Library offering something for everyone while supporting local

By Rob Paul

One key constant in Caledon throughout the pandemic has been Caledon Public Library (CPL).

Through virtual programming they've tried to keep community spirits high and offer an avenue for people to stay connected and engaged.

Though Ontario is continuing to reopen, CPL has a plethora of options for residents in Caledon this summer through both online virtual methods, and remote events that will get kids across the community out and about.

The focus hasn't only been on kids either; they have interactive opportunities for all members of the community and have even put a support local spin on many of the programs, clubs, and events they'll be running. 

As CPL continues to work on fundraising for the furnishing of the outdoor reading garden at the Southfields Village branch, they don't expect to have any in-person programming this summer because of the lack of outdoor space.

“We were just discussing about if we could do some outdoor programming, but we really don't have any outdoor space,” says CPL's Mary Maw. “So, we've really struggled with what we can do. We're in a stage right now where we don't even know what the fall will look like; that's difficult for us right now. We're still at limited capacity in all of our branches, so if we plan the book club and we're only allowed 25 per cent capacity then it's tough. There's so many variables to think about right now.”

With the uncertainty of the pandemic and what the library will safely be able to do this summer, the goal was to come up with creative programming ideas that would keep kids engaged and get them outside and active in the warm weather and they wanted to tie supporting local businesses through prizes.

 “We have…a story walk, and some geocaching. They're all really fun and self-directed activities, but at least we're supporting them and getting them outside and there's prizes from local businesses—we're purchasing them to support them because we understand that they're struggling right now.”

Trying to keep programming fresh and interesting for kids who haven't had much to do for the last 15 months hasn't been easy, but Maw says she is proud of the creativity the CPL staff has injected into their ideas.

“We're doing a lot of virtual programs,” Maw said. “Our youth services staff are doing a tremendous amount of virtual programs for kids. A lot of what they're doing are ‘take and make' programs. You register for them and get a kit and when the programs are happening virtually you can refer to the things in the kit—colouring sheets, activities, etc.” 

To informally kickoff its summer of fun, CPL has been running a sidewalk art challenge since the beginning of the month where kids can submit their art to the library for a chance to win prizes.

“We're really excited about it,” said Maw. “It's getting people outside and it's giving the kids an opportunity to express themselves creatively—that's really important to us. We've had tremendous feedback with it. It's a brand-new thing for us and we're loving the creativity from the kids.”

Something Maw thinks will keep kids engaged while teaching them new hobbies is the “adventure backpack.”

“There's eight different themes—astronomy, critters, fishing—and in the backpack there's two or three books to complement the theme,” she said. “Then there's other complementary things; for astronomy there's a little telescope and information about astronomy. In the fishing one there's a fishing rod and a tackle box. It's a good way to get kids interested in different sorts of things they haven't necessarily looked into before.”

An ambitious idea they've come up with is the Story Walk that will get kids in the community both out on their feet exploring the beauty of Caledon and keeping them reading.

“[This is] through the TD Summer Reading Club,” she said. “They've selected a book and given us a storyboard, and really it's a travelling story walk. The boards are roughly 24x12 and each board features a page of the story. The children go along in the park and read the story as they go from sign to sign—they almost look like real estate signs. Then at the end there's a code and if they finish the story and take the code, they're then entered into a draw to win a prize from Forester's Book Garden. We have it at our Alton branch (Alton Park) right now (July 5 to 23) then it'll be going to the Caledon Trailway July 24 to August 6 and then it's going downtown Bolton to Dick's Damn Park for two weeks (August 7 to 20) and finally our Southfields Village branch (August 21 to September 3).”

Through clues posted on social media, CPL will be running a treasure hunt all summer for all ages. It's running from July 5 to August 27 and through the clues participants will be led to mystery locations with codes to enter the QR codes into a reader on their phone to be entered into a draw for a prize.

“Each week, we're sharing clues (on CPL's youth group Facebook page ) and each week there's a different location,” said Maw. “Based on the clues they're supposed to go to different locations. Like for our butterfly garden, it's, ‘you butter hurry up or I might fly away! I am something that has bark, although, I am not a dog. When somebody cuts me down, I might end up as a log.' Then when they figure out the clues they can go and discover the QR code geocaches throughout Caledon.”

The programming CPL might be most excited about is what they have coming together for teenagers in the community this summer, says Maw, after previously struggling to appeal to the demographic. 

“Our hardest target market has really been the teens,” she said. “What we've done this year is we actually have a group of teens our staff is working with and they're creating the programs for us. They started a virtual teen cafe—the first one had 12 teens—and they're really excited about it. There's an art night, a murder mystery night that already has 20 registered, a baking challenge is coming up. I think we've finally found the secret because who are we to decide what teens want? Let them tell us and be part of the planning process. It's always been a hard audience to crack.”

Knowing that adults are feeling burnt out as a result of the pandemic, CPL has their annual summer reading club, but will have a new spin on it to incentivize readers and show how much they appreciate local businesses. 

“Summer's not just for the kids,” she said. “We have an adult summer reading club. We've always done an adult summer reading club where we encourage the adults too because what better way to get children to read then have them mimicking the behaviour of their parents. But this year—and last year—in our efforts to support local businesses, we're doing weekly challenges. This year we've purchased gift cards from 18 local businesses and as you complete the challenge each week, we draw winners. We tried to do a mix of the businesses that have supported us in the past, but also there's quite a few new businesses opening, so we tried to go across Caledon to make sure we have businesses from all the communities.

“When someone wins from, say, Caledon Hills Brewery, we'll post it on social media and tag them and try to give them some promotion. It's our way of supporting local businesses because local businesses have been good to us for so many years.”

CPL knows they're a cornerstone of the Caledon, Maw explains, and that's why they've been focused on providing a creative and social outlet for those in need during the pandemic.

“We have a really creative staff that's been working so hard and is always thinking of new outside the box ideas,” she said. “I think last summer it was new to all of us so we didn't have time to prepare, but this year we've really taken the time to plan and looked at everything we can do to support the community and the kids.”

For more information on the programming CPL is running this summer, visit caledon.library.on.ca/summer. and checkout the event calendar at engagedpatrons.org/EventsCalendar.cfm?SiteID=8142.