Friends of the Regina Public Library

Celebrate Saskatchewan Library Week

Saskatchewan Library Association – poster and book contest winners http://saskla.ca/programs/slw

Saskatchewan Library Trustees Association announcment http://slta.ca/news-events/item/?n=13

Regina Public Library events http://www.reginalibrary.ca/blogs/media/blogs/press/Oct10_Library_Week.pdf

For Immediate Release, October 10, 2012, “Celebrate Saskatchewan Library Week at RPL”

Regina Public Library is celebrating Saskatchewan Library Week, October 15-21, with special programs and prize draws for patrons at all locations.

Each RPL location is offering a prize draw for a great gift basket containing RPL merchandize and a book by a Saskatchewan author. Each entry will also go into the draw bin for a system-wide prize of an eReader.

In honour of Library Week, RPL is pleased to host a reading by Reginan Melanie Schnell, author of While the Sun is Above Us, which tells the story of two women, one Canadian and one South Sudanese, embroiled in Sudan’s Civil War. Ms. Schnell will talk about her visits to Sudan in 2003 and 2005; why she wrote the book; how she translated her experiences into fiction; and the role pop culture can play in fostering public awareness of issues like human trafficking.

The reading will be held at the RPL Film Theatre on Monday, October 15 from 7:00-8:00 pm. Refreshments will be served. To register, visit ReginaLibrary.ca or call 777-6120.

RPL is also hosting the inaugural book launch of Regina-based Wild Sage Press on Wednesday, October 17. The evening will feature author readings of selected poems from How to Be a River by Brenda Niskala and Watermarks by Laura Burkart. These exquisite limited editions are hand bound, numbered and signed. They showcase poetry that is powerful, provocative and engaging. Registration is not required for the launch, which is being held at Connaught Branch from 7:30-8:30 pm.

Regina Public Library (RPL) is a non-profit, Board-run organization dedicated to enriching quality of life in Regina. For over 100 years, RPL has provided open access to materials, programs and services that encourage cultural, economic, educational and recreational development. RPL currently operates Central Library in downtown Regina, as well as eight Branch locations throughout the city, all of which play a key role in supporting the diverse cultures in our community.

For more information please contact: Tony Playter, Manager of Marketing & Communications, Regina Public Library, Phone: 306.777.6015

Leader Post article http://www.leaderpost.com/literacy/raiseareader/Celebrating+library+week+saskatchewan/7389930/story.html

“Celebrating library week in saskatchewan”,  Ministry of Education October 15, 2012

Libraries play a significant role in the knowledge economy and community development, especially in the current information age, where education and lifelong learning require quality information resources and services available to every citizen. The theme chosen for this year’s Saskatchewan Library Week is Celebrating Our Past, Imagining Our Future.

Saskatchewan libraries have a long history of working together across institutional boundaries to share resources and/or services in order to provide access to more resources than they could afford individually. The Multitype Library Board, a minister’s advisory board, facilitates this cooperation among various types of libraries (public, school, post-secondary and special). The different types of libraries support people’s information needs for personal development, lifelong learning and recreation regardless of age, geographical location, income, education level or physical ability.

There are 515,000 registered public library borrowers in Saskatchewan and circulation was over 8 million items last year. Public libraries create and maintain local historical records, host after school programs, provide pre-school programs, family literacy programs and various supports for new immigrants (learning English, locating government services and job search assistance).

All Saskatchewan residents have access to nearly 13,000 full-text online journals, magazines, newspapers and encyclopaedias through the Multitype Database Licensing Program, a purchasing consortium including all public libraries, K to 12 schools (including First Nation schools) and a number of post-secondary and special library partners. It provides equitable access to authoritative information resources at home, at school, on the road or at work.

The Ministry of Education has made significant investments in increasing digitized access to documentary collections of historical and cultural significance to the people of Saskatchewan. To further this goal, the Multitype Library Board created a working group called the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance (SDA), to stimulate collaboration and partnerships between libraries, archives, museums and other heritage institutions.

As part of the Saskatchewan Multitype Digitization Initiative, cultural documents, artefacts, historical records, and First Nations and Métis materials are being captured in digital form and housed on a central, searchable website for the benefit of students, researchers, as well as local, national and international library users. This project is made possible through funding from the Government of Saskatchewan and a partnership between the University Library at the University of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Digital Alliance.

As part of Saskatchewan Library Week and Education Week celebrations, the University Library at the U of S will host a special event on Oct. 16 to showcase a new online portal that provides digital access to a breadth of Saskatchewan’s cultural resources and materials.

The event will begin at 9 a.m. with a short presentation followed by a reception in the second floor ‘Link’ exhibition space in the Murray Library on the U of S campus. No RSVP is required. For more information, please call (306) 966-5927.

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