Vancouver Island Regional Library has come a long way, from humble beginnings with 12,600 books, six branches and seven van routes in the central Island to a system with more than 1.1 million items and 38 branches. This month they celebrate the 75 years of growth.
The VIRL sprouted from a grant — from the Andrew Carnegie Corporation of New York — to start a small system that has grown into the fourth largest library system in British Columbia serving Vancouver Island from north of Victoria to Haida Gwaii and Bella Coola on the central mainland coast. While Victoria and Vancouver enjoyed municipal libraries beginning in the late 1800s, only 30 per cent of BC’s urban population had access to a library; only five percent in rural areas.
The quiet buildings once devoted solely to reading and research and supervised by librarians who shushed patrons into compliant silence now are busy gathering places and community hubs that provide everyone equal access to computers, technology, and other online resources.
“Libraries embrace the digital age. Libraries bring technology to everyone,” said Rosemary Bonanno, executive director, Vancouver Island Regional Library. “Traditional library materials, services and programs are alive and well.”
Alongside the modern technology, libraries continue to create interactive programs that promote reading from toddlers to pensioners.
The Sidney North Saanich branch will celebrate with an open house on Sept. 28 at 3 p.m. at the library on Resthaven Road. There will be cake, prize draws and a library history display.
For more information on VIRL’s history and when branches were established visit www.virl.bc.ca.