NB 1064
Oct. 24, 2002
FREDERICTON (CNB) - Five thousand and counting. That's how many new library cards were issued to New Brunswick residents during the public libraries' membership drive held Sept. 3 to Oct. 10, Education Minister Dennis Furlong announced today.
"This was the first membership drive involving the entire New Brunswick Public Libraries Service and we had hoped to attract 4,000 new members, which would be about twice the number we would normally receive in a six-week period," Furlong said. "Instead, we recruited at least 5,045 new members, including almost 200 who signed up online, to bring the total number of card-holders in the province to more than 233,000."
From
left: Education Minister Dennis Furlong, four-year-old Lauren Ryan of Fredericton
with her new library card, and Marilyn Lohnes, children's librarian at the Fredericton
Public Library. (Large photo.)
The minister congratulated the staff and volunteers of the province's 61 public libraries and four bookmobiles for organizing a variety of local initiatives to encourage non-members to join their local public library.
"Our staff did a tremendous job of bringing people into our libraries and bookmobiles so they could see for themselves what they have been missing," Furlong said. "As a result, more people than ever before will have access to the valuable services and resources our public libraries offer. These include books, magazines, newspapers, DVDs, CDs, audio and videotapes, computers, the Internet, reference databases and other multimedia materials that together make our public libraries one of the province's very best resources for public education, recreation and research."
As part of the drive, the public library service has also arranged to have the new 'Power of the Card' brochures distributed at Community Access Centres, Service New Brunswick sites and Family Resource Centres; through the Born to Read Program; to members of New Brunswick Real Estate Board; and, to the New Brunswick Coalition for Literacy and the Féderation d'alphabétisation du Nouveau-Brunswick.
"With our brochures now available at many new locations and with the momentum generated by the membership drive, we expect to bring even more people into our libraries over the course of the coming year," said Sylvie Nadeau, executive director of the New Brunswick Public Library Service. "We look forward to welcoming them and showing them how we can help with Internet information, job searches, recreational reading, community activities and much, much more."
Furlong also encouraged would-be members to see what they have been missing at their local library.
"I encourage anyone who didn't have a chance to get a library card during the membership drive to do so now, so that they too can take advantage of the wealth of services offered by our public libraries," he said.
Anyone interested in obtaining a library card can sign up at their local public library or online at http://www.gnb.ca/publiclibraries by clicking on 'Get a Card'.
02/10/24
MEDIA CONTACTS: Steve Benteau, communications, Education, 506 444-4717; Sylvie Nadeau, executive director, New Brunswick Public Library Service, 506-453-2354.
02/10/24
