If we could collect a penny for every time we heard someone start a sentence with, “Wow! I didn’t know you had...” we would probably never need to have another fundraiser. Here, for your reading pleasure, are seven of the library’s services that surprise people most often, and we hope you find something to surprise you, too.
1. Your library card works at any public library in B.C. When you’re traveling around the province, make sure you bring your library card and ID with you so that you can borrow books wherever you are. The same is true for visitors to our area: if you have friends visiting from another BC community, they can borrow books, magazines, or videos from the Nakusp library. And the best part? If they don’t finish the books while they’re here, they can return them to their own library when they get home, and that library will send the books back to us. Don’t leave home without your library card!
2. We can help you fix a lot of vehicle engines. We have a large number of Chilton and other repair manuals that you can either borrow in book form or access through our website. We’d be more than happy to show you how to find exactly what you need. The extensive online manuals are easy to use and print, and they generally include full maintenance schedules, wiring diagrams, service bulletins, and repair procedures.
3. We can find books in just about any language you want. We might not have the books you want at our own library but we can certainly get them for you from another one. Through our interlibrary loan service, you can borrow books from any other public library in B.C. (and some college and university libraries, too) for free, and that includes books in just about any language you can imagine.
4. The library has loads of movies on VHS and DVD. If you haven’t looked at our movie collection before, we bet you’ll find something you’ll like. You can borrow movies for up to a week, and borrowing, as always, is free.
5. E-books and audiobooks for your MP3 player are included with your library membership. The library has a subscription to an audiobook service that lets you borrow e-books and audiobooks online. For more information, go to our website and find the “Library to Go” link, or ask library staff for help.
5. We have PlayAway audiobooks. “What’s a PlayAway?” you ask. PlayAways are audiobooks you can take with you: you don’t need a player. All you need is a set of headphones (and we have some we can lend you if you need those) and a battery in the event that the one that’s in the case runs down. The player itself is the audiobook and you can take it just about anywhere -- it’s small, lightweight, and fabulous for walks (though perhaps not in bear season because it might be difficult to hear the world around you). We have a nice selection for both adults and kids.
6. We are a registered charity. Gifts from people like you help us to develop and continue programs and services not covered by the core funding we receive from local and provincial governments.
For more information about anything you’ve read in this article, please call the library at 250-265-3363, or visit our website: http://nakusp.bclibrary.ca.