ON THE PAGE: Preparing for a busy fall at the library

By Liza Morris/Special to The News

Fraser Valley Regional Library is gearing up for a busy fall season, with extended hours and lots of in-person services and virtual programs available to library customers.

Effective Sept. 13 the library system has extended hours.

Maple Ridge and Pitt Meadows public libraries are now open until 8 p.m., Mondays through Thursdays. This allows greater access to the physical library for customers who work during the week and students looking for a place to meet and study on weekday evenings.

We also continue to be open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and from 1 to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

During the past two years, FVRL has played a vital role assisting customers in a variety of new and unexpected ways.

Currently many people are coming to the library for staff assistance to print or download BC Vaccine Cards to their mobile device. Demand for assistance has been through the roof since the card requirement came in to effect on Sept. 13. Please note that the BC Vaccine Card is not required to enter the library.

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Fraser Valley Regional Library is also in the process of conducting a community survey.

The purpose of the survey is to help the library better understand the needs of our customers. The survey runs until Oct. 15. It is accessible online at www.fvrl.bc.ca or stop any FVRL location for a paper copy.

With so much going on, it is great to see people in the library to browse our extensive collections, ask for staff help to access services or answer a reference question, use public computers and library wifi, and meet with friends or family – all while adhering to the current provincial health guidelines.

Items like Take & Make activity and craft packages, Grab & Go themed book bags, and FVRL Playground items like bat packs, telescope kits, and birdwatching backpacks continue to be incredibly popular.

Mr. Yao, a regular customer, visits Maple Ridge Public Library three times per week to browse our magazine collection. He is particularly interested in magazines on astronomy and Canadian history. He says many of the magazines he reads in the library are hard to find elsewhere.

Amy Robinson and her children are happy to be able to stop by the library to find and read stories with their grandma, Nadine.

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For those who are unable to visit the library in-person, we continue to provide FVRL Express Pickup. Just phone the library when you arrive and staff will collect your holds, check them out, and bring them to you outside the library.

We also continue to offer virtual on-demand Babytime and Storytime on the FVRL Facebook and YouTube channels, as well as live Zoom Babytimes and Storytimes. These programs are great ways to share songs, rhymes and stories with talented library staff from the comfort of your own home.

For adults and teens, FVRL offers a wide array of live Zoom programs, including Art Show & Tell, Poetry Cafe, Reading Spotlight, Cookbook Club, Afternoon Book Club and Conversation Circles, just to name a few.

All live Zoom programs require registration and can be access via the Events tab on the FVRL website at www.fvrl.bc.ca.

There is so much going on at the library this fall. Feel free to stop by, call or check out our website for more information on library services and programs.

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– Liza Morris is a community librarian at Fraser Valley Regional Library’s Maple Ridge branch

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