Busy year coming for library

PRINCE GEORGE – Officials with the Prince George Public Library have given themselves a very busy year. Not only are renovations for the new entrance in full swing, but the library will also be introducing radio frequency indicators into all of its collection to expedite the check out process for patrons of the library.

“When you come to check your books, you scan your library card and then you have to scan each item out individually. But you also have to deactivate the security strip as well,” explains Paul Burry, Chief Librarian. “The technology we’re introducing, radio frequency identification, will allow us to have tags embedded into the books and when you go to scan the items out, you simply put the stack of books down and it immediately checks out the items at once and deactivates the security device at the same time.”

The library is also going to reconfigure the information services available on the third floor as a result of the new entrance, which will make the library much more accessible. The Board of Trustees for the Library is also taking on a project this year, again, as a result of the entrance renovations.

“As part of that, we took a look at the teen space we have at the library. Teens represent ten per cent of our users, but the floor space doesn’t reflect that usage,” explains Mike Gagel, Chair of the Board of Trustees. “So [the renovation] is a great opportunity to renovate there. So we’re looking at million-dollar fundraising campaign to help renovate that space because who wouldn’t want their teens to hang out at the library?”