The Grande Bibliothèque Celebrates 5 Years of Existence

« Grâce à la Grande Bibliothèque, je sais qu’il y a un endroit au cœur de cette ville où des solitaires se retrouvent pour former une communauté. »

Dany Laferrière

The Great Library today marked its fifth anniversary.

It was the topic of Maisonneuve en direct today.

« On a beaucoup écrit sur l’immense succès de fréquentation de la Grande bibliothèque, lequel ne s’est pas démenti depuis son ouverture au printemps 2005. (…) Les raisons de ce succès sont nombreuses. Il faut souligner la qualité et la convivialité du bâtiment, la richesse des collections, la gratuité des services, l’approche client qui a été adoptée, l’autonomie de l’usager qui a été favorisée, le grand nombre de postes informatiques disponibles,la diversité des services offerts, la variété et la fréquence des actions d’animation (conférences, expositions, club de lecture, visites guidées, etc.). »

Taken from "Bibliothèques publiques au Québec: une institution stratégique pour le développement culturel" by Marcel Lajeunesse; Bulletin des Bibliothèques de France, Paris, 2009, t. 54, no 3

They Are Talking of Our Blog

Contact Express, the newsletter of Réseau BIBLIO Montérégie invites its readers to come check out our blog in Volume X, No. 1 on page 6. Thank you, Contact Express, and welcome to any new reader!

Reading and Politicians

Jean-Frédéric Légaré-Tremblay, a blogger for L'Actualité, addresses the issue of reading and our American politicians, Canadian and Quebecer. He even invites readers to make suggestions of books to read for politicians, including mayors:


Nous, anti-intellectuels ? Plus que les Américains, en tout cas !

Invitation to the Municipal Council

The coalition We Deserve Better had to celebrate the World Book and Copyright Day on this April 23. Inspired by the initiative of the writer Yann Martel, who has been mailing twice a month for the last 2 years now a selection of books to Prime Minister Stephen Harper, the coalition invites the City Council members to visit our library. Here is a list of titles that are available:

• Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec : un siècle d'histoire / Denis Goulet. This comprehensive work, lavishly illustrated, is an important contribution to the history of public libraries and research libraries in Canada.
• Historique de la corporation municipale de Brownsburg
• Dix animations lecture en bibliothèque jeunesse / Solange Aleberteau ... [et al.] ; sous la direction de Christian Poslaniec. The library appears in this work as an actor at the heart of the city, because it goes out in the street to bring in readers, it brings them together in clubs of young critics, or because it organizes literary prizes, the library is located at the crossroads of initiatives from various institutions and as such plays a unifying role.
• Le roi de la bibliothèque / Michelle Knudsen ; illustrations de Kevin Hawkes
• Le parfum : histoire d'un meurtrier / Patrick Süskind
• Le prophète / Khalil Gibran
• Le vide / Patrick Senécal
• Stupeur et tremblements / Amélie Nothomb
• Une vie de toutes pièces / François Jobin
• La Détresse et l'enchantement / Gabrielle Roy
• All Henning Mankell
• Kamouraska / Anne Hébert
• Library Mouse / Daniel Kirk
• La belle et la bête / Giulia Baiocchi; illustrations de C. Cernushi et Martha Buga

Also, other readings of interest suggested by the coalition and friends: 

• S’appauvrir dans un pays riche. For author Richard Langlois, economic growth is no guarantee of a fairer distribution of wealth in society.
• Quand votre enfant apprend à lire /Anne Froissart et Noëlle Herrenschmidt. So that reading becomes a celebration and not a chore.
• Savoir écouter / A. Conquet. Opening quotation taken from the Book of Wisdom: "Listen, kings, and understand! Listen, you who command the crowds. "
• L’Administrateur public, un être «pifométrique » / Alphonse Riverin et al. A book praised by Gilles Boulet, former president of the University of Quebec, which celebrates the creativity and imagination in public administration.
• La Grande Bibliothèque / Michèle Lefebvre et Martin Dubois
• État des lieux du livre et des bibliothèques / Institut de la statistique du Québec
• Revue de Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec / Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec
• Recyclage architectural à Québec / École d'architecture de l'Université Laval
• Une politique de la culture et des arts / Groupe-conseil sur la politique culturelle
• Avancer dans le brouillard (full text in French)
• Max ou le sens de la vie / François Jobin
• La deuxième vie de Louis Thibert / François Jobin
• Farenheit 451 / Ray Bradbury
• Les rayons de l'aube (Les lois naturelles du corps, de l'esprit et de l'âme) / Dr. Thurman Fleet
• Cent ans de solitude / Gabriel Garcia Marquez
• L'Étranger / Albert Camus
• All Arthur Rimbaud
• Les Fleurs du mal / Charles Beaudelaire
• Le Petit Prince / Antoine de Saint-Exupéry
• Le Monde selon Garp / John Irving
• Des souris et des hommes / John Steinbeck
• Kafka sur la plage / Haruki Murakami
• Soie / Alessandro Baricco
• Les Fourmis / Bernard Werber
• All Colette
• L'Avalée des avalées + L'hiver de force / Réjean Ducharme
• Le Procès / Franz Kafka
• Almost all Dostoïevki
• 1984 / George Orwell
• En attendant Godot / Samuel Beckett
• Madame Bovary / Gustave Flaubert
• Le Vieux qui lisait des romans d'amour / Luis Sepulveda
• L'Amant de Lady Chatterley / D.H. Lawrence 
• Tropique du cancer / Henry Miller
• Lolita / Vladimir Nabokov
• Sur la route / John Kerouac
• Le Nom de la rose / Umberto Eco
• Le Monde de Sophie / Jostein Gaardner
• La Vie devant soi / Émile Ajar
• Le Deuxième Sexe / Simone de Beauvoir
• Confucius

Why a Public Libary When There's Internet?

Typing a keyword into a search engine on the Internet opens a window on what seems to be infinity. It can be astounding to see the results unfold and to locate the desired information. For the one who has the playful spirit and a boundless curiosity, the matching game can lead to discoveries totally wacky and sometimes just great.


That can lead to believe that, at the Internet era, the public library is useless, outdated and an unnecessary expense. Error! An article by Mark Y. Herring, published in American Libraries (magazine of the American Library Association) in 2001 and revised slightly in 2010, gives 10 reasons why Internet is no substitute for the library, the first of which that the Web does not contain all the information. It is far from infinity, after all. It also disproves the belief that electronic books will replace the paper version. It was tempting to copy the entire article here. Go on, treat yourself and go read it yourself.

Moreover,

"According to a study by the American Library Association (ALA), the arrival of the Internet have contributed greatly to increase the rate of use of public libraries. The results released by this study in the United States indicate that the number of visits to libraries increased 61% from 1994 to 2004. ALA attributed the increase to the growing popularity of the Internet, which would help develop the thirst for knowledge and information of citizens. Remote services that allows the use of the Internet, such as renewals or reservations online, are also factors that promote the use of libraries. "

Paul Cauchon, "Internet contributes to increased participation in public libraries", Le Devoir, April 27, 2007, p. B4.

A survey of California residents in 1999 came to similar conclusions. In fact, the likelihood that users of public libraries have Internet access are higher than in the case of non-users. Very well!

But, when Internet and the public library meet, it gives BREF, a service of Bibliothèque et Archives nationales Québec.

"BREF lists reference resources on the Internet that are of interest to the general public. All areas are covered, from meteorology to genealogy, through international politics and astronomy.

The database offers quality resources in French language, English language resources of interest to the Quebec population and few resources specifically for youth. "

The organization of information facilitates research on the Web. Another demonstration of the usefulness of librarians and archivists. And hours of fun await you.

Au profit de la Maison populaire d'Argenteuil

Conférence sur la langue française avec

monsieur Marcel Tessier, historien

À la Villa Mont-Joie

241, rue Élizabeth

Lachute

Le 24 avril 2010

19h

Coût:

Adulte: 20 $

Étudiant: 10 $

65 ans et plus: 10 $

Places limitées

Billets disponibles à la Maison populaire d'Argenteuil

335, rue Principale

Lachute

Informations: 450-562-1996

Salon de la lecture - Argenteuil-Laurentides

De la parole aux livres

Entrée gratuite

Kiosques d'auteurs des Laurentides

Halte-Garderie gratuite sur place

23 et 24 avril - de 10 h à 16 h

École l'Oasis

80, rue Hammond

Lachute

(entrée rue Durocher)

Vendredi 23 avril - Salon de la lecture

Jeunesse

10 h à 16 h:
Kiosques d'auteurs des Laurentides. Heures du conte, ateliers d'écriture de chansons et de théâtre avec Robert Simard, Fanny Guay et Caroline Richer

Samedi 24 avril Salon de la lecture

Pour tous

10 h à 16 h:
Kiosques d'auteurs des Laurentides

11 h:
Conférence de François Jobin sur l'avenir du livre

13 h 30 - 14 h 30 - 15 h 30:
Heures du conte avec Caroline Richer

Pour informations: 450-562-1996

What Is Promotion? - If You Invite the Librarian for a Special Activity, You'll Have to Wait for the Next Municipal Council Meeting to Get Your Answer...

Mr. Georges Dinel
Mayor of Brownsburg-Chatham

March 25, 2010

Mr. Mayor,

Invited to the Salon de la lecture sponsored by Maison populaire de Lachute, I learned during a casual conversation with the organizers that they have asked one of the librarians of Brownsburg-Chatham to kindly host a Storytime activity. But the young woman replied that henceforth there should be a formal request to the clerk of the city, who would be responsible for providing information to the council which, in turn, will decide to give (or not) the green light . This was following a logical continuation of another board's decision to the effect that the librarians will no longer visit schools, such visits being deemed unnecessary and too costly.

I was surprised to hear that of a mayor who, in January, had ensured the coalition We Deserve Better of the importance he attached to the culture and the library. But I'm surprised even more to hear that from someone claiming to be respectful of democratic principles of freedom and transparency.

Whether you disagree with the coalition about the future location of the library, this is understandable. But when you stab in the latter's budget, when you fire a librarian, when you ban those who are involved in activities outside their normal place of work, it sounds like fierceness.

This way of acting reminds me of some African potentates who are legitimately elected and then become dictators drunk on power.

Requiring librarians to remain at home in their small room, is to punish the children of Brownsburg-Chatham. They are the ones that you deprive of a gateway to culture and also - more seriously - access to their imagination. That, Mr. Mayor, is a violation of this unwritten law that requires that the child has all the tools available to develop his talents and become a responsible and respectable adults.

The role of the school is to teach young life. The visits of librarians are part of that learning. Their participation in local cultural events is also part of their prerogatives as they give visibility to the institution that employs them.

I think, finally, that your council has other fish to fry than this kind of misery. When the board takes on such issues, he says both that it does not trust the employees and secondly it shows that he has not quite fully understood what a priority is.

I sincerely hope, Mr. Mayor, that you're going to try to rectify this situation which is giving an unenviable reputation to Brownsburg-Chatham .

François Jobin


Excerpt taken from Politique de la lecture et du livre, Tiré à part: « Les bibliothèques publiques » du ministère de la culture et des communications, Le temps de lire, un art de vivre :

Promoting regional initiatives and animation projects to reach  mobile customers

Until now, the libraries have been unable to extensively promote their services due to insufficient resources. However, to reach more people, it is important to create new services on a regional basis as well as advocacy and leadership. Libraries could use more partnerships in organizing promotional activities, such as regional events to promote reading. They could also pool their expertise in the development of specialized services to reach specific groups (disabled, cultural communities, etc.). And serve some customers through services "without walls" (clubs and retirement homes, hospitals , literacy groups, etc..). This type of service already exists in Denmark, for example, since the early 1980s.

We know that across Quebec the rate of users is on average 31% and that there are significant differences from one region to another, with rates ranging from 19% to 40%. When comparing these data with other Canadian provinces where the rates can sometimes exceed 50%, it is unrealistic to think there is a pool of potential subscribers across the province. Moreover, given the nature of the factors that prevent some of the public to attend these public services and the negative consequences of social exclusion which is the case for citizens who live outside of reading, a higher rate of users must necessarily be based on new activities for cultural and community action to be more dynamic and better targeted.

To achieve these objectives, the Ministry of Culture and Communications will develop a program of engagement facilitators or mediators of the book that act as intermediaries between the library and the citizens whose task will be to:

• prioritize reaching people who do not attend public libraries;
• create animation activities with those persons involved in the living areas of the district;
• organize activities in the personalized library to help citizens to appropriate places and learn about the tools available books and documentaries;
• develope collaborations between the public library, school and child care to develop reading habits and interests of use libraries in the young customers;
• promote exchanges between citizens on presentation of books and entertainment activities around the original book;
• establish ongoing relationships with partners in social and community organizations concerned about reading and books.

Let us note that since the development of the policy by the Parti Québecois in 1998, the Observatoire de la culture et des communications du Québec has studied the situation of public libraries in Québec compared with other Canadian provinces. And it seems that Québec is doing better. Alas, Brownsburg-Chatham goes against the grain. The report is still hot and will be talked of shortly on this blog. Come again!

Inpsiring Libraries

The Library Design Showcase 2010 in the United States features 10 distinct sections, each highlighting one specific facet of library architecture or design.

It ranges from green libraries to historic style, from techs to focused on community.

Heritage and Public Library - The Françoise-Maurice Library in Coaticook

Located in a former post office,  the Coaticook library has 680 square meters and occupies 2 1 / 2 floors. It offers its citizens a collection of over 40,000 documents. The staff team includes a professional librarian in charge of management, a full time library technician , two  part time loan officers, and a contract employee in animation.

In order to compare apples with apples, here are the 2006 figures (Statistics Canada) for the population:

Coaticook:                  9204 - 680 square meters

Chatham-Brownsbrg: 6664 - 138 square meters

Network and closeness

Network ...

Two visitors to the blog raised the issue of the benefit derived from the strength of a network in the public library service (including a citizen from Saint-Philippe in Brownsburg-Chatham, whom unfortunately has not signed his comment). The Ministry of Culture and Communications also recognized in 1998 in its Politique de la  lecture et du livre (link in French): "No library can meet all the needs of its users, it must rely increasingly on the sharing of library resources and cooperation between all libraries to improve this service *. "

The Library of Brownsburg-Chatham is already part of Réseau BIBLIO, which is definitely an advantage. Thus, users have access to all affiliated libraries' collections. In 2 to 3 weeks, we receive books that we would not find otherwise on site (normal time for any library making loans between institutions). Also, the computer system can allow us to view the catalogs through Internet and to reserve books. The Network also provides users with access to encyclopedias, newspapers and softwares, through a licensing consortium. Not to mention the tools and management training for staff, which can then better serve customers.

The Politique de la lecture et du livre recommended collaboration of local libraries with a resource public library  located in a bigger city. It reminds you of something? Mayor Daniel Mayer told the local press recently that the Library of Lachute was no competing with those of Brownsburg-Chatham or Saint-André d'Argenteuil, that it was complementary**. He also said he did not see why all citizens of the MRC d'Argenteuil could not access it ***. The Library of Lachute would obviously be the main resource, the pillar of the network in the MRC.

The government policy also was conting on existing structures to create a regional network. With the new computer system installed in the Réseau BIBLIO, it will be possible to join in a network member libraries in Argenteuil in 5 minutes: those of Brownsburg-Chatham, Grenville, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge (which has 2 points of service , one at Pointe-au-Chêne and one at Pointe-Calumet). To nclude Lachute and Saint-André d'Argenteuil  libraries would be a matter of political will to resolve the technical details.

Imagine the strength of such a network, both in terms of professional and documentary resouces! Imagine how the opening hours could be harmonized in a way which would assure to all citizens of the MRC the best possibilities to access the service!

... And closeness

But beware, it would be wrong to believe that a single central library may be sufficient for all the MRC. Do we want a vibrant city center with dormitory suburbs around? It has been shown that the more the distance, the less services are used. The new trend in urban planning promotes the establishment of neighborhood where everything is accessible on foot as possible. The scope and geography of Brownsburg-Chatham makes such a goal unrealistic. But it is not because you must drive to the library that we should all make a trip a little longer pushing to Lachute. Besides, the Saint-Philippe library should never have lost its branch. In the Laurentians, 6 municipalities have more than one point of service on a large territory ****. Closeness of services allows the possibility to adapt to each library population and to better identify needs. Cultivating the unique identities nourishes the sense of belonging. And to counter illiteracy and school dropout, the MRC d'Argenteuil needs all the points of service possible.

The population of Brownsburg-Chatham amounts to nearly 7,000 people. We are not talking of a village with no resources. It deserves a library that meets the minimum standards in Québec. At the risk of repeting ouselves, it is undeniable that quality service is an asset for to keep current residents and to attract new ones.

* Ministère de la culture et des Communications. Le temps de lire, un art de vivre – Politique de la lecture et du livre. Tiré à part : « Les bibliothèques publiques », 1998.

** The Progress, February 27, 2010.

*** The Regional, March 2, 2010.

**** Lac-des-Peel, Mont-Laurier, Red River, Grenville-sur-la-Rouge, Amherst and Mont-Tremblant.

Testimonies 3

The council is studying various scenarios for a new library in a horizon of 1 or 2 years. Let us speak up and express our need and desire for a library as we deserve. Let us speak up and express our need and desire for a library as we deserve. Why do we believe our library to be important? What does she bring us? Or why are we not going? What would lead us to attend? What kind of library do we dream of? What inspiring and great libraries have we visited?

All your comments are important, be them short or elaborate, whether you are young or not so young. Thank you to indicate your name and city (and your organisation if applicable). The Coalition reserves the right to remove any comment demonstratring a lack of respect, with personal attacks and without signature or name of city. Go to the end of this message to write your own testimony. Click on "comment" to open the window if necessary.

 You can also send your comment by email (citbrownsburg-chatham@live.ca) as did this citizen from Saint-Léonard:

Reading is one of the best way to understand one's language. To speak it well, read it well and write it well. A library is a paradise of dreams, a knowledge space, a place of learning, a quiet place for meeting and sharing. The books, let's admit it, are very expensive. Who can really afford it? The budgets of individuals are often too tight and basic needs must be a top priority. Where is the reading in this case? Where can the parent find the books that will awaken and delight the children? Is not one of the criteria put forward by the Education Ministry: "Read to your children at an early age to teach them the joy of reading, desire to know and thus begin language learning"? With the "chatting" - conversations so often prized by the youth of today - we lose our language. The French will soon only exist in the form of verbal expression as the written one is getting lost.

My Library - St-Léonard - even offers a more personalized service to those unable to travel. It is obvious that not all municipalities have many points of service as does Montréal, where the books can move from one library to another. But is it not practical to have a place where you can "borrow" a book from another place? Saint-Léonard is not part of the library network in Montréal, but the library of Saint- Léonard can borrow a chosen book from Laval if it is to be found only there!

A library is important.

Good luck, do not give up.

Linda Bousquet

To read previous testimonies:

• http://citbrownsburg-chathameng.blogspot.com/2009/12/library-testimonies.html
• http://citbrownsburg-chathameng.blogspot.com/2010/03/testimonies-2-books-reading-from.html