Lethbridge Public Library

5 Connecting Community & Meeting Community Needs Terra Plato, Library CEO ethbridge Public Library strives to be a leader in the community, and 2018 was a year that allowed us to demonstrate how we are a community-led organization, guided by our core values. After a rather lengthy period of transition throughout 2017 and 2018, the Library implemented a number of exciting new spaces, programs and services. The completion of our Main Branch Modernization Project (MBMP) meant that we could finally roll out some long planned service enhancements. We updated our customer service desk model at the Main Branch to include a dedicated service desk for computers and printing; and both customer and information services staff can now be found at the Customer Services desk. This was a vision that was created by staff to simplify and make the best use of our customers' time. At the same time, we debuted some wonderful new spaces at the Main Branch: the new teen space provides a defined space for young adults, a new reading bar offers a bright space for perusing magazines and newspapers, an expanded computer services area introduced seven new public use computers, and the upper north wing was opened up for social and programming activities by relocating the fiction collection to the south wing, and the non-fiction collection to the expanded lower study. With the completion of the renovation, there are spaces for everyone at the Library, whether you are looking for a quiet space to read, or a bright, open space to meet with friends. We were excited to also debut Piitoyiss – Eagles' Nest – which is our space dedicated to honouring and educating our community about the traditional peoples that occupied the land the Library sits on. With the new space came a new FNMI collection, a computer kiosk that links directly to online indigenous resources, and a slate of new programs and events. As part of our ongoing commitment to meeting community needs, the Library conducted a series of surveys in late spring to get feedback from the community and customers about what they love about the Library and what we could do better. We also completed an internal analysis of workflows to determine how we could do our work more efficiently. We continued to expand our role as a community hub with the official launch of the Community LINKS desk at the Main Branch, which is operated by the Canadian Mental Health Association, South Zone. Our continued commitment to partnering to meet community needs was honoured through the receipt of four different awards this year, including the Allied Art Council Excellence Award – Service Organization. I am so proud of the great work that the Library Board, staff, and volunteers did in 2018 – work that is praised throughout the community and the province. We will continue to strive towards being a community leader by being innovative, responsive, open and inclusive. We look forward to continuing to exemplify those values as we go into our 100 th year of serving Lethbridge and surrounding communities.

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