NORTH BATTLEFORD — The North Battleford Public Library was officially established June 12, 1912, and was built with the assistance of $15,000 in grant funding from the Carnegie Foundation of New York.
The original library building is one of only 13 Carnegie libraries built west of Ontario, of which only nine exist today. The original North Battleford Public Library now houses the Allen Sapp Gallery, an internationally known Indigenous art collection.
Colin Evans has been with Lakeland Library Region since 2015 and his official job title and role is public services manager and head librarian at the North Battleford Public Library.
The North Battleford Public Library mission statement is to “Serve our community by promoting life-long learning and literacy, offering people access to information, and providing people the facility and opportunity to embrace it.”
Asked what are some of the challenges of a community library, Evans responds, “One of the challenges in meeting these goals is providing excellent library services to our diverse population which include recent immigrants, Indigenous people and at-risk individuals. We have addressed these needs by offering biweekly drop-in counselling sessions in partnership with Catholic Family Services, expanding our foreign language collection (including Ukrainian language texts) and increasing outreach to First Nation reserves surrounding our community.”
The North Battleford Public Library manager also said highlights are part of his work and have included being able to offer services to everyone who comes through the front door, regardless of personal circumstances.
“We are one of the last spaces in our community where there is no expectation to spend money in order to enjoy our services and we offer programs and materials for all ages and backgrounds,” says Evans.
Special programs and activities from May to September are part of what is offered at this Lakeland Library location. Evans says some of the upcoming programs include:
The annual Teddy Bear Clinic in the Library Central Park May 24 for children and their caregivers.
Bokashi composting seminar with Rhea Good June 17 at 7 p.m.
Author reading with Candia Kirkpatrick June 26 at 7 p.m.
TD Summer Reading Club celebration featuring Eric Paetkau July 27 at 3 p.m. and an adult concert at 7 p.m.
TD Summer Reading Club for children from June 10 to Aug. 31.
With the North Battleford library open each weekday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Saturday hours offered until 6 p.m., there is a wide variety of services and programs for people of all ages. Access to magazines, newspapers, DVDs, Blu-Rays, video games, ebooks, free Wi-Fi, a seed library, virtual reality, Nintendo Switch and more much are offered at the location.
North Battleford Public Library is managed by the Lakeland Library Region as part of the provincial, ‘One book, one province’ library system, which provides equitable library services to all residents of Saskatchewan.
Even with the presence of the Internet in our homes, our community libraries offer a plethora of information resources in print and other forms that are organized and made accessible for reading or study. It can serve as the hub of learning and resource opportunities.
You can find all the latest news, updates and information on the North Battleford Public Library at and/or follow their Facebook page.
