This year is going to be exciting for the library. Our Co-op Developmental Play Space is opening Feb. 1. The space is not visible yet, although lots of adults and kids have been observed trying to peek through the paper on the windows. I’ll tell you what is happening in there: The playground flooring is installed, the main play structure is assembled (and it is awesome), and most of the other furniture and equipment has arrived.
We expect a lot of visitors on Feb. 1 so we will have a variety of activities for kids and caregivers. We know parking is a challenge but remember that the Esplanade outdoor parking lot across the street is free on weekends. If you want to skip the crowd, we’ll have most everything available the next day. Our neighbours River Dental and BrokerLink Insurance have kindly offered their parking lots to library clients on Sundays, so that’s another parking option.
2020 will be a planning year for the library with a new Plan of Service due. We did lots of outreach and asked many questions last year to understand where the community is and what it wants. We are not done analyzing the data but some broad themes have emerged. Access is a concern – not just our lack of parking but also the various other challenges that make it hard to use the library. Hatters are very engaged with the programs we offer and gave plenty of input into what they want in that department. Finally, there is a lot of interest in the library as a community space, hosting meetings and otherwise bringing people together.
The board has just started to plan but already some things are clear. We can’t just up and move or build a new parking lot but we are working on ideas that might help with access. Our recent successes at applying for grants and the generous donations we receive without even asking shows that fundraising can augment our traditional funding. And, as we expand popular services and begin doing new things with the same amount of money and staff, we need to be realistic and consider what less popular services we can shrink.
One last challenge I want to face head on in 2019 is the library’s social environment. We are expecting lots of families in the new Play Space and I want them to feel safe and comfortable. Everyone is welcome in our facility but we do have behavioural expectations as outlined in our patron conduct policy. We are working with other agencies and looking at some tactics and technologies that will help ensure that the library is the safe, serene environment that Medicine Hat deserves.
Ken Feser is chief librarian at the Medicine Hat Public Library.
