After three visits to the stunning Central Library during the two weeks that it has been open, I am in awe. From the remarkable architectural design right in central Calgary to the way it has been fully utilized, I have no doubt the Central Library will be place of learning and connection in the coming months and years. It will be a space where people of all ages, backgrounds, languages, affiliations and beliefs will come together to build community. The first time I stepped into that building, just a couple days after the opening, I saw young children eagerly playing with books and reading stories in the Early Learning Centre, students intently studying by the spectacular artwork piece, The FISH, and old friends chatting over a coffee at Luke’s Cafe .
I was lucky enough to catch a tour and it was neat that as we were going along, patrons of the library heard the voice of our kind and knowledgeable guide, and tagged along. By the end, our group had almost tripled from 15 to 40 people in size. I immediately fell in love with the circular, wooden TD Great Reading Room; a delightful, quiet study space which was already packed that I will definitely be using in the future! The next weekend, in the maybe half hour I was there to check out one of the rooms for a meeting and meet a friend, I saw someone I knew every few minutes! It was so cool to see how all of my various connections; friends, family and classmates, were harnessing the space in their own ways.
From a young age, the library has been a huge part of my life. I remember ever Wednesday after school, my parents would take me to the Crowfoot branch, and I would eagerly pick out my seven books, one for each day of the week! When I got home, I would carefully stack my Magic Tree House and Amelia Badelia stories whose crisp pages I couldn’t wait to open. But that’s not where it stops.
As with most immigrants, when my grandparents came to Canada in 1971 they struggled and they didn’t have a lot. Both my parents spent countless afternoons and weekends of their childhood at the public library. It was a place they could get help with their homework while their parents were busy trying to make ends meet. It was a place they could be transported into fictional worlds they never would have imagined. And, it was a place of comfort and safety. All for free. And still to this day, the feeling I get when I walk into a public library is one of solace.
It was also super special to deliver the youth volunteer speech in the magnificent new auditorium to over 300 hundred guests last weekend. I started sharing my passion for literature at the library three years ago when I was in grade seven. Since that time I have volunteered for Reading Buddies, Coding Buddies, 3 Things for Canada Squads, Math Quest, and more. I have had so many beautiful moments as a youth volunteer at the library, but the most rewarding of them all that I shared in my speech that evening occurred when I was volunteering for the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. I love being able to watch those new to this country and this city thrive through the countless opportunities the library has to offer.
As a volunteer I formed such tight connections with the participants and by the end of the two-month period, all of them had improved significantly and were speaking English much more comfortably. In fact, when I went back to the library a few weeks later to start my new program, one of the participants from my pervious ESL program was now back as a volunteer. She told me she had been inspired by the work of other volunteers and wanted to give back herself. This warmed my heart.
In a time where hatred and division seem to be a mighty forces and where half-truths and lies are often presented for self-serving purposes, I believe libraries are of ultimate significance. Not only because the art of picking up and reading a book seems to be fading, but also because the art of acquiring knowledge and understanding seems to be fading. Through literature and stories, we are able to absorb the world around us, but also gain awareness about each other and discover ourselves. Libraries create, thoughtful, critical, reflective, individuals – something that our world so direly needs right now.
I have come to realize, that so much of who my family and I are is due to the public library. I am privileged to be giving back to this particular organization, especially as I am able to help other youth find their potential. And it is my sincere hope, that for years to come, the public Library will continue to serve the community of Calgary as a beacon of light.
*All images in this post are my own!
