By: Noeka Nimmervoll, News Editor
When it comes to serving the community, nobody does it quite like the staff at the Vancouver Public Library (VPL). In the midst of an increasingly unaffordable city, the VPL staff maintain a free space that serves people from all walks of life, regardless of their economic status. As BC libraries face significant financial pressures, it’s important to celebrate the staff who remain committed to providing quality services and care to the community. VPL staff are valuable community members due to their work in maintaining third spaces, delivering skill-enhancing workshops, and providing easy access to books and other forms of knowledge, all free of charge. Even if you don’t use the library yourself, its impact may reach you through its positive mental health impacts on your fellow citizens. Without caring community members that work to make the library inclusive and accessible every day, Vancouver as a whole would suffer.
Third spaces are important for fostering a sense of belonging and safety in all individuals, and library staff create an atmosphere of openness that makes the many VPL branches, located all over the traditional and unceded territories of the xʷməθkʷəy̓əm (Musqueam), Sḵwx̱wú7mesh (Squamish), and səlilwətaɬ (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations, great options for a third space. The cleaning staff, library service desk assistants, and librarians all contribute to make the library a clean, safe, and welcoming space for all. Their work in organizing the space, keeping it conflict-free, and kindly interacting with patrons all creates a positive atmosphere. Additionally, maintaining the library as a quiet space is important in how it fosters safety. It’s important to have a predictable environment to depend on a space’s atmosphere for mental health when that isn’t guaranteed in a lot of areas of your life, such as violent situations at home, volatile work environments, and more. It seems to me that staff maintain this atmosphere by respecting the space and the people in it, and patrons then return the favour.
Skill-enhancing workshops hosted by friendly staff allow low-barrier learning for a wide variety of topics. Many topics are hosted by VPL branches, mostly the Central Branch, that provide informative sessions on community-relevant topics. They offer a digital essentials program, which gives patrons the opportunity to upgrade their tech skills, from gaining basic phone and computer skills to learning how to edit digital images in Photoshop and Lightroom. For people learning English, they offer regular English conversation practice events in many branches across the city. They also assist in job hunting: Their drop-in resume clinic is a repeat event downtown, which allows people to get feedback on resumes and cover letters by qualified staff. These programs decrease the barrier for people to develop their skills and ideas by providing reliable, accessible programs for any VPL patron.
The VPL staff provide knowledge beyond books to its patrons. Personally, I have gotten some of my best book recommendations, including Chicken Soup for the Soul, from a librarian. I also learned about the Inspiration Labs located at the Central Branch downtown and the nə́c̓aʔmat ct Strathcona Branch in East Van, which are various sound-proofed rooms that are equipped with a variety of creative equipment: mics, greenscreens, lighting equipment, and computers with access to FL Studio, Adobe, Photoshop, and more. These resources would have remained a mystery to me without the help of friendly library staff. Library staff also provide library cards to people who don’t have a home address. Beyond this, I have heard many anecdotes about how library staff provide information to patrons about specialized programs for individuals in difficult situations, such as homeless shelters, detox centers, and food programs around the city.
The VPL staff serve the city in a community-minded way. Their combined efforts create a space that is inclusive, comforting, and kind. With community care at the forefront of their services, they are able to support people from all walks of life.
Whether you are a parent who needs to get your kid out of the house, a senior looking to upgrade your tech skills, or a musician seeking a quiet place to record, the library staff have something that can help you out.
All of the efforts of VPL staff reverberate through many lives, including mine — knowing I have access to a free place to relax, work, or play makes my mental load feel significantly more manageable. Knowing that there are kind staff that take care of the place and its patrons makes me feel safe.
