Here are a few highlights from March 2024 at RDPL!
Adult Literacy Program Updates
The Adult Literacy Program continues to see an increase in learners. In March, the program registered 19 new learners and 8 new tutors. 21 pairs were matched. Interested in volunteering as a tutor?! Visit rdpl.org/adult-literacy, opens a new window for details.
The Adult Literacy Program offered a 'Digital Skills: The Next Level' class. With a focus on practical skills for the modern workplace, ten eager learners delved into document formatting, mastering Google Docs, Excel proficiency, and more. Amidst growing concerns about online safety, Martin Fletcher, a seasoned volunteer tutor in Adult Literacy with a lot of experience teaching digital skills, curated a tailored curriculum to suit the needs of these learners.
The People in Your Neighbourhood
March was a busy month for the 'People in Your Neighbourhood' storytime, with two events this time! Our first was on March 2, featuring special guests from Sunnybrook Farm Museum, opens a new window, Robin and Ian. We had an enthusiastic audience of more than 50 participants who were entertained with fun farm stories and information about this great local organization!
Our second 'People in Your Neighbourhood' program, held on March 30, welcomed special guest Kath Hoffman from Safe Harbour Society, opens a new window. Kath read some wonderful picture books and spoke to the children and families about the unhoused people in our community, focusing on kindness and empathy. The children had great questions and comments that really helped all of us think more about these community members and the ways we can make a difference (even small things, like simply smiling and saying hello!).
On the Same Page Book Club (with a special guest!)
We had an extra special 'On the Same Page' book club this month! Lynn Wilson, one of our long-time book club members, surprised us by inviting her friend Susan Glasier to join us for the meeting. Susan is the author of March's book club pick, She Was Never the Same, opens a new window. What an unbelievably fun evening!
TELUS STORYHIVE Project Progress
In the middle of March, another two episodes of our TELUS STORYHIVE, opens a new window project were delivered (Episodes 3 & 4), meaning there are just two episodes left to complete! All six episodes will be available to view this Fall on TELUS Optik TV and on STORYHIVE’s YouTube channel.
A Note of Gratitude
A library customer stopped to chat with library staff before leaving and noted his gratitude for the library’s public internet computers as he does not have home internet. He was specifically thankful that, during his visit, he was able to obtain information to complete his tax return. He was grateful to staff and we always appreciate hearing about the ways in which the library’s services make a positive impact on community members' lives!
Large Print Books Now Available at the Dawe Branch!
In response to customer feedback, the Dawe Branch now has its own collection of Adult Large Print books! The collection currently includes a variety of genres and, in the future, will be developed based on collection usage.
Travel Memories: Sri Lanka
The Travel Memories program in March was hosted by Chathura Bandara. Chathura did a fantastic job sharing his experiences growing up in Sri Lanka, with many beautiful places and sights shown. He also brought to his presentation understanding and insight into the poverty and struggles that people experience in their day-to-day lives in Sri Lanka. It is a beautiful country to visit that is overcoming many challenges. Wonder and history were shown in equal measure. It was a very well done presentation!
STEAM Programming at the Library
In March, we held two successful school-aged STEAM programs in an effort to include science and math literacies in our programming offerings. The first program was hosted by Red Deer Polytechnic’s Red Hot Science and was geared towards youth who are new to Canada. We had 6 enthusiastic young “scientists” who learned how to do simple coding with tablets.
The second STEAM program was hosted by RDPL staff Deb and Lee, and engaged children ages 9 to 12 in creating and building marble mazes and then building larger mazes and learning simple coding to move robots through those mazes. We had 15 excited participants who worked very well together to complete the challenges!
Tolkien Reading Day
A group of self-professed “Tolkien Nerds” (RDPL staff Alyssa, Simon, Deb, and Summer) designed RDPL’s first Tolkien Reading Day program, geared toward Adults and Young Adults. The program was delivered with help from fellow coworkers, Gabby and Laura, on March 25 and featured Tolkien-inspired challenges, trivia, photo booths, and riddles that needed to be solved in order to “destroy the ring” at Mount Doom! We had a fantastic turnout with over 30 participants (and a waiting list!). We can't wait to do it again next year!
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