People participate in a walk audit near the Thomas H. Raddall Library off the White Point Road in Liverpool. (Rick Conrad)

People took to the streets this week to brave some cool and wet conditions, and traffic, to get an idea of how safe it is for walkers around the new Liverpool library location.

Hike Nova Scotia held a walk audit in the area. Program manager Catherine Droesbeck said the organization has done about 15 walk audits around the province through its NS Walks program. But this was the first one for Liverpool.

The Region of Queens asked the group to hold the event to help get community input on how to encourage people to use active transportation, like walking and cycling, to get to and from the library.

“We’ve been doing walking audits now for the past nine months or so all over the province in communities big and small, who are all interested in improving the experience for pedestrians in getting around their communities,” Droesbeck said in an interview.

“Then we’ve been going in and helping them do the audit, which gives us some good data in terms of people’s experience, but also it’s a great way to engage community with government officials and other organizations to bring people together to say, ‘This is what we love about our community, but this is how we we’d like to make it better.’”

About 15 people participated in the walk audit, which took participants on a two-kilometre route from the library, along Harley Umphrey Drive, up to White Point Road, along Payzant Street, across Parker to Union, over to Waterloo and back to the library.

Morgan MacDonald, the region’s new physical activity co-ordinator, said walking is one of the most popular and accessible forms of physical activity. 

“And one of the barriers to walking for many people is safety,” he said.

“So having a walkability audit allows us to take a certain portion of the region, which is around our new library location in Liverpool, and looking at the accessibility and the barriers to active transportation around this location and tying it into the existing infrastructure of the town of Liverpool. So by trying to address some of the barriers to people walking and rolling, we’re hoping that they’ll feel comfortable and confident to make that part of their everyday life.”

When participatns got back to the library, they were asked to rate the route on various factors, such as traffic, sidewalks, crosswalks and safety, out of an overall score of 120. Most were in the 40 to 50 range, with one as high as 92.

They said that even though there are no sidewalks on roads around the library, the shoulders are wide enough in some areas for walkers. But they added that the unevenness of the unpaved shoulders would make it difficult for people in wheelchairs to navigate.

They also talked about the lack of clearly marked crosswalks on the route, and suggested installing crosswalk flags at certain intersections.

When regional council decided to move the library from downtown to the new location, residents were concerned about safety because the area has no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Sylvia Hurley of Liverpool was one of the walkers. She says she loves to walk, but it can sometimes be hazardous.

“And I have a lot of concerns about areas of walking, crosswalks, how walkers are treated locally, not stopping at crosswalks, not paying attention to us. I wanted to express my concerns big time,” she said on the route.

“I used to walk out on this street (White Point Road), but I haven’t walked here for a very long time. It’s dangerous, very dangerous. It’s narrow. But I’m fortunate because I can come up George Street from my house and be to the library which suits me. I don’t have to come out on to this road, but not everyone’s that fortunate.”

Hurley said she thinks the walking audit is a great idea.

“But if they’re going to do an audit, do the audit but honour what people say. Don’t just, ‘Oh yeah, they complained about this, they complained about that.’ Let’s do something about it.”

Hike Nova Scotia’s Droesbeck said responses from the walk audit will be compiled in a report to the municipality.

“I think we identified some, what we’ll call low-hanging fruit today, that the community can do that will go a long way to make people feel safer when they’re walking this particular route. So whether it’s marking the crosswalks better, looking at speed limit signs, more some benches and things that will make it look more like, OK, people want to walk here and walk safely. So I think there’s some possibilities there.”

The region’s MacDonald said this was only the first of a few community consultations about active transportation, including walking and cycling. More are planned this summer through Cycling Nova Scotia in Caledonia, Greenfield and again in Liverpool.

He said the results of this week’s walk audit are important to highlight for regional staff and council the community’s concerns about walking in the area.

“So it was looking at how all of these different systems interact and how we can make infrastructure and spaces that work for everybody and encourage healthy activity and safe activity in our community.”

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Sherman Nunes of Liverpool watches on Saturday as his kids Luke and Lisa play in the new children’s area of the Thomas H. Raddall Library. (Rick Conrad)

The Thomas H.  Raddall Library officially opened its doors on Saturday, as about 70 people helped usher in a new chapter for the Liverpool branch.

The library has been open for about six weeks in its new interim home at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. People were impressed with the new digs, with some hoping the library stays where it is, with others wishing for a permanent location closer to downtown.

The event on Saturday featured local and provincial politicians, as well as many library staff.

The Region of Queens budgeted up to $1.26 million on renovations to the space in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road. The library had to leave the Rossignol Cultural Centre in downtown Liverpool by Dec. 31 because the building’s owner Sherman Hines was selling the building.

Tom Raddall and his family have allowed South Shore Public Libraries to continue to use the famed Nova Scotia author’s name on the Liverpool branch for another five years. 

Raddall said he’s happy the library is in a better, newer space.

“Hopefully, it’s a step in the right direction,” he told QCCR. “Certainly it’s in a far better space than it was before. The location has been a controversial one over the years. But this library needed to be in a newer spot and this will suit the purpose until another one is built in the appropriate location.”

Many residents were concerned that the new location isn’t easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting. 

Region of Queens Mayor Scott Christian said that he’s excited about the new space, with its expanded program rooms, commercial kitchen and children’s section.

“The plans are to make this space as great as we can make it. And we need to, as a community and as a council, figure out what makes sense in terms of either bringing a future library closer to town or bringing town closer to this library

Christian said it’s too early to say what the future holds for a more permanent location. But he said the region has to work out its priorities for the next few years, and address whether Liverpool needs a new, multipurpose community centre which could include meeting space, a gymnasium and the library.

“I think the focus right now, both for the folks at South Shore (Public) Libraries and also for the Region of Queens staff and the work that they’ve done to make the built environment really work, is to figure out how, for now, to make this the best space that we can make it.

“And the space is great in there, so it’s what do we need to do with the surrounding environment to remove barriers, … make sure that users who want to be accessing the space are provided that opportunity.”

Queens MLA Kim Masland said she would support a request for provincial funding for a new space for the library. But she said Saturday that she was impressed with its interim location.

“I think today we see as many people that are here, lots of smiling faces, lots of people really excited about this. This is also an interim facility here for now and so hopefully we’ll see a new library built in town, that would certainly be my wish someday. But we’re here for now and this is certainly a great interim facility.”

Lin Ireland of Liverpool was one of the many local library lovers taking it all in on Saturday.

“I think this is great,” she said. “It’s going to be used. And people complain about the location but I don’t think it’s all that far out. … I’m happy with it right where it is. A lot of money went into building this and why not leave it here?”

Susan McGibbon of Liverpool said her gardening club had their first meeting in the new branch a couple of weeks ago, and turnout was double their usual attendance. While she likes the new larger, brighter space, she hopes the region can build a new space in a more central location. 

“I don’t think there was another option, and I think they’ve done a good job making it a good option,” McGibbon said.

“Do I think we need another location that’s part of a community hub? Yes, absolutely. And I think a new library committee getting struck is going to happen very soon, so that work can get going.”

Sherman Nunes of Liverpool was at the library on Saturday with his four-year-old Lisa and his two-year-old Luke, as they played in the new children’s area.

“It’s beautiful, it’s spacious, it has a lot of light. I’ve been to the previous library. This is a step up. It’s very nice. 

“We like to take the kids out, and previously we did not have an indoor space around here in Liverpool, where we could take them out for a day or something, so we had to drive up to Bridgewater. But I think with this new addition, it would be nice to get them over here every weekend, especially so that they can run around, read some books, play with the toys. As you can see, they’re already occupied.”

The Thomas H. Raddall Library is open six days a week and closed on Mondays. Queens County Transit offers free rides to and from the library. That service runs every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. from the market shelter beside Hell Bay Brewing.

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Susie and Joan Stephenson of Port Joli visit the Bookmobile recently at its stop in Port Mouton. (Rick Conrad)

It’s the last one in Nova Scotia. And it’s still motoring along the South Shore.

Each week, the Bookmobile brings books, DVDs and other materials to about 15 communities in Lunenburg and Queens counties, from Chester to Caledonia.

A mobile library has been operating on the South Shore since the 1970s.

Other library systems around Nova Scotia have stopped the service. The Cape Breton Regional Library had the only other one and it retired its Bookmobile in November 2024.

So now, the South Shore has the only remaining Bookmobile in the province. And it shows no signs of slowing down.

Ashley Nunn-Smith is the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries.

“Our Bookmobile has been on the road for 50 years. But it’s much beloved, it’s very much a fabric of the community. For example, a few weeks ago, we had someone bring the books out to Caledonia in their van because the Bookmobile was having some mechanical issues and not only did people come out to pick up their items, but they had almost like a tailgate party. They just hung around the back of the van and chatted with their neighbours. There was nothing keeping them there other than that sense of community.

“It’s not just about the books, although that’s wonderful to drive books out to people. It’s really about a sense of community.”

Joan Stephenson of Port Joli was at a recent Bookmobile stop at Coastal Queens Place in Port Mouton. Stephenson and her daughter Susie are some of the regular patrons the Bookmobile serves every three weeks at this location. It visits certain communities on a weekly basis, while others are on a tri-weekly schedule.

“We remember when we had to fight to get a Bookmobile because the county didn’t want it,” Stephenson says. “And instead they put streetlights on our road and fought the Bookmobile, and we said it’s a different kind of enlightenment.”

In 2021, the library put a new custom-built Bookmobile on the road at a cost of about $500,000, with an accessibility lift, Wi-fi and seven electrical outlets where people can charge their devices.

Last year, the mobile service had an average of 1,100 monthly visitors who checked out 3,000 items, accounting for about 15 per cent of the library’s overall visits and circulation. Fuel and maintenance take up about two per cent of the library’s total $1.9-million operating budget.

Nunn-Smith says that because the South Shore has fewer physical library locations than other library systems around Nova Scotia, having the Bookmobile is essential.

“I think that by having the library on wheels we can bring it to more spaces than we would be able to reach with brick and mortar locations. We’re able to reach more communities that we wouldn’t be able to otherwise. We reach Port Mouton and Mill Village. Those places, it wouldn’t be feasible to operate a library branch, and so we’re able to bring the library to them.”

Susie Stephenson says she remembers the anticipation as a kid waiting for the Bookmobile to visit, a feeling she still has years later.

“When we lived in Broad River, we all went and we’d come home with clothes baskets full of books. The eight of us would just sit around and read. And you’d do it until you had to eat.

“It makes it accessible and it keeps me in reading material. And it keeps me interested and not depressed. I can sit and read a book and look at it. … I’ll take two or three bags lots of times.”

Her mother Joan says it’s something she looks forward to every three weeks.

“I can’t be away too long. My husband’s disabled. So it’s fun to come here. And the wonderful thing is the people who drive and work on the Bookmobile over all these years we’ve had it have always become our friends. They know what you’re looking for and we laugh. They want to know how your trip was or how your surgery was. They become friends.

“We love it. We love the Bookmobile. I’m an old lady and hopefully it will outlive me.”

The Bookmobile visits Caledonia every Saturday from 10 a.m to noon in the NSLC parking lot. It will be back in Mill Village at the fire hall on April 4 from 12:30 to 1:30 p.m. and in Port Mouton at Coastal Queens Place on April 4 from 2 to 3:30 p.m.

You can find the schedule for the Bookmobile on the South Shore Public Libraries website.

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Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO of South Shore Public Libraries, stands in front of the Book Sanctuary display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater. (Rick Conrad)

You may not agree with the content of certain books, but the staff at South Shore Public Libraries will fight for your right to read them.

That’s why they’ve created the South Shore’s first Book Sanctuary at their main branch in Bridgewater to mark Freedom to Read Week, which kicked off Sunday.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says it’s a permanent collection designed to highlight and protect books at risk.

“It is 50 titles that have been either banned or challenged in libraries and schools across North America,” she told QCCR.

“This is is a permanent home for these titles. They’re presently on display for about three weeks, and then after that folks can borrow them and bring them home and read and think about the reason why someone might want you not to read that book. So we’re declaring ourselves a book sanctuary, a safe haven for books that somebody doesn’t want you to read.”

Christina Pottie, communication and engagement lead for South Shore Public Libraries, organized it in about three weeks. She and Nunn-Smith attended a recent library conference in Ontario, which highlighted the book sanctuary created by the Toronto Public Library in 2023. SSPL is using the same list used by Toronto.

The idea began at the Chicago Public Library in 2022. Almost 4,800 book sanctuaries now exist across the U.S., according to booksanctuary.org.

Nunn-Smith says attempts to ban books are on the rise in North America. 

“We wanted to be proactive by establishing this collection now and saying that we will protect these items. We’ll protect intellectual freedom through all of our services and collections, but this is a visual and symbolic representation of that value.”

The book sanctuary includes typically banned books like 1984 or The Handmaid’s Tale, but also children’s books like Junie B. Jones and the Stupid Smelly Bus. 

“Junie B. Jones and The Stupid Smelly Bus is a title for readers around age seven. This one was was challenged in Toronto. And so the reasoning was that Junie would be a bad role model for young folks and encourage them to be rude to adults and encourage bad spelling. ”

The collection also includes the Bible, queer fiction and Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s controversial best-seller, The Real Anthony Fauci.

“It’s one point of view on public health and pharmaceuticals. Whether or not you believe this point of view, it’s still worthwhile to be able to read it, debate it, discuss it. Read different points of view form your own. That’s vital in a democratic society. I might personally disagree with some of the points of view in this collection but that doesn’t mean we have a right to remove them from the shelf.”

The collection of 50 adult, teen and children’s books is on display at the Margaret Hennigar Public Library in Bridgewater for three weeks. 

Beginning March 10, people will be able to sign out specific items in the collection, either in person or on the library’s website using the keywords SSPL Book Sanctuary.

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The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will reopen on Saturday. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED Feb. 21, 2:17 p.m.

The Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool is finally ready to welcome patrons to its new location.

It will reopen for full service on Saturday (Feb. 22) at 10 a.m. The library will be open six days a week and closed on Mondays.

The interim location at 54 Harley Umphrey Dr. is in the call centre building off White Point Road.

The branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, the CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR that she can’t wait for people to see the space.

“Very exciting. I know it’s been a long wait, longer than we had hoped but we are ready and we are ready to open,” Nunn-Smith said.

“People will be genuinely happy to see inside. There’s a lot of cozy chairs and nooks for reading. But really, the space is so much more than just the books. You can come in and warm up from the cold, you can chat with the staff, you can attend programs, so we’re really excited to be able to offer all of the services again.”

The lease at the former location on Old Bridge Street was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space.

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from the farmers market location on the Liverpool waterfront to Harley Umphrey Drive.

The Raddall family has agreed to allow the library to continue to use the Raddall name for five years because they’ve been assured by the region that the municipality is working on finding a permanent, central location for a new, purpose-built library.

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A few final touches and the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool will be ready to open at its new interim location. (Rick Conrad)

UPDATED THURSDAY, 9:55 A.M.

The library in Liverpool is close to reopening, but a few things have to be ironed out first.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, told QCCR on Wednesday that a final fire inspection has to be done, and internet issues have to be addressed. 

“The construction work itself is finished. Books are on the shelves. We are waiting on a few very key things. … Once those are resolved, any day now I hope to be able to open.”

The Thomas H. Raddall branch has been closed since Dec. 15, when staff packed up the library’s collection to prepare for the move from downtown Liverpool to a building about 1.5 kilometres away. 

The lease at the former location was due to expire at the end of December. So the Region of Queens decided to put the library, on an interim basis, in the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for renovations to the space. 

Many residents were concerned that it’s not easy to walk to, with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

Queens County Transit and the South Shore Public Libraries have teamed up to offer free transportation from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. every Thursday from downtown Liverpool to the new location.

“If it’s really successful, I’m sure we can talk about expanding it,” Nunn-Smith said. “We could potentially look at adding other times or other days of the week.”

Nunn-Smith says she empathizes with library patrons who can’t wait for the branch to reopen.

“I know everyone’s really excited to get inside and to have a library in their own community again. We had hoped to be open by now. … We’re really excited to welcome the patrons back in too.”

Nunn-Smith said the new location will keep the Thomas H. Raddall name, after Raddall’s family were assured that regional council is committed to finding a more central, permanent location. 

The municipality’s library steering committee had recommended that a new library be built near Queens Place Emera Centre, close to downtown Liverpool. Raddall’s grandson Tom was the honorary chairman of that committee, but resigned after councillors twice rejected the committee’s recommendations.

Councillors decided last February to move the library to the new interim location instead. 

“With the new council, I feel the attitude has changed,” Nunn-Smith says.

“I’ve met with the mayor and Coun. (Courtney) Wentzell who is on the library board. And they too agree that a true community hub should be at the centre of the community where the people are. And so with that in mind and all of us being aligned, the library board, the Raddall family and the council on the direction of the library, it seems like a positive turn.

“So because of that, Tom Raddall … has agreed to retain the Thomas H. Raddall Library name for another five years.”

Nunn-Smith said she believes “the best case scenario” would be five to seven years before a brand new library could be built.

Despite the delays in reopening in the interim location, she says she believes patrons will enjoy the new space.

It’s bigger and brighter, with a large expandable program room as well as a community kitchen. It’s also fully accessible. 

And it will feature raised garden beds outside, thanks to funding from the Nova Scotia government.

“I love the inside of the space. It’s wonderful. And even the green space directly outside of the library is going to be great too.

“The programming spaces are outstanding. I would love to have such programming spaces in our other locations. … It’s going to be our first branch with a community kitchen, so we can run cooking programs and other types of baking and cooking demonstrations. It’s just going to be wonderful.”

Nunn-Smith said she hopes the Thomas H. Raddall Library is back in business in a few days. 

But regardless, a grand reopening is planned for Sat., April 5.

“So a ribbon cutting and story times and music and some cake, that type of big celebration day, so that everyone who hasn’t checked it out yet can come and celebrate the new space with us.”

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Some of the new furniture at the new location of the Liverpool library. (Region of Queens photo)

The library in Liverpool is getting closer to reopening in its new temporary location.

The Region of Queens has been posting updates on its website as work has progressed at the Liverpool Business Development Centre on Harley Umphrey Drive, off White Point Road.

South Shore Public Libraries has not given a specific date for the branch to reopen. But the region says on its site that it’s likely to reopen by mid-January.

There’s still a lot of work to do. Workers are putting final touches on HVAC ductwork, sprinklers, electricity to the front desk, lighting, plumbing and the new kitchen.

Shelving units and some other furniture have been moved into the 6,500-square-foot space.

The region budgeted up to $1.26 million for the renovations to the empty space at the call centre building. The community was consulted on the design of the space.

But many were upset that regional council decided to put the library outside downtown in an area with no sidewalks and limited lighting.

A library steering committee had recommended a new library be built near Queens Place Emera Centre. But that was rejected twice by councillors. 

The location on Harley Umphrey Drive is supposed to be a short-term home while council works on a longer-term solution.

Library officials got about 200 responses to a survey in the fall asking for suggestions on a possible new name for the new location. They haven’t revealed if the library’s name will change from the Thomas H. Raddall Library. That decision rests with the board of South Shore Public Libraries.

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The library in Liverpool will be reopening in the new year in the Liverpool Business Development Centre off White Point Road. (Rick Conrad photo)

As the Liverpool library gets ready to move to its new location by the end of the year, the Region of Queens is beginning work to restart a library committee.

It will be chaired by Mayor Scott Christian and include District 3 Coun. Courtney Wentzell.

Establishing council’s various committees will be overseen by the region’s new municipal clerk. Pam Lovelace was hired a week ago to do that job.

Christian said she will be coming up with terms of reference for various committees, including the library committee.

“I think the initial work of that will be determining what the current need and purpose and mandate of a public committee associated with the library would look like and then constructing a terms of reference and populating a committee from there.”

Once that happens, the region would likely ask for members of the public to sit on the committee.

Regional councillors voted in February to move the Thomas H. Raddall Library to the Liverpool Business Development Centre off the White Point Road. Commonly known as the call centre building, it wasn’t the first choice for a new library site.

The previous council voted twice against the library steering committee’s recommendation to build a new library near Queens Place Emera Centre.

Many residents told councillors at a meeting last December that they did not want the library at the call centre site, which is outside of town in an area with no sidewalks and very little lighting.

The library’s lease at its current location downtown is up at the end of this year. So with time running out, councillors decided to move the library to the call centre building.

It’s supposed to be a short-term home while the newly elected council works on a longer-term solution. 

The region is spending up to $1.26 million on renovations for the new library space. They had set aside $3 million in 2022 for a new library.

Library staff will close the current location on Dec. 15, and begin packing up their collections for the move.

No date has been set yet for the library’s reopening. But it’s on track to be early in the new year.

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Library users in Liverpool are being encouraged to check out as many books and movies as they can carry before the Thomas H. Raddall location closes Dec. 15 to prepare for a move to its new location. (Rick Conrad)

Staff at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in downtown Liverpool are getting ready to move to their new location and they’re asking users to help lighten their load.

The library is encouraging people to take out as many books and movies as they like until the branch closes on Dec. 15.

Ashley Nunn-Smith, CEO and chief librarian of South Shore Public Libraries, says patrons also have an extra-long loan period to enjoy the extra books.

“All items that have been checked out this week until we close won’t be due back until Feb. 1, so folks are encouraged just to hold on to those,” Nunn-Smith says.

“We have canvas bags to hand out. And we’re encouraging people to check out as many books and movies as they can carry to their vehicle to help us lighten the load so that there are less items on the shelves to pack into boxes.”

The library’s lease at its current location at the Rossignol Cultural Centre in Liverpool expires at the end of December.

In Nova Scotia, municipalities look after buildings and furniture for libraries, while the provincial government provides about 70 per cent of overall funding for staffing and other expenses.

Region of Queens councillors voted in February to move the library to the municipally owned Liverpool Business Development Centre off the White Point Road, two kilometres outside the downtown.

It’s supposed to be a temporary location, but users fear the library will stay there. The region is spending between $1.1 and $1.26 million on renovations to the 6,500-square-foot space.

Nunn-Smith says she’s looking forward to the library’s newer, bigger home and the opportunities it will create for programs and the community.

“Our current space in Liverpool has two program rooms and they’re often both in use. And this space will have two program rooms with a wall that can be removed between the two for those larger programs that get big attendance, as well as a kitchen and a teen space and a soundproof meeting pod. So we’ll be able to offer more spaces, a mix of quiet spaces, and fun kid-friendly spaces, (where) the current location is limited.”

She said it will be the first library branch on the South Shore with a dedicated space for teens. 

Nunn-Smith said it was important for the library to involve the community as much as possible in the move.

That’s why they asked the public for input on a new name, if they decide to change it from the Thomas H. Raddall Library.

They got about 200 responses. People could choose from a suggested list or write in their own choice.

Nunn-Smith said they got a lot of good suggestions – and only one Booky McBookface. 

“I had warned the board when you let the internet name something, you might end up with a Boaty McBoatface. With that caveat, we did want to get that feedback from the public.”

The naming decision ultimately rests with the library board. So, no Booky McBookface branch in Liverpool.

“I can’t see that one moving forward,” Nunn-Smith says, laughing.

Nunn-Smith says that after the Liverpool branch closes on Dec. 15, staff will begin boxing up the remaining collections for transport to the new location. 

“We have a lot of staff coming in that first week after we close. I’m confident we’ll be able to get that (packing) done, and hopefully said and done before the holidays so the staff can relax and not have that worry hanging over them.”

An opening date hasn’t been set yet, but Nunn-Smith said the library will let people know as soon as they are ready to reopen.

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Drag performers Rhett Torical and Rouge Fatale read to kids and adults as part of Reading with Royalty at the Thomas H. Raddall Library in Liverpool on Thursday. (Rick Conrad photo)

Drag queen story hour made its fabulous debut in Liverpool on Thursday as part of Pride celebrations on the South Shore.

The event, dubbed Reading with Royalty, featured Rouge Fatale, one of Nova Scotia’s best known drag performers, and drag king Rhett Torical.

They were at the Thomas H. Raddall Library to read to and sing along with kids and their parents, grandparents and others.

Two hecklers stood outside the library and yelled insults at Rouge and Rhett as they entered the building. The women later came into the library to watch. Staff had to ask one of them to leave after she appeared to be taking photos of the crowd.

Still, about 20 people showed up to listen to Rouge and Rhett read from such books as My Shadow is Purple, Bathe the Cat, Julian is a Mermaid and The Hips on the Drag Queen Go Swish, Swish, Swish, which was also one of the singalongs.

Here are some sounds from the afternoon and reaction from those who were there.