.jpg "Manitoba Housing’s director of security Kevin Gamble address the crowd.")
Manitoba Housing’s director of security Kevin Gamble address the crowd. (ROB BROWN)
Some North End seniors will have a little more romance,
mystery and intrigue in their lives courtesy of a new library that recently
opened in their apartment complex.
Residents of the North Point Douglas Manor at 817 Main St. welcomed a new
chapter in the block’s history with the official opening of a 4,000-item
library on Jan. 2.
The opening was attended by residents of the 65-plus Manitoba Housing block,
members of the Point Douglas Seniors Association and representatives of the
provincial government.
Resident Ned Claspert said he welcomed the opportunity to brush up his base of
knowledge. "It’s one of those things really I thought of as work when I was
younger and now realize I’ve got catching up to do," he said when looking at
new selection of fiction.
Another resident said the library will be a great addition for seniors in the
block who have mobility issues. "Many residents don’t go out too far because
of health or money issues," she said. "This helps them out."
Sel Burrows, president of the Point Douglas Seniors Association, said the
library will help fill a void in the community.
"Beyond books, this is the bigger issue — having options for residents in the North End," he said. "It is these kinds of simple experiences like reading that are taken for granted and often lacking in the inner city."
The library will be staffed by a group of part-time volunteers.
Point Douglas resident Heather Geddie said volunteerism was a key component in helping make the library project a reality.
"We had so many (people) putting in the time and helping out," she said.
Manitoba Housing’s director of security Kevin Gamble said the library is part of an effort by the provincial government to increase amenities in public housing.
"We’ll continue making these kinds of refinements to the buildings with residents in mind," he said.
Burrows said library organizers consulted area residents when it came to choosing what kind of materials to stock the library with.
"There were requests for western novels as well as for National Geographic," he said, pointing to numerous back issues of the popular magazine and more than 300 western titles.
Riel MLA Christine Melnick, a former librarian, founded the Share the Magic book exchange program four years ago after noticing a scarcity of books available at public housing garage sales.
The program has provided approximately 80,000 used books to a number of groups since that time, including organizers of the North Point Douglas Manor library.
"I noticed when I went to garage and yard sales at public housing units, used books were never for sale," said Melnick, who attended the recent opening of the seniors library.
"You always see a box of used books in garage sales. This wasn’t happening and wanted I to do something about it."
Melnick said libraries like the one in Point Douglas are a valuable investment in communities.
"Books are the one of the few things that never lose value — in fact they increase in value when they are passed on to new readers," she said, adding Share the Magic has provided more than 5,500 books to North End organizations such as Mamawiwichiitata Centre in the last two months.