The library is back, but for everyone’s health and safety, it means counter service only at this time. People can pick up any holds and borrow items (staff will bring books, DVDs and CDs for approval) and use wi-fi passwords .
The shelves and seating areas are still closed to the public, as is computer use, study/hanging out space or in-person programs. As part of the counter service, Wednesdays, 9:30 a.m. to noon, are reserved for seniors and any folks who are immunocompromised.
To place some holds, use the online catalogue at catalogue.library.pe.ca or call 902-368-4642. Staff can also answer reference questions and help with the e-book service or an interlibrary loan.
To return library books, drop them off in the outdoor book drop located by the front doors (open 24/7) or at the bookdrop via the Stage Door of the Confederation Centre (open when the building is open). All items are quarantined for 72 hours or more before being checked in, so it might take a few days for them to come off accounts. Larger items (musical instruments, telescopes, etc.) can be returned when the library is open. Current hours are Sundays, 12:30-5 p.m., and every other day of the week, 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Evening hours resume the week of July 7.
All libraries in the province are open for some form of service. Summerside is offering counter service as well, and all other libraries are open for contactless curb side pickup. Call ahead for details.
E-book and e-audiobook service is always available. Check out peipls.overdrive.com or access Overdrive on a tablet or phone with the free Libby app.
Summertime means Summer Reading Club for kids. SRC is still a go this year because it has moved online, and registration is already open. Head to tdsummerreadingclub.ca to take part.
It’s a great page where kids can create their own reading notebook, watch videos from authors, find e-books and do lots of activities. There are great links to things to games, awesome (and some awesomely terrible) jokes and trivia questions.
For everyone else, there is Book-opoly, the P.E.I. PLS virtual summer reading program for teens and adults. Starting July 1, download the Book-opoly game board from social media, read around the game board and complete entries for weekly prizes. Board spaces range from Read outside to Canadian authors to Suggested by Library Staff (that last one has taken over the exalted space where Boardwalk usually sits).
Those following these articles or the P.E.I. Public Library Service Facebook page (I like to think it’s my articles) know that the winners of the P.E.I. Book Awards were announced on June 6.
Just in case you missed the gala, congratulations to the following 2020 P.E.I. Book Awards winners: fiction: Gregor Samsa was never in the Beatles by J. J. Steinfeld; non-fiction: Mammals of Prince Edward Island and adjacent marine waters by Rosemary Curley, Pierre Yves Daoust, Donald F. McAlpine, Kimberly Riehl and J. Dan McAskill; poetry: Jeopardy by Richard Lemm;
children’s literarature: Rika’s Shepherd by Orysia Dawyidiak.
All winners received a hand-crafted prize from Cabin Fever Carving and a cash award. The poetry award was sponsored by The Bookmark in Confederation Court Mall. All titles are available from the library or can be purchased at the Bookmark.
Follow the library on Facebook (PEI Public Library Service) and Instagram for updates on summer reading programs and other fun stuff and drop in to see us soon.
Beth Clinton is the regional librarian with the P.E.I. Provincial Library Service. Her column appears in The Guardian once a month. Anyone who would like more information on programs should call the library at 902-368-4642.
