Valerie G. Barnes Connell Jordan
Northern Advocate
The Alex Robertson Public Library (ARPS) and La Ronge Arts Council (LRAC) partnered to provide a celebration of the library’s 65 years of service in the community on April 7.
The two organizations recently formed a partnership, where LRAC will have a permanent gallery within the Library.
LRAC members where challenged to choose a word, and use some art form, to share their word. An exhibit of the accomplished work was available in the Gallery for participants to explore, along with a historic look at the library including one older artwork that dates back to the earlier life of the library.
Michelle Gale, chair of the board, shared the rich history of libraries.
“Library collections have been constructed and curated for centuries,” she said. “The oldest known is in Nunivak, in present day Iraq.”
In earlier days, libraries were found in places of worship and affluent homes, “but you had to be part of the elite to have access to private collections,” Gale said.
Soon after Saskatchewan joined Canada in 1905, libraries began to be “developed to serve the bast rural population in the province,” with the Regina Public Library being established in Regina in 1909, followed by the Saskatoon Public Library in 1913.
In 1914, travelling libraries began to be developed in Saskatchewan.
James Hope Howard introduces a replica of the early boxes of library books sent across the province, often by rail.
“These rural collections were boxed and overseen by the Wheat Pool agent’s wife or the train station manager’s wife and these boxed collections travelled all over by rail because there’s always been a hunger for literature in Saskatchewan,” she said, for the information she had been able to glean.
James Hope Howard, director of the Pahkisimon Nuy?áh Library System (PNLS), which is the organization that supplies all the northern libraries, demonstrated a small box of books “that would be packed up and shipped and farmers could come a check out the classics,” he said.
While La Ronge “did not have a Wheat Pool agent’s wife nor a station manager’s wife to disseminate these box collections, what we did have, I’m told, is a very extensive collection housed within the walls of Jim Brady’s cabin, ”Gale said, adding that Brady was a “voracious reader and very generously lent out his books to those interested.
Gale also noted that Lois Dalby, who is a resident writer, and was present for the event. she worked with the Department of Northern Affairs to publish information about the north for many years.
Dalby and her husband lived at Rapid River “in the 50s. A bush plane would periodically drop off a box of books,” she said. “These were always really exciting times.”
In 1960, the first public library was established in La Ronge. But, Gale said, she could not say much about who initiated it or where the funding came.
“It was like so many community collaborations at the time, one big idea and lots of determination and volunteer commitment. The collection was coddled together and housed in the basement of Gateway School … where Northern Lights School Division (NLSD) is now.”
Sophie Gray became the first librarian in La Ronge. Gray, along with her husband, Pete, and three children and several community members spent much time re-shelving the books until there was a flood in the school.
“Because the library was in the basement, arrangements had to be made to move the library, so the library move to its new location on the corner of Main and Nunn streets … where the Knudson Building, the former nurses’ residence now resides. The stairs were creaky, and the quarters cramped, and this is where I checked out every single book in the Little House in the Prairie set and every Nancy Drew book one little book at a time,” Gale said.
Michelle Gale shares the story of the Alex Robertson Public Library’s 65 years.
The library was moved to the Town Office building in 1976. While the space was small, the collection grew and “children’s programming became very popular in the 80s.
“The Town of La Ronge shouldered this expansion and the library administrator, Rosemary Loeffler, and the Library board, tirelessly put on book sales and luncheons and this bright expanded space opened in 2012.”
The Library was renamed the Alex Robertson Public Library in 2016.
And other progress with the library includes: “The days of date stamping books as Fran Richards did, are done. The Card Catalogue now houses the Seed Library, and computers” have used for some time now.
“The Library at year’s end of 204 has 23,496 items in its collection, 1,454 new items were added last year, 1,400 patrons checked out 10,275 items which came to a total last year of $173,861.69; 2,773 people, Sean you are a stats keeper, 2773 people participated in a wide variety of programming for all ages, craft time, story time, summer programming, reading club, biology club, gardening programs, children and adult art classes, Lego club, drama club, book launches, and, note the plural, of our very own published authors,” Gale said of the library’s activities.
“This place is a microcosm of literature, art and community intersecting. This little library care, that you see here. This little library card gives you access to all that, plus the entire provincial library collection as a whole. We are one book, one province initiative to not only, do we have access to every book in the province, but, we have access to the eBooks and the Braille books and Libraries To Go … because of the vision of a handful of people in 1960, and a whole lot of work and learning in between. This community has proudly expanded the space, offers the idea of what a true community partnership can be.”
The Library now has a staff of seven people, and, PNLS, is also part of a PNLS collective, but also in partnership with the Northern Saskatchewan Archives.
