NB 605
June 12, 2002
GRAND MANAN (CNB) - Katelyn Small, a Grade 5 student and enthusiastic member of the Grand Manan Library's Hackmatack Book Club, today cut the ribbon officially opening the first public library in the history of Grand Manan Island.
"Grand Manan was settled 220 years ago and there are records of requests for the establishment of a public library dating back more than 100 years," Education Minister Dennis Furlong said in a prepared speech. "Today, the patience of the people of Grand Manan has been rewarded.''
Furlong's speech was read by a Department of Education official after bad weather prevented a plane carrying the minister from landing on Grand Manan.
The Department of Education, through the New Brunswick Public Library Service, School District 10 and the Village of Grand Manan are partners in the Grand Manan Library. The library is located in the Grand Manan Community School and was built as part of a $7.25-million expansion and modernization of the school. The capital construction cost for the library was $575,000, with the village contributing $225,000.
From
left: Greg West, Ella Nason (assistant director, NBPLS), Katelyn Small, William
Daggett. (Large photo.)
Mayor William Daggett said the Village Council of Grand Manan is pleased to have been a partner in providing library service to its residents. "What was once considered a potential resource for advanced learning and enjoyment is now a reality," Daggett said. "Our community school students can now access the New Brunswick public library system thus providing them with the information required for various subjects and projects. The benefits to our community will now be shared in the years ahead and we encourage all to support and use the new facility."
District 10 Superintendent Greg West said the new public-school library is important to learning in the community.
"Literacy is obviously a high priority in School District 10, and we are excited about the benefits this facility will bring to our students at Grand Manan Community School.''
The Grand Manan Library serves people of every age with programs that range from preschool story time to adult book clubs. The New Brunswick Public Library Service provided an initial $20,000 for the library's collection of books and other materials, which are augmented by those of School District 10.
Furlong also noted that this summer, for the first time ever, Grand Manan children will be able to take part in the Library Service's Summer Reading Club in their own local library. The Grand Manan Library will hire a student to assist with the Summer Reading Club program. This is one of 55 summer student positions being filled around the province with the help of $138,000 in wage subsidies provided by the Department of Training and Employment Development.
"We are pleased that our Student Employment and Experience Development or SEED program was able to provide assistance to our libraries," Training and Employment Development Minister Norman McFarlane said. "Students working at these facilities will gain valuable work experience while helping provide a valuable resource in their local community."
"As Minister of Education, I strongly encourage children to enrol in this very popular summer reading program," Furlong said. "Not only is reading fun but research has also shown that when children read over the summer, they will retain much more of the past school year's gain in reading and other skills."
The Grand Manan Library has been open since Sept. 10, 2001. It currently has 926 members, about 36 per cent of the permanent population of Grand Manan Island.
02/06/12
MEDIA CONTACTS: Steve Benteau, communications, Department of Education, 444-4714; Sylvie Nadeau, executive director, NB Public Library Service, Department of Education, 506 453-2354.
02/06/12
