A new program launched by South Shore public libraries will help residents in remote areas connect to high-speed Internet.
The library has partnered with @NS Community Technology to provide mobile Wi-Fi hotspots on the Bell Mobility cellular network.
The devices can be signed out for a period of four weeks and provide unlimited data.
Acting Chief Librarian Jeff Mercer says this is one more way the library is there to serve the needs of the community.
“Well, we’re not unique in Nova Scotia where a lot of our area are places where people just don’t have reliable Internet if they have Internet at all,” said Mercer. “We heard that and in advance of any sort of infrastructure being built we said OK this is a way we can help people out, at least in the short term, and we can make it free through the library.”
The library has 12 WiFi hotspots to loan out.
Mercer says the demand for the hotspots is already quite high.
“It’s pretty popular, so if you had a request today, I don’t think you’d get it definitely in a month but hopefully not too much longer than that,” said Mercer.
Anyone wishing to sign out a hot spot must have a South Shore Public Libraries card and be over 18 years of age.
Mercer says most of the units are held at the main branch in Bridgewater however a request can be placed at any branch, including the mobile library, and they ‘ll be moved to that location for pick up.
Authors Francesca Ekwuyasi, Ronan O’Driscoll and Morgan Murray take questions at Lunenburg Lit. Photo contributed by South Shore Public Libraries
An annual celebration of authors is returning to the South Shore.
The Lunenburg Literary Festival, or Lunenburg Lit as it has come to be known, is preparing to welcome some of the country’s top authors in their genres to Lunenburg for the seventh year in a row.
South Shore Public Libraries CEO Ashley Nunn-Smith says bringing these authors into smaller venues allows attendees to get up close and personal.
“I think the beauty of Lunenburg Lit Fest it’s quite an intimate setting. You are going to get a chance to walk up and say hello to the author, ask them to sign your book. They’re going to have a chance to have some pretty informal chit-chat. They’ll also be able to ask some questions from the audience,” said Nunn-Smith.
Lunenburg Lit was fortunate to be one of the events that continued throughout the pandemic by following protocols and cutting the number of attendees in half.
The library’s Communication and Engagement Coordinator Christina Pottie says the events held over those two years were special for the audience but especially so for the authors.
“Many of the authors, this was their only public speaking event in two years,” said Pottie. “They were just so thrilled to have that live audience and have that audience participation and just the feel that you get when you read in front of people instead of reading from a screen.”
Lunenburg Lit is back to full capacity for all events this year and is offering a full schedule over the weekend of September 22 – 24.
Author Lyndsey Ruck gives copies of her books to Bluenose Academy students Charlie Francis and Vivian Halverson at 2021 Lunenburg Lit. Photo Courtesy South Shore Public Libraries
The festival kicks off Thursday the 22 with two free events: poet and novelist Gloria Ann Wesley leads a youth event at the Heritage Bandstand to discuss her novels, Chasing Freedom and If This Is Freedom.
That’s followed by a panel at St. John’s parish hall on Thursday evening, where writers and publishers answer audience questions about first steps in literary publishing.
Friday, the Lunenburg School of the Arts will host readings from novelist and short-story writer David Bergen, poet and journalist El Jones, and multiple-genre writer Heather O’Neill.
The festival offers a full slate of events Saturday with a Literary Walking Tour of Lunenburg at midday, journalist and University of Kings instructor Trina Roache will interview writer and politician Charlie Angus in the afternoon and the festival wraps up that evening with novelist and screenplay writer Shyam Selvadurai, Newfoundland author Megan Gail Coles, and Halifax novelist Jane Doucet.
Towns along the South Shore are taking part in the region’s first ever pride week.
For the past several years most local municipalities have flown the pride flag in a show of solidarity with the 2SLGBTQ+ community.
This year, Lunenburg Pride is working to increase their exposure by expanding the annual flag raising to a week of activities including a dog show, seniors lesbian social, trivia night and pub night, ending with a drag show and dance on Saturday.
Chair of Lunenburg Pride Steve Ellis says there’s a large 2SLGBTQ+ community on the South Shore and they wanted to tailor events to suit local needs.
“Not everyone wants to go all the way to Halifax to have events and they’d rather be supporting their own community,” said Ellis. “So, we decided this year that we wanted to have a week’s worth of events that will include all demographics and something on a smaller scale that represents our community better than the city.”
One event that has generated some controversy is Drag Queen story time being hosted by the Margaret Hennigar Library in Bridgewater.
Following several inappropriate comments South Shore Public Libraries closed commenting on the event on Facebook.
Ellis says there’s no reason to fear a man reading to children while wearing a dress.
“If you think about it on a very basic level, it’s no different than hiring a clown for your kid’s birthday party. That’s a man dressed up in drag. If we take away the seriousness about it, because it’s serious that we get hate about it,” said Ellis. “But at the end of the day, there’s plenty of things that kids go to where people are dressed up so this is no different.”
Pride Flag. Photo Ed Halverson
Each year the Region of Queens flies the pride flag to coincide with Halifax pride events in July.
Ellis says the Lunenburg Pride group would like to see the week expand next year and says Queens would be natural fit.
“We’re definitely open to working with Queens. I know that we have people who work with the municipality who work on various inclusion projects that have contacted us and we’ve worked on things together in the past. So yeah, we definitely would be willing to work with them to make an even bigger organization.”
Ellis says hosting a week of events to increase their visibility is important to members of the 2SLGBTQ+ community, particularly in rural areas of Nova Scotia.
“It means a lot to me and I know others who have approached us, telling us what it means to them, to have events to go to. And if they’re not comfortable going to the events they can drive all across the South Shore and they’re going to see a pride flag waving and they know that they’re in a safe space. And that means more than all the events together and the events allow us to do more meaningful work.”
A plan to build a new library in Queens has become a political football.
During budget discussion in March, council decided to spend $3 million on replacing the aging Thomas H Raddall library in Liverpool.
A six-member steering committee consisting of two people from South Shore Public Libraries, two members of the library board and two library users were tasked with devising criteria and determining the best location for a new library in South Queens.
They were looking for a centrally located site with access to sidewalks that offered space to build a 6,000 square foot library and 24 parking spaces, easy emergency access, good exterior lighting, outdoor space, and no known flooding.
Of the eight possible locations, the board was unanimous in selecting Queens Place.
The recommendation was brought before Region of Queens council at the June 14 meeting and was rejected in a 5-3 vote.
Some councillors raised concerns moving the library away from the schools and some private daycare operators would deter students from using the services.
Others wanted to see the new library build tied to the construction of a new privately funded pool.
With seven options remaining, council agreed to meet July 5 to discuss the criteria and provide clearer direction to the steering committee about what locations they would be willing to accept.
After eliminating the steering committee’s unanimous first choice Mayor Darlene Norman says council wrestled with how to word their direction to the committee.
“It ended with a recommendation that the library steering committee choose the second-best site,” said Norman.
The meeting was lively as some councillors argued residents of the old town of Liverpool would not make their way across the bridge to a library at Queens Place.
Others pointed out the new Queens Manor long-term care home will be situated next door to Queens Place allowing residents greater access to library services.
Depending on which of the remaining sites make the short list, Norman says a recommendation from the steering committee on a location may not come back to council before September.
Region of Queens Administration Building. Photo Ed Halverson
Tax decreases across Queens highlight this year’s budget.
At the most recent Region of Queens Council meeting a budget was tabled containing a three cent per $100 assessment drop for residential and commercial property owners in Queens.
Properties in Liverpool will now pay $1.93 per $100 residential and $3.03 per $100 commercial rates.
Outside Liverpool the amounts range from $1.07 residential to $2.17 commercial unless the property is in Brooklyn.
Property owners there add six cents to cover a four and a half cent area rate for the recreation centre and one and a half cents for the cemetery.
Mayor Darlene Norman says following an increase in assessments council wanted to provide some relief to property owners.
“Assessments went up somewhat and the council and staff that there’s a lot of things that happened last year and they weren’t going to happen again but yet there’s room for new things and with the increase we were able to put forward a progressive budget,” said Norman.
An area that saw a dramatic increase was water bills.
Council had already approved a base rate increase of 19 percent and 33 percent for consumption over the next three years.
Norman says the first water rate increase in 18 years will bring the municipality in line with what comparable regions across the province are charging.
“The water people who did our study for the UARB (Nova Scotia Utility and Revue Board), said good municipalities have, every year or every so many years, just a little slight increase so you don’t get something like this happening,” said Norman.
The Queens Community Aquatic Society made a presentation to council regarding the construction of a new outdoor pool.
Norman says council will take time to review those materials before deciding how or if they will move ahead with the proposal.
Later in the agenda council voted to repeal the Region’s vaccine mandate policy to align with the recently lifted provincial COVID restrictions.
They also discussed the composition of the steering team who will lead the development of the new library.
The six-member group will include two people from South Shore Public Libraries, two members of the library board and two library users.
A request from the Queens County Historical Society to repaint two prominent murals located on buildings in Liverpool will come back for discussion at the next council meeting.
South Shore Public Libraries new Bookmobile. Photo Ed Halverson
South Shore Public Libraries has replaced their aging mobile library with a state of the art, purpose-built bookmobile.
Driver and library clerk Dave Smith says the new vehicle comes with a new name as a nod to the way the service is already perceived in the community.
“You know, I’ve been with the library for many years, I always associate it, it’s the bookmobile and when you go into communities people always say, oh the bookmobile is there, which is great. Nice to have it back,” said Smith.
The library’s new bookmobile has the wide variety of books and videos patrons have come to expect as well as several new advantages over the previous version.
The old mobile library was, essentially, a repurposed school bus. The aisle was narrow, climate controls were basically non-existent and it was difficult for anyone with mobility issues to gain access.
The new bookmobile features a wide aisle and brightly lit shelves. It is fully air-conditioned and heated and has an accessible lift at the end to allow people with mobility issues to come on and freely access any part of the vehicle.
Bookmobile staff Dave Smith and Crystal Madill. Photo Ed Halverson
Crystal Madill has worked with South Shore Public Libraries for almost 40 years, the past 12 years in the mobile library.
She says the new bus creates a social environment where people can come in, sit on one of the two opposing benches and browse the collection while interacting with their neighbours.
“You can sit down and enjoy the atmosphere. This is also very much a community spot,” said Madill. “So they sit on the benches and have a little chat and a visit with each other and gossip.”
A couple of bookmobile patrons enjoy a chat on the new benches. Photo Ed Halverson
That community hub mentality extends outside the bookmobile as well.
A large antenna allows people to connect wirelessly to high speed internet, something that is sorely lacking in many of the communities the bookmobile visits.
The new bookmobile further integrates itself into the community by providing an awning for shade, and a white board and speakers that allow the vehicle to show movies.
External outlets powered either by an inverter or generator provide people a place to plug in their laptops or even charge their electronics in the event of an emergency.
Smith and Madill say patrons have been giving the new bookmobile rave reviews since it launched in late July.
A schedule for stops in Queens county can be found by visiting South Shore Public Libraries website.
The first steps have been taken to strengthen the relationship between South Shore Public Libraries and the region’s BIPOC community.
Chief Librarian Troy Myers describes Friday’s meeting with the anti-racism task force from the town of Bridgewater as a starting point.
“Our role was to listen, to learn. We started a relationship that we know is going to take some time,” said Myers. “We still accept full responsibility.”
Their choice to use the recent controversy around the publisher’s decision to stop printing some Dr. Suess titles because they contained racist language and imagery provoked a strong reaction online.
Members of the Bridgewater anti-racism task force didn’t want to be recorded for this story. The representative said they, in no way, wish to portray that they speak for the entire BIPOC community.
They did say that the library board listened to their position during the meeting but there is still a long way to go before real change in the institutional racism can be fully addressed.
Myers appreciates the task force member’s willingness to engage with the library and provide their perspective. He reiterated just how sorry he was to have upset members of the community.
“We want our spaces to be safe and secure for everybody and it’s our fault that some people are feeling they’re not. We’re not asking for people to accept this apology. We want people to watch our actions moving forward,” said Myers.
Actions before words
Hours before the meeting, South Shore BIPOC, a collective of BIPOC people on the South Shore of Nova Scotia organizing advocacy, events, and community supports for BIPOC posted a 17 page letter to Facebook outlining several concerns, among which are how the controversy has been handled, the deletion of posts and how Myers could confuse their group with the Bridgewater anti-racism task force.
The letter included several suggestions as to how SSPL could begin to address institutional racism including: providing dedicated funding for resources by and for BIPOC communities, creating an independent advisory council to decide next steps, a review of senior library staff and equity hiring practices, anti-racism training and education for staff, and a commitment to a timely review of children’s and young adult books to ensure racist and discriminatory materials are removed.
The letter was addressed to SSPL board of directors and senior staff, the director of Nova Scotia Public Libraries, Vanessa Fells with the African Nova Scotia decade for people of African descent coalition and the minister of communities cultures and heritage Suzanne Lohnes-Croft.
Spokesperson for South Shore BIPOC Jessika Hepburn says they highlighted several resources the library can engage to begin reparations. Until they see action being taken they will not accept Myers’ offer to meet.
“No work has been done to guarantee any kind of safety,” said Hepburn. “I could go to that meeting, it’s going to be upsetting and traumatic for me but there is no way that any of the people in our community are going to be willing to sit down with a library or any sort of institution that is so clearly not capable of having this conversation.”
Hepburn says the library didn’t acknowledge the group’s concerns on the original posts and have done nothing to engage with South Shore BIPOC since.
She says she has yet to see any outreach by the library, including inviting the Bridgewater anti-racism task force to a meeting.
“A municipal task force that they have a fiduciary responsibility to, because they receive financial contributions every year from the town of Bridgewater, that’s not outreach,” said Hepburn. “That’s responding to a letter that you received. They had a responsibility to respond, that’s PR.”
Myers says the library and the anti-racism committee will meet again in the coming weeks. He hopes the continued dialogue will help lead to changes to make everyone feel safe and included at South Shore public libraries.
“We ask for people’s patience and understanding,” said Myers. “These things take time. We’re not going to fix it tonight or tomorrow; it’s going to take some time. It’s a long journey and I’m making that pledge to leave this library in a better position than I found it 11 years ago and I’m committed to that.”
Thomas H. Raddall Library. Photo credit Ed Halverson
A social media post meant to provoke discussion around controversial topics has landed South Shore Public Libraries officials in hot water.
Members of the South Shore Black, Indigenous and People of Colour group are taking the library to task after they published an article on Wednesday by National Post writer John Robson.
The post offers the writer’s stance against the decision by the estate and publisher of Dr. Seuss to cease publishing six of his books featuring racist imagery or language.
The library has apologized for the post but spokesperson for BIPOC South Shore Jessika Hepburn says there needs to be more.
“I don’t accept apologies from my children. I tell them the best apology is changed behaviour. I ask them what are they going to do. An apology means nothing without meaningful action.”
The post was the first in a series by the library as part of their participation in the Freedom to Read initiative.
Chief librarian at South Shore Public Libraries Troy Meyers says they didn’t set out to offend anyone.
“We just wanted to foster, in the spirit of freedom to read and access to information, a larger, more open discussion of the merits of the titles that should continue to be celebrated.”
Screen shots of South Shore Public Libraries Facebook posts
Reaction was swift as members of the public condemned the library’s intention to spark controversy.
Later in the day the library uploaded another video to their Facebook page offering a differing viewpoint on the Seuss discussion, but by that time the damage was already done.
Dozens of comments asking for the library to explain itself went unanswered*. Meyers attributes the silence to a lack of resources.
“We’re new to the world of how to manage social media and we don’t have a person who is directly responsible for it. We should’ve had a full-time moderator and we didn’t. We have people who are doing nine other things throughout the day and they help with our social media.”
Meyers says the library now recognizes social media was not the place to have this discussion.
Hepburn is concerned the library would have such a blind spot where issues of race are involved.
“It’s important to recognize, it’s not just a misstep, it’s not just an unintentional mistake; it is systemic racism.”
Meyers says members of the BIPOC community make up only a small number of the total staff working for the library and none of them were on the social media team responsible for the posts.
The offending posts were removed from Facebook late Thursday afternoon and by Friday the library’s apology post was deleted as well. Meyers says they’ve learned a valuable lesson and deleting the posts is part of an effort to move forward and correct their error.
“It was a mistake and it’s not to scrub the corporate memory, it’s just to be able to start the next chapter in this conversation which is how South Shore Public Libraries can do a better job, and to promote diversity and to work with our local BIPOC communities in Queens County and Lunenburg County and strive to do better.”
Hepburn says as an organization, South Shore Public Libraries need to educate themselves on why the posts were so offensive and upset so many.
“There’s a huge amount of work that needs to be done and the first part is to actually demonstrate some humility, to recognize that they obviously do not have the skills or the capacity or the knowledge to address these concerns and to reach out to the people who do.”
To that end, Myers says he had a conversation with a representative of the Bridgewater anti-racism task force and will be meeting with members of that group next week.**
“We’d love to have a member of their group join our board. And we’d love to have them help us develop some training modules that we can use and to help deliver them so we can make sure that people are sensitized to the issues that are important to us as a healthy diverse community.”
*A previous version of this story said the responses were answered. They in fact were unanswered and the story has been changed for accuracy.
**A previous version of this story indicated SSPL was going to meet with members of South Shore BIPOC. Myers has clarified that during the conversation with the Bridgewater anti-racism task force he thought he was speaking with members of South Shore BIPOC as well. He has reached out to South Shore BIPOC and has offered to meet with them.
