Beyond books: What Richmond Hill Library offers now may surprise you

From open mic nights to museum visits to sharing and hands-on learning, literacy gets a new look

Yorkregion.com
May 12, 2023
Kim Zarzour

When she first came to Richmond Hill from Chile, Jessica Rojas didn’t know a soul.

But she knew what to do.

She went to the library.

Less than one month after arriving, she and her family visited the local branch to see what all the talk was about.

“I knew from my home country in Canada that libraries are amazing, more than books, a place where communities are together.”

Her two daughters began with arts and crafts, science, STEAM and storytime programs.

She joined a film club while her husband attended history lectures.

They joined newcomer groups and Saturday fitness, and borrowed science kits and board games. Her husband joked, "If I ever go missing, you’ll find me at the library.”

Rojas has discovered what many Richmond Hill residents, newcomers or long timers, may not know.

The library isn't just for quiet reading anymore.

“We’re trying to create more depth in the experience, as opposed to just popping in, grabbing a book and leaving,” says library CEO Darren Solomon. “It’s as much about connecting people with each other and ideas.”

From after-hours open mic nights to multi-faith spaces to mixology classes paired with reading lists, the library is appealing to a wider demographic, says Joshua Dyer, director of content strategy and delivery.

“I don't think there's anybody out there that doesn't have a use for something that the library offers.”

If you haven’t visited lately, here’s what’s new.

REDEFINING LITERACY

Just as the library is not just books, literacy is not just reading.

There’s financial literacy, for example.

Classes are now available with experts exploring topics like cryptocurrency or how to protect yourself from fraud.

To build nutritional literacy, the library offers culinary programs: how to prepare South Asian meals, for example, or the nutrition-focused Spring Eats.

For media literacy, the library’s recent Creator Camp, in partnership with CBC, brought journalists and digital producers together with teens learning how to be citizen journalists.

In the next couple of months, the library will open a digital media lab with professional-grade cameras, microphones, lighting etc., so patrons can create their own podcasts or videos.

Technology is another form of literacy. Sessions explore tech trends like ChatGPT, how they will impact our lives, and how to prepare.

LIBRARY OF THINGS

Say you want to learn guitar, but don’t want to invest in an instrument until you’re sure you’ll like it. Or you’re learning to build a birdhouse and need woodworking tools.

Soon you’ll be able to borrow from the Library of Things, paired with expert-led lessons on how to use the ‘thing’:an astronomy class with the David Dunlap Observatory, for example, and telescopes to borrow for hands-on learning.

EXPERIENCE PASSES

Beginning May 10, you can borrow an experience pass and get free general admission to provincial parks, art galleries and museums like the Aga Khan Museum, McMichael Art Gallery, Black Creek Pioneer Village and the Bata Shoe Museum.

New passes are added each Friday.

REPAIR CAFE

Want to learn how to fix a broken bicycle, torn trousers or other household item?

You can bring it into the Repair Cafe where a specialist can help you fix it and teach you how so that next time, just use the library’s tools, your new-found skills and fix it yourself.

OUTREACH

To meet a need expressed by focus groups, the library is partnering with venues in the community.

It began with a successful library storytime booth beside Hillcrest Mall’s Santa in December.

During March break, a pop-up library took over a vacant store.

Now the library is looking for more ways to reach out physically -- may even create a permanent location in the mall.

DIVERSITY

The library has formed a multicultural advisory group to help meet increasingly diverse needs, from multi-faith prayer spaces at all library branches, to multilingual storytimes and an expanded collection of books in multiple languages.

To learn more about how the library is changing, visit rhpl.ca