by Robin Tarnowetzki
Journal Staff Writer
As part of Saskatchewan Library Week on Oct. 19-25, the Reid-Thompson Public Library held Patron Appreciation Days on Oct. 23 and 24 to give back to patrons and to show Humboldt residents what else the library offers.
"We want to show our patrons that we appreciate them using the library. It is their library," said branch librarian, Rose Ward. The library offered snacks, a draw, and library information to patrons who came in on that day.
"We're part of the community," Ward said. "People make the library. It's something we appreciate them making."
Ward said that there are some programs and services at the library that people may not know about, a lot of them centering around new technology. A library card gives patrons access to an online database of thousands of newspapers and ebooks.
"Libraries are changing and technology is taking over, so when you go onto our website you'll see more and more digital material," Ward said. She added that more people are using different devices and sometimes come to them for help on figuring them out.
"It's a learning curve for them and definitely a learning curve for us. We don't always know how they work," she laughed, but said that it's easy to figure it out by looking online.
The library also offers public access computers, an outgoing fax service, and there is always new material on the shelves. Also new to the library is a service called Storybird, which allows library patrons to create a book online using artwork found through Storybird, which can then be printed at the library. Patrons can also take part in a book spine poetry contest, which involves making poems using only words found on the spines of books. Interested parties can view an example at the library.
The Patron Appreciation Day was extended to two days this year specifically to get all the information out there. Information on online databases, ebooks and audiobooks, and the library itself can be found at the library.
