Peg Gratitude: Day 19 – Winnipeg Public Library

I’ve always been a library fan. I was a massive bookworm as a kid — one of my fondest childhood summer memories is getting stacks of books from the Lac du Bonnet library while visiting my grandparents at their cottage. As a teen in a just-before-the-internet world, the Lethbridge Public Library was my gateway to all the worldly books and authors I could possibly want.

When, after completely messing up stints at both the local university and college, I stumbled into the Library and Information Technology program at SAIT, I felt like I’d finally found “my people”.

All this to say, I love the library — and Winnipeg has a good one! My local branch, Henderson, is one of the busiest in the city and I love that it’s easy to get to and has decent hours. Whether it’s browsing, putting books on hold for pickup at my convenience, using the online databases for research, downloading eBooks or attending programs, I appreciate all the awesome services and programs happening at the library.

At the budget delegation meetings last month, many people came out to protest cuts and closures to library services. One person’s remarks stuck with me. He said something like, “The Westwood branch is not dead wood. It’s a branch of a living tree, and a tree that connects our community to a greater forest.”

It’s a tough time right now, as we await the fate of the Westwood and Fort Garry and West Kildonan branches of the WPL, and to see whether the discriminatory security measures at Millennium will be replaced by inclusive supports.

The proposed cuts remind to be grateful for the access that I am privileged to have. While we’ve still got a library, I want to say thanks to WPL for all it offers to me and my family.