“Our library shall be the purveyor, not of books, but of ideas and shall reflect our dreams for a vibrant, inclusive, safe and sustainable community.” - Vision Statement, Baddeck Public Library Society
The current COVID-19 pandemic has laid bare the threats to social cohesion locally, nationally and globally. With few exceptions, these threats arise as a result of inequities in access to the social determinants of health. The pandemic forces us to reassess our priorities.
As implied in the vision statement above, the modern library is more than just a place to store books and today lends everything from skis and snowshoes to radon detectors. Community outreach includes Tummy Time for tots through internet connectivity and iPads for seniors.
The Cape Breton Regional Library comprises the James McConnell Memorial Library in Sydney and 11 satellite libraries throughout the Island. The McConnell Library building is dated and crumbling as are many other library facilities.
Let us seize this opportunity to invest in our collective future by renewing library infrastructure and promoting not just print literacy but numeracy, digital literacy, health and physical literacy, emotional literacy, cultural literacy, civic literacy and facilitating community engagement - all important elements of the library’s mandate.
Quality library services should, as a right of citizenship, be strongly supported and equitably accessible to all Cape Bretoners.
G. William N. Fitzgerald, CM, MD, FRCSC
Chair, Visioning Committee
Baddeck Public Library Society
