The Nicholls Family Library

The Nicholls Family Library

On April 23, 200 volunteers gathered in the nearly empty Shaganappi Library. They took the last books from the old library and walked them over to Westbrook CTrain Station.

Above: Patrons get ready to carry the last books from Shaganappi to the new library

Once at the CTrain station, they were joined by a few hundred more excited Library patrons. The bustling crowd gathered outside the door to the new library, enjoying an opening event that featured City Councillor Evan Woolley and a pre-taped greeting from Mayor Naheed Nenshi. They also had the pleasure of being introduced to the library’s namesake, the Nicholls Family—Greig, Brenda, and their son Alex.

Below: The Book Walk

When Alex Nicholls was a young boy, he frequently visited the Library with his mother. The books he took out inspired his imagination. In fact, Brenda attributes Alex’s success as a software engineer to the fantasy novels and great programs the Library made available to her son. Today, Brenda and Greig are Founding Partners of Add In—the Campaign for Calgary’s Library, and are instrumental to the work of the Calgary Public Library Foundation. Brenda is a Director on the Foundation Board, and Greig is a member of the Council of Champions.

“A library is infinity under a roof,” Brenda Nicholls said at the event, quoting author Gail

Carson Levine. The Nicholls believe that when you give to the Library, you are giving a gift to all Calgarians, allowing them—like young Alex—to wonder, seek, discover, and share. Because of this belief, they have made a gift of $1 Million dollars to the Library. In grateful recognition of Brenda, Greig, and Alex’s transformational gift and service to the Calgary Public Library, we named this new, innovative library in their honour.

The Nicholls Family

The enormous & enthusiastic crowd

Westbrook is the first underground LRT station in Calgary. The station was constructed with the Library in mind, so Transit reinforced the floors during the station’s construction in anticipation of holding so many books. More than 32,000 CTrain riders use the Blue Line every day, and by being built directly on this busy line, the Nicholls Family Library has the potential to connect these passengers with the resources of the Library. The new library’s location is an incredible example of Calgary Public Library’s efforts to make the Library relevant for Calgarians and to bring the Library to citizens.

Many small hands help cut the ribbon!

More than 1,500 people visited the Nicholls Family Library on its inaugural Saturday. The new library enjoys more visits and circulates more material than the previous Shaganappi location. Patrons enjoy the wealth of natural light and beautiful design, and they love the chromebooks,

study space, and Wi-Fi. “We see all kinds of patrons, but particularly a young set of adults that now frequent our space (18–25ish),” says Sheila McMurty, Library Supervisor at Nicholls Family Library. “We are constantly making cards for new patrons.”

The Children's Area at Nicholls Family Library

It’s a busy library: between April 23 and May 5, Nicholls has seen 334 new members and 11,126 visits. This library is now rivalling the fast-growing Judith Umbach Library for use (on May 5 alone, Umbach had 658 visits while Nicholls enjoyed 674 visits). Turning an underutilized library into a bustling community hub is a point of pride, but we’re not done yet.

Some patrons are having trouble finding their way in to the new library, which can happen when the walls of the building are mostly glass and everything looks like a door. We’re working on improving signage and wayfinding to help patrons better find and use the library.

Above: the program room

Soon, patrons will be able to enjoy refreshments as well, with a café space coming to the Nicholls Family Library in the fall.

Great libraries help to define communities and contribute to the life of the community by ensuring that all citizens have access to knowledge, information, culture, and stories. They help a community be more literate. Libraries are the place where people go to experience their community. That, in a nutshell, describes the Nicholls Family Library.

"It’s a place you want to visit and revisit because it’s so damn gorgeous."

–Jeremy Klaszus, Metro

A family reads together at Nicholls Family Library

Nicholls Family Library by the numbers

Opening Weekend

April 23-24

Visits

Saturday – 1580

Sunday – 759

Circulation

Saturday – 1838 (a normal Saturday at Shaganappi circulated about 500)

Sunday – 861 (a normal Sunday at Shaganappi circulated about 300)

April 23–May 5

Visits – 11,126

Circulation – 10,361

New Members - 334

Computers

Wireless – 620

Workstation – 643

Chromebooks - 229

The Million Question Challenge!

What is a puppy?

How many dogs are there in the world?

What would happen if dogs grew wings and could fly?

Calgary Public Library has a new summer learning initiative for school-aged kids called The Million Question Challenge. Why? To get kids asking a million questions this summer, sparking their curiosity and wonder. These questions can be about anything and everything—we hope that the questions will be personal and meaningful to each child, and will spur them on to finding some answers, too.

The kid who asks the most number of questions this summer will win a Toys“R”Us gift card for $250 and win the honour of being the Kid Executive Officer (KEO) of the Library for a day!

We have a ton of fun reading activities this summer, too! Kids from 0-12 can join the TD

Summer Reading Club again this year, and read to win fabulous prizes. Teens can participate in this summer’s Youth Read.

Adults can find great summer reads in both the We Recommend collection and the Your Year of Reading guides.

Library Experience Surveys

The Planning & Research Department will conduct two surveys in the upcoming months:

• In-Library Experiences Survey – Friday, May 13 to Tuesday, May 17

• Online Library Experiences Survey – Friday, June 10 to Tuesday, June 28

Links to these surveys will be posted to our website, and patrons will also be prompted to complete the surveys when logging into Library computers.

Satisfaction surveys help us to “check the pulse.” Just like a person’s heart rate is one indicator of health, patron satisfaction with in-library and online library experiences are two indicators of how successful the Library is at executing our strategic goal of improving the experience, ease, and convenience of using the Library. Specifically, satisfaction is an indicator of “happiness,” a key component of patron experience.

If you have any questions about these surveys, please contact Lori Chmara (2717) or Jacqueline Puff (2619).

The Bulletin Board

Employee Engagement Survey: We Need to Hear From You!

We’re midway through our 2016 Employee Engagement Survey. If you haven’t completed yours yet, check for an email reminder from Talent Map. The deadline is May 17.

Idea Igniters: Sparking Conversations to Energize and Inspire You

Join the University of Calgary and Calgary Public Library to explore topics we all read

about, care deeply about, and encounter in our daily lives. The conversation begins with a focus on workplace bullying and domestic violence, hosted by Lana Wells, the Brenda Strafford Chair in the Prevention of Domestic Violence and Associate Professor at the Faculty of Social Work, and Dr. Sandy Hershcovis, an associate professor in human resources and organizational dynamics at the Haskayne School of Business, University of Calgary.

May 26, 6:30 pm | Central Library

Micheline Maylor, the Library’s 2016 Author in Residence

We neglected to mention in the April 29 issue of The Bulletin—but gratefully acknowledge—that the Artist in Residence program is made possible with financial assistance from the Alberta Foundation for the Arts.

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