Grand Forks & District Public Library closed - Grand Forks, BC
Posted by: Groundspeak Premium Member T0SHEA
N 49° 01.934 W 118° 26.447
11U E 394687 N 5432038
Grand Forks & District Public Library is located at 7342 5th Street in the downtown area, just south of Gyro Park, the only downtown park in town.
Waymark Code: WM14BPP
Location: British Columbia, Canada
Date Posted: 06/06/2021
Published By:Groundspeak Premium Member saopaulo1
Views: 0
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After moving about the downtown area for many years, even occupying space in city hall for awhile, the library finally landed in this building, built specifically for the library, opening in 1983.

Regular library services to Grand Forks residents began in 1946. Before that time very limited service was available. In 1920 some 350 books were housed in the City office on the second floor of the old fire hall. In the 1930's Miss Henslaw set up a private lending library.

In 1945, Ray Orser organized meetings and made a survey of the district as to the desirability of public library service. The result of his work was the Certificate of Incorporation of the Grand Forks Library Association from the Registrar of Companies on May 7, 1946, with Reg Heaven as the first chairman. Pat Gasston now serves as the present chairperson.
"1946. Ray Orser was chief librarian. This was a rather optimistic title when one considers there were no books, no money with which to purchase books and no place to put them if they had any books."
A crowded room in the old post office served as the first library with Marjorie Reynolds as the librarian, a volunteer position she held for 17 years.

The library continued to grow and, in 1964, a new library was opened in the museum building (now the Chamber of Commerce office). It was not too long before the library outgrew these premises.

The concerted efforts of the library board and the Friends of the Library, resulted in a modern 6000 square foot library at a cost of $515,000, of which $392,500 came from the Slag Fund, a heritage from our pioneers.
From the book Grand Forks - The First 100 Years

As the following news item attests, not even my hometown library was immune to the ravages of our most recent pandemic. Closing its doors on March 17, 2020, the library remained closed for some months.

Grand Forks & District Public Library closed
The library announced March 17 that its doors will be shut, effective immediately, amid COVID-19

Grand Forks Gazette Staff | Mar. 17, 2020

Though it shut its doors to the public on March 17, the Grand Forks & District Public Library isn’t about to let its patrons’ reading lists lapse. On Wednesday, the library announced free access to e-books, audiobooks and math tutoring lessons offered through TumbleBooks.

TumbleBooks offers reading for children, TeenBookCloud has options for adolescents, while RomanceBookCloud and AudioBookCloud offer adult-oriented reading and listening. Passwords are required to access AudioBookCloud, RomanceBookCloud and TumbleMath (an online math education resource), and are available on the Grand Forks library’s website. Using the links above in this story, or directly through the library’s website also automatically grants users access to the TumbleBooks resources.

The Grand Forks & District Public Library closed its doors to public on March 17 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The closure, effective immediately and until further notice, is “based on the direction and recommendation of the public health officials, and out of care and concern for the public, our patrons, and our staff,” a statement from the library reads.

While book drop-off is available for patrons through the closure, the library said people should be in no rush to finish their checked-out items.

“We would like to remind everyone that we do not have late fees on any of our materials, and do encourage you to hang on to the items you have out while we are closed,” the statement continues. Online resources will also continue to be available remotely, accessible by using a library card through their website.

The library’s statement said that the staff and board will continue to adjust practices as the pandemic evolves, working with health officials to make decisions.
From the Grand Forks Gazette
Type of publication: Newspaper

When was the article reported?: 02/17/2020

Publication: Grand Forks Gazette

Article Url: [Web Link]

Is Registration Required?: no

How widespread was the article reported?: regional

News Category: Entertainment
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