Even with technology’s grip firmly a hold of society, the local library remains an active place.
Okanagan Regional Library has been providing updates on its activities to municipal councils, including Vernon, Enderby and Lumby this week, as well as the Regional District of North Okanagan.
“More and more people like to have learning experiences with other people,” said Stephanie Hall, ORL chief executive officer.
“There is a social component to the library.”
At the Vernon branch in 2015, there were 27,652 cardholders and 538,191 physical items were circulated. Program attendance was 25,831, while there were 226,164 branch visits, 51,250 reference questions and 118,936 wireless Internet sessions.
“We look at the needs of the community and try to meet those needs,” said Mark Christensen, Vernon’s head librarian.
Among the branch’s avid patrons is Juliette Cunningham, a Vernon city councillor.
“Our library is amazing. It’s a hub,” she said.
“There’s something going on there all of the time.”
In Lumby in 2015, there were 1,860 cardholders and 22,071 branch visits. There were 35,125 physical items circulated, program attendance of 2,925, 8,100 reference questions and 3,872 wireless Internet sessions.
For Enderby, there were 3,087 cardholders in 2015 with 45,805 branch visits. The data also shows 84,342 physical items circulated, program attendance of 1,600, reference questions of 5,450 and wireless Internet sessions of 9,146.
Coun. Tundra Baird says it was important for Hall to appear before Enderby council.
“We got information on all of the services available,” she said.
“Some people don’t know about all of the online resources available.”
And with technology an increasing presence in most people’s lives, ORL is focused on meeting those needs.
“Some people only use our electronic services and never come into a branch,” said Hall.
ORL also has branches in Cherryville, Armstrong, Falkland, Oyama and Winfield, and the entire system spans from Princeton to Golden.
