Chance to author future
New library campaign looks for volunteers, ideas

By Andrew Buck
Friday March 17, 2006


Colleen Sklar (seated), Karen Kiddey (standing, left) and Karen Keppler are readying to harness the community’s ideas.

Photo by Andrew Buck
Selkirk Journal — Interested onlookers have a chance to author a chapter in the development of the new regional library.
The Selkirk and St. Andrews Regional Library is hosting a March 23 volunteer recruitment night in the hopes of drumming up support and ideas for the new library campaign. Scheduled for 7 p.m. at the library, the meeting will give the campaign’s organizers an opportunity to lay out how they hope the story will end.
The end goal of a new 30,000 sq. ft. building may be set, but how the library gets there is a story that remains to be written. All in all, manager of library services Karen Kiddey says, it’s a pretty exciting time.
“It’s incredible. The beauty of having an information night is that there are so many ideas out there in the community,” Kiddey said. “There’s such a demand for new technology and it’s (the public’s) time to step forward with their ideas.”
The meeting will include a presentation by library board chair Colleen Sklar that will detail the campaign’s progress and available volunteer positions. A tentative 2009 opening date has been set for the new building, which would be located on two acres of land the province sold the library for $2.
“We believe our communities deserve to have the best,” Sklar said. “We can achieve that as a group, working together. We don’t have to settle – the sky’s the limit.”
The campaign is being driven by a three-pillared approach, Sklar said. It includes the concepts of connected, creative and collaborative communities, she said, and the idea that the library can be a centre of knowledge for the region.
Consultant Karen Keppler has been brought on board as the campaign’s executive director. With experience as the co-chair of the Winnipeg Library Foundation – which built the Millennium Library – Keppler is looking forward to adding her expertise to the project.

Build on success
“We’re going to learn from past successes and lessons,” Keppler said. “We’re going to take all of that, and try to build on it.”
Past library campaigns have demonstrated a need for a strong volunteer base, Keppler said.
“We’re going to have a wide variety of jobs. We’re looking for anybody and everybody who has an interest and passion toward making this project happen,” she said.
In the meantime, Kiddey said, the library will continue to strive to offer new and innovative services in its existing 6,000 sq. ft. building on Selkirk’s Main Street. The library is on the brink of starting a new membership drive, she said.
“We thought it was a perfect time because we have new interest from the RM of St. Clements,” Kiddey said. St. Clements recently joined the library, adding another 9,000-plus citizens to draw membership from.
“Rather than letting the library stagnate, we’re trying to focus on making improvements on a day-to-day basis,” she said.