Letter: Medicine Hat Public Library fulfills many critical needs, and with good reason

By Letter to the Editor on December 20, 2023.

Dear Editor,

I read Linda Tooth’s recent column (Do you love to read? Nov. 29) about the library with great interest, particularly since she is a frequent and valued visitor and contributor to our library.

The COVID pandemic and other factors have changed what people need from public libraries. In ‘OVERDUE: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries,’ the Canadian Urban Institute highlights how the virus “threatened the capacity of individuals, families, neighbourhoods, businesses, government and community service providers to function,” and noted that the most marginalized and vulnerable were the most heavily impacted.

The report identifies supporting knowledge, culture, health, Indigenous reconciliation, downtown and neighbourhood revitalization, belonging and democracy as key roles that public libraries can and should play in a post-pandemic Canada.

The report calls for increased library funding, noting every dollar invested in public libraries brings a $6 economic and social return. The Medicine Hat Public Library fully supports this call and is immensely appreciative of our largest funder – The City of Medicine Hat – whose contributions help us to effectively respond to the changing needs of our community.

Our library serves as a community hub, providing equitable and convenient access to books, media, information and programs that help to educate, enrich, entertain and inform everyone in our community. We do this through our core values: equitable access and inclusion; freedom of information; lifelong learning; intellectual freedom; and connecting community.

Presently, youth and families are in particular need of support. That is why we built the Co-op Community Developmental Play Space for children and the Honeycomb House for teens, why we created a Youth Advocate position to deliver programs and support, and why Sunday is Family Day with fun programming, resources and drop-in activities. Safety is our absolute priority and we are taking a variety of actions to support everyone’s comfort, security and dignity.

Security guards and social workers make the library better for everyone. They are part of our response to our community’s challenges. Our guards monitor our building and enforce our code of conduct and they are specifically stationed to keep watch on areas where families and other visitors interact. Our social workers bring new expertise to traditional library services and help people who are already in the building improve their lives. Our social workers don’t attract problems, they solve problems.

The board and the management team at the library value open dialog with our community members and we are happy to address your questions and feedback. We ask the community to be appropriately tolerant of others, especially those who are struggling, while maintaining an expectation of safety and decorum.

Thank you to all our visitors who make our library a beautiful, complex, rewarding, human place.

Rebecca Harper

City of Medicine Hat

Library Board chair

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