500 and two valued at $1,000 each to young Library volunteers who are committed, enthusiastic, and takes initiative in their volunteer role. The scholarship is made possible by a gift from Barbara Killick, formerly a senior staff member at Calgary Public Library, and witness to the positive impact made by young volunteers on the lives of Calgarians. Meet the 2020 recipients of the Bright Futures Scholarship:Debadrita Chowdhury ($3,500 scholarship) Debadrita has been an enthusiastic volunteer in a variety of Library youth programs, including Reading Buddies and Make it Messy Art. She draws upon her volunteer experience at the Library to influence her work with students in the community. Inspired by the youth she mentored in Library programs, Debadrita started a poetry club for Grade 9 students at her school and helps them prepare for regional and national competitions. She is also a founding member of the Calgary Science Spelling Bee. After graduation, Debadrita plans to pursue a Bachelor of Science in Psychology.Keerthana Chockalingam ($1,000 scholarship) An active and engaged volunteer with the Library since 2016, Keerthana enjoys programs like Reading Buddies that help students develop their literacy and problem-solving skills. Her volunteer work at the Library inspires her to continually seek opportunities to engage with her community. She has volunteered with a variety of other local programs, including a summer camp for children with disabilities. Mentoring students in Library programs helped Keerthana discover a passion for working with children. She is now investigating a career path where she can combine her passion for health science and working in pediatrics.Risham Sharma ($1,000 scholarship) Risham has logged many volunteer hours with the Library and enjoys teaching technology to kids in programs like Coding Buddies. Volunteering with the Library motivated Risham to mentor students at her school in robotics and engineering programs, in addition to teaching coding to children fighting cancer at Alberta Children’s Hospital. Risham has been positively impacted by the relationships she formed in Library programs and enjoys seeing the outcomes of her coaching as students learn and grow. Risham is pursuing post-secondary study in Engineering. Congratulations to this year’s winners! Submissions for the 2021 Bright Futures Scholarship will open next spring.
Read more about "Stories"The Moms’ Stairway in Central Library honours moms everywhere. Eveline Wheatley Goodall, the donor who named this special spot, shares the story behind the name.There was no library in the small Alberta town where I grew up — a fact that seems shocking to me now. What is even more shocking is that there was no library in the school. There was a room in the school called the library, but it held typewriters. This was post World War II, in a relatively affluent town.What I did have in those early years of my life was what my mother called the blanket cupboard. Located in our house on the landing of a stairwell, it was child-sized. I remember being lifted into it to retrieve some stored item too difficult for my mother to reach. It also contained books. Once I eagerly learned to read, it was a wellspring of stories. When I finished one book I would simply hand it to my mother and she would reach another from the blanket cupboard.What did I read? The Bobbsey Twins; all the Anne books by Lucy Maud Montgomery; Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series likely started me on my life of paying attention and figuring things out. There were many others with titles now forgotten. A travel book, by a writer who swam the Dardanelles and climbed the Matterhorn, most likely started me on my life as a traveller.When I was about ten and in Grade 4, a miracle happened. One of the service clubs in town started a library! Using a basement room in one of the medical clinics, they simply asked the townsfolk for any books they could donate. (No magazines and no Reader’s Digest condensed books.) The library, open Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, had one full wall of children’s books and three walls of adult books.Thursday night I was there: in the back door of the medical building, down steep stairs, a long hallway, a turn to the left, another long hallway, and in the door. The room was always full of people. Clearly, I was not the only one hungry for more books and the adventure and story and beauty of word they provided.The Moms’ Stairway in Central Library honours moms everywhere. Eveline Wheatley Goodall, the donor who named this special spot, shares the story behind the name.I have continued to love libraries and reading throughout my life. I adore fiction; my all-time favourite author is David Adams Richards. When I moved to Calgary and had my own children we regularly visited our local library, Louise Riley. Today, I borrow books and browse magazines at Nose Hill Library and attend Wordfest events at Memorial Park Library.When Calgary Public Library started work on Central Library and shared renderings, I was thrilled. I thought it was the most beautiful of buildings, the sort of architectural marvel I have longed for in Calgary. My husband and I were eager to support the new Library.As donors, the Library offered us a naming opportunity. I was instantly drawn to a wonderful stairway. This spot links the exciting and unique Jocelyn Louise Anderson Children’s Library and coffee shop, making it a logical place for moms. We chose the name “The Moms’ Stairway” to honour all of those good moms past, present, and future who encourage reading. And, of course, it is named for my Mom too, M. Oren Wheatley. After all, she was my first librarian, reaching into the blanket cupboard in the stairwell to share books.
Read more about "Stories Honouring All Moms The story behind a Central Library stairway"Library Donors Invest in Local History and Invite Calgarians to Do the Same MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 24, 2018Calgary, AB—Local history supporters and cultural philanthropists Walt and Irene DeBoni announced a $1 million gift to Calgary Public Library in support of the Library’s local history collection today."Walt and Irene are passionate advocates of Calgary’s history, and have supported the Library’s local history collection for a number of years," said Christine Gingerick, Donor Relations Manager at the Calgary Public Library Foundation. "As we enter Historic Calgary Week, we are delighted to share that the Library has chosen to honour the DeBoni’s with the naming of Calgary’s Story at the new Central Library."Calgary’s Story, presented by Walt and Irene DeBoni, brings Calgary’s and Southern Alberta’s history and heritage to life. Through collections, programs and a digital kiosk, visitors will be able to dive into some of the many stories from Calgary’s past, explore their family history and see photographs of what Calgary looked like at the turn of the century. The feature area will be located on the fourth level of the new Central Library, which Calgarians can explore when the new Central Library opens on November 1, 2018."The Library is a community resource accessible to all, and as history-lovers, it means so much to us to share our story within its newest location," says Walt DeBoni. "We want to invite Calgarians to share their stories by leaving their mark on the new Central Library as a part of the Windows of Opportunity Campaign."Calgarians can choose from three distinct levels of supporting the Library through the Windows of Opportunity Campaign; $100, $2,018 and $5,000. Each level offers different benefits, and all three include adding an inscription to a new Central Library window frame. All donations will support life-changing programs and services at libraries across Calgary. For more information, visit mylibrarywindow.ca.Walt and Irene DeBoni are Founding Partners of Add In — the Campaign for Calgary’s Library, a bold, audacious vision to take a great library system and transform it into the best in the world. The Calgary Public Library Foundation has surpassed $326 million of its $350 million goal for Add In.Calgary Public Library FoundationAdd In — the Campaign for Calgary’s Library, is the largest public campaign for a public library in Canadian history. The $350 million campaign will enhance and support a system of community libraries across Calgary and is inspired by the new Central Library, which will open its doors to the world in 2018. To learn more about Add In and the Calgary Public Library’s vision to create the best public library in the world for Calgarians, visit addin.ca.Calgary Public LibraryCalgary Public Library, with 630,000+ members and 20 locations, has been inspiring the life stories of Calgarians for more than 100 years. It is currently the second largest library system in Canada and the sixth largest municipal library system in North America, with Calgarians borrowing more than 14.6 million physical and digital items and with 6.8 million in-person visits last year. The awe-inspiring 240,000 sq. ft. Central Library — the newest gathering place for our city — opens in November 2018.–30 –Media Contacts:Rachael TernerManager of CommunicationsCalgary Public Library FoundationC: 403.680.0626rachael@addin.caMary KapustaDirector, CommunicationsCalgary Public LibraryP: 403.774.7256mary.kapusta@calgarylibrary.ca
Read more about "Stories"Norma High, a volunteer who joined the Library in 1974, is so passionate about bringing books to people who can not otherwise access them that she got her whole family involved in the cause.For nearly 44 years, Norma has volunteered with the Libraries in Residence program, delivering books to people in a continuing care facility. Norma, 85, is one of the Library’s longest-serving volunteers.“I have always had a love for books,” Norma said. She loves visiting and bringing books to residents at Carewest Glenmore Park, an Alberta Health Services facility in southwest Calgary. With her background in nursing, Norma is a perfect fit for delivering books to the hospital’s residents.“Volunteering is giving, giving back to the community, giving back because I can,” she said. “We want to put a little bit of sunshine into people’s lives.”Norma’s husband, Bob High, started volunteering with Libraries in Residence in 1985.“Besides delivering books, it was an opportunity to talk about local history and events with the residents,” said Bob, 88. He would sometimes go in place of Norma and went on to build his own relationships with the long-term care residents.“It gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Bob said.Hearing stories from residents and discussing books with them led Norma to share her experiences with her children, and later her grandchildren. Norma started to bring her son and daughter to volunteer with her when they were 13 and 11.During their days off from school and over summer break, Alan High and Glenna High Bagley started to love volunteering. Norma saw her children learn how to share, and in Glenna’s case, she came out of her shell.“I absolutely loved it,” Glenna said. She remembers being initially nervous around elderly people as a child, but she soon came to love delivering books and visiting with people. She said her son, Matthew, was as shy as she was when he started volunteering at the age of eight with his sister Taylor, age ten.“I am so proud of my children and grandchildren,” Norma said.Norma, who is called the “book lady” by hospital residents, found that residents rely on her book delivery every two weeks. One resident said books were more important than her bath, because books were what kept her at peace while in the hospital.Norma and Bob, who have lived in Calgary for 48 years, keep a private collection of every genre of book you can think of. They enjoy travelling and have visited many places in Canada and around the world. On their travels, they pick up books to add to their catalogued collection — the oldest one being from the 1850s.That extensive home library is popular with Norma’s children and grandchildren, who regularly borrow books from it. When they find a book they like and want to “inherit”, they mark it with their own coloured dot.Norma continues to share her love of reading with hospital residents, and plans to for as long as she can — “until I fall over, or until I can’t push the cart anymore,” she said.The High and Bagley families are leaving their three-generation legacy in another way, too. They are commemorating their love of reading and dedication to volunteering with two windows at the new Central Library.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 Give Back Because I Can’ Norma High delivers the joy of reading to others in her Library Story"After years of discrimination, threats, and violence because of their sexual orientation, Boban Stojanovic and his partner fled Serbia in October 2016 and claimed refugee protection in Canada. As they adjusted to life as newcomers in Calgary, they began to hear a common question.“Everyone kept saying ‘have you been to the library?’” says Boban, a prominent Serbian human rights activist and key organizer of the Belgrade Pride Parade. “We were like, ‘OK, but why?’ In our culture, you don’t often go to the library. It’s not such an important institution in the everyday lives of people.”At the time, the couple were anxiously awaiting a government hearing to determine if they would be granted refugee status in Canada. Boban describes that period in their lives as a stressful grey zone. “You are in some kind of limbo,” he says. “You can’t make any concrete plan because you don’t know what will happen with you.”Looking for something to take their minds off the looming hearing, the couple heeded the advice they’d repeatedly heard from insistent Calgarians: visit the library. The newcomers walked to nearby Nose Hill Library and asked about becoming members.Boban remembers nervously unfolding his refugee claimant document, the lone piece of identification he had. To his surprise, a Library employee politely handed the paper back and explained that just his full name and address were required for a free Library card.“In Serbia, everything is very bureaucratic,” Boban says. “Here, this institution is open.”‘I belong here’Boban's new plastic Library card felt significant. “This was the first official proof I belong here. I am part of this system. I have some roots in this country,” he says.The card also made him feel equal. “In that moment, I was like every other Calgarian,” he says. “They became a member the same way I became a member.”In awe of the fact one person could borrow 99 books, Boban began to explore books at Nose Hill Library. “Having the opportunity to find all those books was something that really gave me hope,” Boban says. “You must have something to occupy your mind.”As he waited for the upcoming hearing, Boban found a sense of sanctuary at Nose Hill Library. He’d read coffee table books about Scandinavian design and imagine how he would decorate his future home in Canada.Boban also borrowed autobiographies, feeling solace in the fact people he admired had also experienced ups and downs in their lives. “Reading all these books, I was more comfortable with my life,” he says. “Claiming for refugee status or waiting for the decision, it doesn’t mean something bad. Because all those people had … some very challenging periods in their lives.”An Open and Safe PlaceIn March 2017, Boban and his partner learned their claim for refugee status had been accepted. They could now apply for work permits, social insurance numbers, and to become permanent residents of Canada.Today, Boban's partner is improving his English through LINC classes, while Boban works at the Centre for Newcomers in a new role, as Settlement Practitioner for LGTBQ+ newcomers.“I am very lucky and happy and privileged to work there and to help people from my community who just came here,” he says, noting LGTBQ+ refugees face distinct challenges. Boban is grateful newcomers can turn to the Centre for Newcomers and Calgary Public Library, both open and safe places for all.Boban also worked a seasonal job at Pier 1 Imports, a position that drew on the interior design books he loves to peruse. He continues to regularly visit the Library; following a move downtown, he calls Central Library home.Boban now finds himself repeating to newcomers the line he once heard again and again: visit the library. “I never had that perception before that something called a library could be so important to my life,” he says. “Now I do.”We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories ‘The Library Gave Me Hope’ Boban Stojanovic’s Library Story made him feel at home as a newcomer to Canada"The Moms’ Stairway in Central Library honours moms everywhere. Eveline Wheatley Goodall, the donor who named this special spot, shares the story behind the name.There was no library in the small Alberta town where I grew up — a fact that seems shocking to me now. What is even more shocking is that there was no library in the school. There was a room in the school called the library, but it held typewriters. This was post World War II, in a relatively affluent town.What I did have in those early years of my life was what my mother called the blanket cupboard. Located in our house on the landing of a stairwell, it was child-sized. I remember being lifted into it to retrieve some stored item too difficult for my mother to reach. It also contained books. Once I eagerly learned to read, it was a wellspring of stories. When I finished one book I would simply hand it to my mother and she would reach another from the blanket cupboard.What did I read? The Bobbsey Twins; all the Anne books by Lucy Maud Montgomery; Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island and Kidnapped. The Hardy Boys and Nancy Drew series likely started me on my life of paying attention and figuring things out. There were many others with titles now forgotten. A travel book, by a writer who swam the Dardanelles and climbed the Matterhorn, most likely started me on my life as a traveller.When I was about ten and in Grade 4, a miracle happened. One of the service clubs in town started a library! Using a basement room in one of the medical clinics, they simply asked the townsfolk for any books they could donate. (No magazines and no Reader’s Digest condensed books.) The library, open Thursday nights and Sunday afternoons, had one full wall of children’s books and three walls of adult books.Thursday night I was there: in the back door of the medical building, down steep stairs, a long hallway, a turn to the left, another long hallway, and in the door. The room was always full of people. Clearly, I was not the only one hungry for more books and the adventure and story and beauty of word they provided.The Moms’ Stairway in Central Library honours moms everywhere. Eveline Wheatley Goodall, the donor who named this special spot, shares the story behind the name.I have continued to love libraries and reading throughout my life. I adore fiction; my all-time favourite author is David Adams Richards. When I moved to Calgary and had my own children we regularly visited our local library, Louise Riley. Today, I borrow books and browse magazines at Nose Hill Library and attend Wordfest events at Memorial Park Library.When Calgary Public Library started work on Central Library and shared renderings, I was thrilled. I thought it was the most beautiful of buildings, the sort of architectural marvel I have longed for in Calgary. My husband and I were eager to support the new Library.As donors, the Library offered us a naming opportunity. I was instantly drawn to a wonderful stairway. This spot links the exciting and unique Jocelyn Louise Anderson Children’s Library and coffee shop, making it a logical place for moms. We chose the name “The Moms’ Stairway” to honour all of those good moms past, present, and future who encourage reading. And, of course, it is named for my Mom too, M. Oren Wheatley. After all, she was my first librarian, reaching into the blanket cupboard in the stairwell to share books.
Read more about "Stories Honouring All Moms The story behind a Central Library stairway"Library Donors Invest in Local History and Invite Calgarians to Do the Same MEDIA RELEASEFOR IMMEDIATE RELEASEJuly 24, 2018Calgary, AB—Local history supporters and cultural philanthropists Walt and Irene DeBoni announced a $1 million gift to Calgary Public Library in support of the Library’s local history collection today."Walt and Irene are passionate advocates of Calgary’s history, and have supported the Library’s local history collection for a number of years," said Christine Gingerick, Donor Relations Manager at the Calgary Public Library Foundation. "As we enter Historic Calgary Week, we are delighted to share that the Library has chosen to honour the DeBoni’s with the naming of Calgary’s Story at the new Central Library."Calgary’s Story, presented by Walt and Irene DeBoni, brings Calgary’s and Southern Alberta’s history and heritage to life. Through collections, programs and a digital kiosk, visitors will be able to dive into some of the many stories from Calgary’s past, explore their family history and see photographs of what Calgary looked like at the turn of the century. The feature area will be located on the fourth level of the new Central Library, which Calgarians can explore when the new Central Library opens on November 1, 2018."The Library is a community resource accessible to all, and as history-lovers, it means so much to us to share our story within its newest location," says Walt DeBoni. "We want to invite Calgarians to share their stories by leaving their mark on the new Central Library as a part of the Windows of Opportunity Campaign."Calgarians can choose from three distinct levels of supporting the Library through the Windows of Opportunity Campaign; $100, $2,018 and $5,000. Each level offers different benefits, and all three include adding an inscription to a new Central Library window frame. All donations will support life-changing programs and services at libraries across Calgary. For more information, visit mylibrarywindow.ca.Walt and Irene DeBoni are Founding Partners of Add In — the Campaign for Calgary’s Library, a bold, audacious vision to take a great library system and transform it into the best in the world. The Calgary Public Library Foundation has surpassed $326 million of its $350 million goal for Add In.Calgary Public Library FoundationAdd In — the Campaign for Calgary’s Library, is the largest public campaign for a public library in Canadian history. The $350 million campaign will enhance and support a system of community libraries across Calgary and is inspired by the new Central Library, which will open its doors to the world in 2018. To learn more about Add In and the Calgary Public Library’s vision to create the best public library in the world for Calgarians, visit addin.ca.Calgary Public LibraryCalgary Public Library, with 630,000+ members and 20 locations, has been inspiring the life stories of Calgarians for more than 100 years. It is currently the second largest library system in Canada and the sixth largest municipal library system in North America, with Calgarians borrowing more than 14.6 million physical and digital items and with 6.8 million in-person visits last year. The awe-inspiring 240,000 sq. ft. Central Library — the newest gathering place for our city — opens in November 2018.–30 –Media Contacts:Rachael TernerManager of CommunicationsCalgary Public Library FoundationC: 403.680.0626rachael@addin.caMary KapustaDirector, CommunicationsCalgary Public LibraryP: 403.774.7256mary.kapusta@calgarylibrary.ca
Read more about "Stories"Norma High, a volunteer who joined the Library in 1974, is so passionate about bringing books to people who can not otherwise access them that she got her whole family involved in the cause.For nearly 44 years, Norma has volunteered with the Libraries in Residence program, delivering books to people in a continuing care facility. Norma, 85, is one of the Library’s longest-serving volunteers.“I have always had a love for books,” Norma said. She loves visiting and bringing books to residents at Carewest Glenmore Park, an Alberta Health Services facility in southwest Calgary. With her background in nursing, Norma is a perfect fit for delivering books to the hospital’s residents.“Volunteering is giving, giving back to the community, giving back because I can,” she said. “We want to put a little bit of sunshine into people’s lives.”Norma’s husband, Bob High, started volunteering with Libraries in Residence in 1985.“Besides delivering books, it was an opportunity to talk about local history and events with the residents,” said Bob, 88. He would sometimes go in place of Norma and went on to build his own relationships with the long-term care residents.“It gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Bob said.Hearing stories from residents and discussing books with them led Norma to share her experiences with her children, and later her grandchildren. Norma started to bring her son and daughter to volunteer with her when they were 13 and 11.During their days off from school and over summer break, Alan High and Glenna High Bagley started to love volunteering. Norma saw her children learn how to share, and in Glenna’s case, she came out of her shell.“I absolutely loved it,” Glenna said. She remembers being initially nervous around elderly people as a child, but she soon came to love delivering books and visiting with people. She said her son, Matthew, was as shy as she was when he started volunteering at the age of eight with his sister Taylor, age ten.“I am so proud of my children and grandchildren,” Norma said.Norma, who is called the “book lady” by hospital residents, found that residents rely on her book delivery every two weeks. One resident said books were more important than her bath, because books were what kept her at peace while in the hospital.Norma and Bob, who have lived in Calgary for 48 years, keep a private collection of every genre of book you can think of. They enjoy travelling and have visited many places in Canada and around the world. On their travels, they pick up books to add to their catalogued collection — the oldest one being from the 1850s.That extensive home library is popular with Norma’s children and grandchildren, who regularly borrow books from it. When they find a book they like and want to “inherit”, they mark it with their own coloured dot.Norma continues to share her love of reading with hospital residents, and plans to for as long as she can — “until I fall over, or until I can’t push the cart anymore,” she said.The High and Bagley families are leaving their three-generation legacy in another way, too. They are commemorating their love of reading and dedication to volunteering with two windows at the new Central Library.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 Give Back Because I Can’ Norma High delivers the joy of reading to others in her Library Story"After years of discrimination, threats, and violence because of their sexual orientation, Boban Stojanovic and his partner fled Serbia in October 2016 and claimed refugee protection in Canada. As they adjusted to life as newcomers in Calgary, they began to hear a common question.“Everyone kept saying ‘have you been to the library?’” says Boban, a prominent Serbian human rights activist and key organizer of the Belgrade Pride Parade. “We were like, ‘OK, but why?’ In our culture, you don’t often go to the library. It’s not such an important institution in the everyday lives of people.”At the time, the couple were anxiously awaiting a government hearing to determine if they would be granted refugee status in Canada. Boban describes that period in their lives as a stressful grey zone. “You are in some kind of limbo,” he says. “You can’t make any concrete plan because you don’t know what will happen with you.”Looking for something to take their minds off the looming hearing, the couple heeded the advice they’d repeatedly heard from insistent Calgarians: visit the library. The newcomers walked to nearby Nose Hill Library and asked about becoming members.Boban remembers nervously unfolding his refugee claimant document, the lone piece of identification he had. To his surprise, a Library employee politely handed the paper back and explained that just his full name and address were required for a free Library card.“In Serbia, everything is very bureaucratic,” Boban says. “Here, this institution is open.”‘I belong here’Boban's new plastic Library card felt significant. “This was the first official proof I belong here. I am part of this system. I have some roots in this country,” he says.The card also made him feel equal. “In that moment, I was like every other Calgarian,” he says. “They became a member the same way I became a member.”In awe of the fact one person could borrow 99 books, Boban began to explore books at Nose Hill Library. “Having the opportunity to find all those books was something that really gave me hope,” Boban says. “You must have something to occupy your mind.”As he waited for the upcoming hearing, Boban found a sense of sanctuary at Nose Hill Library. He’d read coffee table books about Scandinavian design and imagine how he would decorate his future home in Canada.Boban also borrowed autobiographies, feeling solace in the fact people he admired had also experienced ups and downs in their lives. “Reading all these books, I was more comfortable with my life,” he says. “Claiming for refugee status or waiting for the decision, it doesn’t mean something bad. Because all those people had … some very challenging periods in their lives.”An Open and Safe PlaceIn March 2017, Boban and his partner learned their claim for refugee status had been accepted. They could now apply for work permits, social insurance numbers, and to become permanent residents of Canada.Today, Boban's partner is improving his English through LINC classes, while Boban works at the Centre for Newcomers in a new role, as Settlement Practitioner for LGTBQ+ newcomers.“I am very lucky and happy and privileged to work there and to help people from my community who just came here,” he says, noting LGTBQ+ refugees face distinct challenges. Boban is grateful newcomers can turn to the Centre for Newcomers and Calgary Public Library, both open and safe places for all.Boban also worked a seasonal job at Pier 1 Imports, a position that drew on the interior design books he loves to peruse. He continues to regularly visit the Library; following a move downtown, he calls Central Library home.Boban now finds himself repeating to newcomers the line he once heard again and again: visit the library. “I never had that perception before that something called a library could be so important to my life,” he says. “Now I do.”We want to know how the Library has made a difference in your life. Submit your own Library Story online.
Read more about "Stories ‘The Library Gave Me Hope’ Boban Stojanovic’s Library Story made him feel at home as a newcomer to Canada"Norma High, a volunteer who joined the Library in 1974, is so passionate about bringing books to people who can not otherwise access them that she got her whole family involved in the cause.For nearly 44 years, Norma has volunteered with the Libraries in Residence program, delivering books to people in a continuing care facility. Norma, 85, is one of the Library’s longest-serving volunteers.“I have always had a love for books,” Norma said. She loves visiting and bringing books to residents at Carewest Glenmore Park, an Alberta Health Services facility in southwest Calgary. With her background in nursing, Norma is a perfect fit for delivering books to the hospital’s residents.“Volunteering is giving, giving back to the community, giving back because I can,” she said. “We want to put a little bit of sunshine into people’s lives.”Norma’s husband, Bob High, started volunteering with Libraries in Residence in 1985.“Besides delivering books, it was an opportunity to talk about local history and events with the residents,” said Bob, 88. He would sometimes go in place of Norma and went on to build his own relationships with the long-term care residents.“It gives you a lot of satisfaction,” Bob said.Hearing stories from residents and discussing books with them led Norma to share her experiences with her children, and later her grandchildren. Norma started to bring her son and daughter to volunteer with her when they were 13 and 11.During their days off from school and over summer break, Alan High and Glenna High Bagley started to love volunteering. Norma saw her children learn how to share, and in Glenna’s case, she came out of her shell.“I absolutely loved it,” Glenna said. She remembers being initially nervous around elderly people as a child, but she soon came to love delivering books and visiting with people. She said her son, Matthew, was as shy as she was when he started volunteering at the age of eight with his sister Taylor, age ten.“I am so proud of my children and grandchildren,” Norma said.Norma, who is called the “book lady” by hospital residents, found that residents rely on her book delivery every two weeks. One resident said books were more important than her bath, because books were what kept her at peace while in the hospital.Norma and Bob, who have lived in Calgary for 48 years, keep a private collection of every genre of book you can think of. They enjoy travelling and have visited many places in Canada and around the world. On their travels, they pick up books to add to their catalogued collection — the oldest one being from the 1850s.That extensive home library is popular with Norma’s children and grandchildren, who regularly borrow books from it. When they find a book they like and want to “inherit”, they mark it with their own coloured dot.Norma continues to share her love of reading with hospital residents, and plans to for as long as she can — “until I fall over, or until I can’t push the cart anymore,” she said.The High and Bagley families are leaving their three-generation legacy in another way, too. They are commemorating their love of reading and dedication to volunteering with two windows at the new Central Library.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 Give Back Because I Can’ Norma High delivers the joy of reading to others in her Library Story"