The Times - Friday, April 7, 2017 A3
‘Drop Everything and Read’ planned for April 7 Continued from Front Reduced library services will have a broad impact. Schools and parents that home-school their children will have limited resources. Those with vision-impairments and many people who spend a lot of time driving lose access to audiobooks and audio resources. Students studying online and adults doing complex research will lose access to digital resources. Assiniboia received almost 1,500 requests last year for reference and information questions. Local branches will also have to spend from their budgets on materials that could have been shared. With no funding for SILS and the interlibrary loans, the library will have to purchase books that could have been borrowed from elsewhere in Saskatchewan, explained Lori Crighton, Assiniboia and District librarian. “The cuts marginalize people who are already marginalized,” said Darlene Kowalchuk, noting that the library provides computer access and books for those who cannot afford these items. “Cuts should have been taken from somewhere else,” said Todd who was not the only library supporter wondering why library funding was cut so deeply while other sectors had smaller reductions. When asked about these cuts in a legislature media scrum, Education Minister Don Morgan defended the government decision, saying the province has too many libraries. “In our province, we have one library for every 4,000 people. In Manitoba, it is one for every 10,000, in Alberta it’s one for every 15,000.” Neither Minister Don Morgan nor Minister Kevin Doherty responded to the Assiniboia Times request for an interview by press time about library cuts. Moreover, the Minister thinks that libraries are outdated and should be sharing with schools. “The future of libraries is leaning toward electronic media, not saying that you shouldn’t have bricks and mortar but there is certainly a shift,” stated Morgan. Contrary to Minister Morgan’s perception of library usage, the Assiniboia library is not just “brick and mortar” lending oldfashioned printed books. Palliser Regional Library offers its regional branches several varieties of digital resources. Assiniboia’s library offers several digital resources that patrons can use by logging in from home. “In addition to Library2Go and online data bases, two new e-resources Hoopla and Zinio were made available to library use starting in 2016,” stated Crighton in her report to the library board on March 30. While Assiniboia li-
brary’s core activities remain lending materials like books, it also lends and houses CDs, DVDs, magazines, newspapers, second language materials, and archival materials. It also provides literacy programming for children, a public meeting and event space for the community. The library also partners with the Shurniak Gallery and the Assiniboia and District Arts Council on art displays in the Kay Cristo Room. Palliser Regional Library director Jan Smith stated that Assiniboia Library was one of the more active libraries in the district. According to Assiniboia library board’s latest figures, one in two Assiniboia residents are patrons of its library, and most of
the users are adults. Circulation figures are up at the library, averaging 11 books borrowed per resident of Assiniboia. Meanwhile, libraries around Saskatchewan are fighting back. And the Assiniboia Public Library is also joining the fray. A huge bright yellow sign outside the library invites the public inside to sign a petition to save rural libraries. The Palliser Regional Library has started a petition under the Referendum and Plebiscite Act to initiate a referendum on funding to regional libraries. The petition needs 115,000 signatures to go to a vote. The Assiniboia branch has been collecting signatures needed for the referendum vote. A second petition
has been collecting signatures that are being read each day in the legislature by the opposition to demonstrate public support for regional libraries. Supporters can also pick up a prepared letter to their MLA and one to Premier Brad Wall at the Assiniboia li-
brary. Currently, Assiniboia has already rivalled Moose Jaw in support collecting over 140 signatures in one day and collecting a stack of letters over an inch thick. Assiniboia has also joined the “Drop Everything and Read” movement happening on Friday, April
7. The public is invited to bring a book for a “Read In” at their MLA’s office to raise awareness about the importance of libraries to the Saskatchewan public. Library supporters will be starting their “Read In” at MLA Dave Marit’s office at 11:55 a.m.
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The Times - Friday, April 7, 2017 A17
Games
Crossword Answers
Sudoko Answers
Sudoku puzzles are formatted as a 9x9 grid, broken down into nine 3x3 boxes. To solve a sudoku, the numbers 1 through 9 must fill each row, column and box. Each number can appear only once in each row, column and box. You can figure out the order in which the numbers will appear by using the numeric clues already provided in the boxes. The more numbers you name, the easier it gets to solve the puzzle!