Category: Newfoundland and Labrador

After about 40 years in the Waterford Valley Mall, the Michael Donovan Public Library in St. John’s is turning the page.

A sugary scent filled the one-room library as staff brought out cake for patrons on Saturday, who came together to check out books and colour pictures one last time.

St. John’s Public Libraries manager Susan Prior called the event a “see-you-soon party.” Newfoundland and Labrador’s library board is working with the provincial government to secure a new location. The lease for the Topsail Road unit expires at the end of this month.

Continue reading “NL: St. John’s public library closing a chapter – and its doors – ahead of relocation” →

The Bay Roberts Public Library Board recently held a celebration commemorating its 80 anniversary.

The library was incorporated into the provincial library system in 1946. The Town of Bay Roberts was incorporated in 1951, making the library older than the town itself. Originally located on Water Street, today the library is found on Cross Road.

At the celebration, Bay Roberts Mayor Geoff Seymour said public libraries are generational. As a child, his mother would go to the library on Saturdays to sit in the stacks and read Nancy Drew mysteries. Eventually, the librarian informed her she could take books home if she got a library card. Seymour’s mother ran home, got a parent signature for the card, then ran back to the library and borrowed a wagonful of books. She got her card from the library when she was nine years old, and not only still has it, but is still a patron of the library.

Seymour added the role of the public library has expanded. It remains somewhere people can get books, where reading is promoted and made more accessible and affordable. However, libraries now also have technology, such as computers, that people can use for free, and offer media content.

“As a town, institutions and organizations like this, that serve the community, are invaluable,” said the mayor. He presented a certificate from the Town to congratulate the library on its anniversary, which was accepted by Bay Roberts Public Library Board Chairperson Florence Morgan-Thom. Morgan-Thom noted the Town also made a financial contribution to the library.

The celebration continued with a cake cutting, refreshments, and some readings. Two authors attended as special guest speakers: Pat Collins of Harbour Grace, and Robert Lundrigan, currently of Spaniard’s Bay, but originally from Upper Island Cove. Both Collins and Lundrigan spoke about their writing processes and read passages from their latest books.

“I work with a lot of libraries in a lot of communities in this region, and very few have the degree of community support that this library has,” said Sarah Bartlett, the Eastern Regional Librarian with Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries. “Seeing all of you here today, the sheer volume of cars in the lot, I think is really indicative of the level of use, but also the commitment of the members of the community here to the library.”

Source: The Shoreline News

 

For more than 30 years, this St. John’s public library has made its home in the west end, but next month it will close this chapter in its story.

The Michael Donovan Public Library is leaving the Waterford Valley Mall on Topsail Road. Its last day in its current location is June 13.

“We’ve had a really great time there, we’re trying to stay positive and hopefully we’ll find a new location really soon,” regional librarian Emma Craig told CBC Radio’s The St. John’s Morning Show.

Continue reading “NL: This west end St. John’s library will soon shutter — and is on the hunt for a new home” →

The popularity of little free libraries has exploded over the past fifteen years and there are now thousands of neighbourhood book-sharing boxes across Canada.

Over a century ago, another type of miniature library could be found in Newfoundland and Labrador’s most isolated communities: travelling book boxes supplied by the Grenfell Mission.

Continue reading “NL: N.L.’s travelling book boxes were the little free libraries of the early 1900s” →

NLLA Conference 2026: Overdue, but Not Lost: Renewing Our Community

When: Friday, June 5th, 2026
Where: McCann Centre, Education Library, Memorial University, AND online

CALL FOR PROPOSALS

It’s been a while since we last came together in 2019. Much has changed – but some things remain constant: the strength, innovation, resilience, and care that library workers bring to communities across Newfoundland & Labrador.

This year, we’re finally coming back together – and like a well-loved library book, we may be a little overdue, but we are certainly not lost.

Our theme, Overdue, but Not Lost: Renewing Our Community, marks a moment of reconnection. It’s an opportunity to renew relationships and build new ones, to share experiences and learn from one another, and to celebrate the work happening in libraries of all kinds in our province.

Whether you’ve been part of the Newfoundland & Labrador library community for decades or are just finding your place within it, we welcome your voice. We invite proposals from library workers across all sectors on any library-related topic, either practical or theoretical. You might share a successful project or program, a challenge you’ve navigated, a research question you’ve explored, or an emerging technology or idea shaping your work or your thinking about libraries.

The conference will take place on Friday, June 5, 2026, as a hybrid event, with opportunities to present either in person in St. John’s or online from anywhere in Newfoundland & Labrador.

We welcome a variety of session formats:

  • Presentation: A 30-minute session, including a 20-minute presentation and a 10-minute Q&A. May be research-, practice-, or theory-based.
  • Mini Workshop: A 45-minute, interactive or activity-based session. May be research-, practice-, or theory-based.
  • Lightning Talk: A 7-minute timed presentation offering a brief glimpse into a concept, project, program, activity, or idea.
  • Something Else: Have an idea that doesn’t fit these formats? We’d love to hear about it.

The deadline for proposals is Friday, May 1st.

Please submit your proposal using our online form (https://tinyurl.com/LetsRenew), and remember to include:

  • the proposed session type (presentation, workshop, lightning talk or other)
  • the delivery format for your session (in-person or online)
  • your session title plus a brief abstract (max. 250 words for a presentation, workshop, or other; max. 100 words for a lightning talk) describing your topic and the goals of your session.
  • your contact details (name, library, position, telephone number and email address) for yourself and any co-presenters.
  • a brief (max 50 word) biography for each speaker.

For questions or comments, please contact Janet Goosney (jgoosney@mun.ca).

We hope you decide to join us as we bring our community back together – across distances, roles, and experiences – and restart the conversations that will carry us forward.

We’re overdue. Let’s renew.

 

The House of Assembly has paid tribute to a woman who was a stalwart member of their team for three decades.

House Speaker Paul Lane opened a session this week by acknowledging the passing of Norma Jean Richards, who was a legislative librarian with the House of Assembly from 1967 to 1997.

Lane says that during her time with the legislature, the woman was a “legend.”

Lane says Richards served during the tenures of six different premiers and eight speakers, and was a recipient of the Canada 125 medal in 1993. He says “she can be credited with building the foundation of the library collection still used to this day.”

Source: VOCM

The AC Hunter Public Library in St. John’s unveiled a new display with books about difficult topics for children. Librarian Jan Moffett hopes stories about things like addiction or the death of a loved one can help children and parents share and grasp these sensitive concepts.

Video at link

Source: CBC Newfoundland & Labrador

The library community in Newfoundland and Labrador is worried legislation before the House of Commons would give Canada Post the ability to increase mailing costs for library materials across the province.

They’re also concerned the Mark Carney government’s proposed changes—outlined in the Liberals’ recent budget bill—will remove Canada Post’s requirement to provide free postage for materials for persons with visual disabilities.

Bill C-15, which passed its second reading in Ottawa last Wednesday, would implement parts of Carney’s controversial federal budget.

Tucked into the 634-page document are amendments to the Canada Post Corporation Act, including a provision which allows public libraries to benefit from what’s called the “Library Book Rate” — a postage discount for libraries.

Continue reading “NL: Library advocates say federal bill could make postal costs untenable” →

The provincial government says it is aware of proposed changes to Bill C-15, the Canada Post Corporation Act and has been assured that the current reduced postage rate for library materials will be maintained.

Changes to the bill will allow the corporation to set it’s own rates without seeking the approval of the federal government.

That was a great concern for the province’s 94 public libraries that regularly send books and other materials through the mail.

Regional Librarian for St. John’s Public Libraries, Emma Craig says libraries make regular use of the postal service to share materials not just between libraries in the province, but with libraries in other provinces as well.

“If an item is not available with us here at NLPL, but another library in Canada has it, we will be able to work with them in order to get items that might be a little harder for patrons to get” says Craig.

“About a quarter of our library circulation just from last year were done through this system-wide hold system.”

The Department of Education says it has received confirmation from the federal government that Canada Post will maintain free materials through the Library Book Rate.

Source: VOCM