Despite funding challenges, 2019 brought positive changes to the Chestermere Public Library by adding new programs and modifying the layout of the library.
“We had challenges, but it was a good year,” said the Chestermere Public Library Acting Director Cathy Burness.
In 2019, the Chestermere Public Library offered programs and activities including Oh Snap, Bug Me, Plant Exchange, Baby Rhyme and Story Time, photo opportunities, and online True Crime book club.
Throughout the year, the Chestermere Public Library worked in partnership with the Chestermere Fine Art Guild to promote local artists.
Each month a different artist was featured, had their artwork displayed around the library, and occasionally had a meet and greet.
Along with adding new programs, the Chestermere Public Library has also undergone a complete reorganization.
“We’ve weeded through the books that were either quite old or that haven’t been circulating, to make room for the newer books, and so people can see the newer books easily,” Burness said.
“We had a major cleanup where the shelves and the books have been wiped clean. We do wipe the books clean every time we check them in, but the ones that haven’t circulated haven’t been wiped because they are sitting there,” Burness said.
The team at the library were able to clear most of the books from the bottom shelves, because they were either old, not circulating, or damaged.
“It’s quite different in here, and we’ve had a lot of people notice it,” Burness said.
Although the Chestermere Public Library continued to offer programs and activities for residents of all ages to get involved with, funding was the most significant challenge throughout the year.
“The province held back 50 per cent of the funding for libraries, and we weren’t sure whether or not we were going to receive that, turns out we did,” Burness said.
“In anticipation of that, and also trying to best utilize the staffing hours, because staffing is our main cost, we actually closed an hour earlier during the evenings, and opened an hour later on Saturdays,” Burness said.
“When the decision was made that we would get the 50 per cent funding, it was time to present to the municipality to see what we could get for city funding, we had asked for an increase, but unfortunately, we were denied,” she added.
The Chestermere Public Library has received the same amount of funding for three years. However, the allotted funding is not enough to run the library at the current service level.
Beginning Feb. 1, the Chestermere Public Library will be closed on Sunday and closed at 5 p.m. Monday evenings.
“We’re hoping that’s enough of savings. We’ve looked at all efficiencies, any place we can save right down to sending overdue notices by email instead of by mail to save on the stamp,” Burness said.
“We’re hoping it’s well received by our patrons and our residents, but we’ve really left no other choice,” Burness added. “We get a lot of love. We really do, we have an amazing group of women here, that’s what makes people come in.”
Despite the funding challenges, having the opportunity to offer special events, including Harry Potter Book Night, Canada Day, and Belle’s Tea, makes the hard work worth it for Burness.
“When you have people bringing you coffee and telling you your staff is awesome, or when you have happy little princesses and prices drinking tea with Belle, you can’t buy that,” Burness said.
“For me, those are the highlights to hear how wonderful the staff is, how we are doing exactly what we need to be doing,” she said.
“We did the Amazing Race that was really fun. Racers had to dress up like disco queen’s and do a dance, and they had a blast, I know we had a blast,” she added. “Performing Mama Mia to a sold-out crowd, that’s the most fun I’ve ever had.”
Moving forward, Burness has goals of accessing levels of service to find out what’s the most important to residents and concentrate on what they need the most, ensure staff is happy, staff feels appreciated, their working conditions are good, and take advantage of training opportunities.
Burness also wants to pursue any additional grants that are available, and work on self-promotion, so funders know what the Chestermere Public Library contributes to the community.
For additional information on programs and services offered and upcoming events, please visit the Chestermere Public Library website at https://www.chestermerepubliclibrary.com/.
