Write to Read BC

Category: News

Library openings, or other stories for a general News audience. (Not for minor updates for teams or partners.)

  • Nisaika Kumtuks library opened

    Write to Read BC celebrated the grand opening of its 16th library and learning centre, Nisaika Kumtuks school, the little school with a huge heart.

    Lieutenant-governor of BC Judith Guichon attended, along with members of the school.

    One of the students, David, greeted Guichon, before taking part in a procession. The children performed a drumming song, and read a story for Guichon. To conclude the ceremony, the school library received its formal name—one that its students chose.

    In addition to books that appeal to students from Kindergarten to Grade 4, the school also offers online attendance to online courses and conferences from its learning centre. The library is equipped with four iPads, 2 all-in-one Hewlett Packard computers, and a TV with video conferencing capabilities. This benefit the students as well as their parents. School principal Heather Goodall will open the school library to parents of its students. This gives parents have access to the Internet and to online learning, as well.

    The TV screen, a donation that Write to Read BC arranged, was a pleasant surprise to Goodall.

    The shelving was made especially for the library by inmates at the Nanaimo Correctional Centre. Write to Read BC co-lead Bob Blacker said: “They do amazing work, and are very proud of their contribution to our libraries.”

  • Haida Gwaii Old Massett library opens

    With much of the community in attendance, Haida Gwaii opened its new library on April 25, 2017. Community leaders want the aboriginal library to promote literacy and encourage a love of learning in Old Massett.

    Old Massett is on the north end of Graham Island in Haida Gwaii, a group of islands off the BC coast, near Alaska.

    The idea for this library began with Literacy Haida Gwaii, about three years ago. The community received $60,000 in sponsorship when the literacy society partnered with Write to Read BC, Rotary Club, and Government House.

    To get started, the project received $5,000 for books and resources. The library also has two computers, with Internet access. Community members now have access to resources beyond Old Massett.

    Judith Guichon, lieutenant-governor of BC, attended the library opening, along with Chris Neufeld of Britco Structures (now Boxx Modular).

    Britco sponsors the Write to Read BC project by donating modular buildings and paying to ship them to isolated communities that want a library. The Old Massett module was shipped free of charge by BC Ferries. Vancouver Island Regional Library will help train volunteers to manage the library database. London drugs donated computers.

  • Write to Read BC on national news

    The CBC’s flagship television news program The National recently featured an 8-minute broadcast about the Write to Read BC project, which was broadcast across Canada. CBC aboriginal affairs reporter Duncan McCue, based in Vancouver, visited a native library in Malahat on Vancouver Island and spoke with several members of the project. Chief Michael Harry says he was pleased the library was built entirely from donated services and fundraising, without any federal or provincial support.

    “It’s showed the government that we can do this without them, and that we want to thrive,” said Harry. “But more importantly, we want to create relationships with external communities surrounding us.” The Malahat Kwunew Kwasun Cultural Resource Centre will celebrate its grand opening this summer.

    Malahat library construction in the news.

    The CBC show mainly told the story of Write to Read BC founders, former lieutenant-governor Steven Point and his former aide de camp Bob Blacker. Point ended his term as lieutenant-governor in 2012 and was reappointed as a provincial court judge, so in his current position he cannot continue as spokesperson. But he’s thrilled to see Write to Read BC continue to grow.

    “It’s connecting these folks, breaking down barriers that should never have been there. And they’re coming out to the communities for the first time, saying, ‘We want to help,’” said Point.

    Point’s successor, lieutenant-governor of BC Judith Guichon, has enthusiastically endorsed the project since she took over the post. Write to Read BC has installed and opened six libraries, with six more on the way. To date, 30,000 books have been donated.

    Watch more:

    The National broadcast on CBC

  • Oweekeno library opens

    The library opening in Oweekeno was both formal and festive. A Wuikinuxv Elder blessed the building, and Chief Rose Hackett cut the ribbon alongside Judith Guichon, lieutenant-governor of BC and Peter Hansen of Rotary Club Lionsgate.

    Oweekeno volunteers.
    Volunteers in Oweekeno celebrate the Wuikinuxv community’s new library.

    The Chief also presented a ceremonial paddle to the lieutenant-commander of the navy ship HMCS Calgary, at a community dinner with navy crew members, in the Big House.

    Local youth then sailed the Rivers Inlet area aboard HMCS Calgary for four hours, as guests.

    Also in attendance were members of the RCMP on their regular visit to Oweekeno.

    This library was sponsored by the members of the Rotary Club Lionsgate of North Vancouver, who raised the necessary project funds. The modular building was donated by Britco Structures.

    The Oweekeno community will employ a librarian to supervise the building. Write to Read BC’s library response team collaborated with local volunteers on the selection and cataloguing of books.

    Oweekeno is on the BC coast, south of Bella Bella, accessible only by boat or plane.

    The cost of the project was $60,000. Moving the modular building by sea from Vancouver to Rivers Inlet cost $20,000, which the Jack Gin Foundation paid.

  • Nooaitch library opens

    This summer’s grand opening of the Write to Read BC library in Nooaitch was attended by Elders, band members, Judith Guichon, lieutenant-governor of BC, Rotary Club members, Britco Structures, TELUS, and a reporter from Shaw TV.

    The ribbon-cutting at the opening of Nooaitch library.
    Children hold the ribbon tight for the ribbon-cutting at the opening of Nooaitch library.

    Britco donated the modular building that houses the library. Rotary Club raised funds and its members volunteered on the project. TELUS provided the high-speed connection so people can attend courses and conferences online in the library’s learning centre.

  • Quatsino library, daycare open

    Write to Read BC volunteers joined the village of Quatsino to officially open its new library on February 7, 2017. Quatsino community leaders and lieutenant-governor of BC Judith Guichon also joined the ceremony.

    The village is on Vancouver Island, 15km south of Port Hardy. Most of its residents of Quatsino work in forestry, fishing, and eco-tourism.

    Quatsino library and daycare centre.
    The beautiful Quatsino library in ludes a day care centre.

  • Opening a library in Nooaitch

    A library opening today in Nooaitch, BC, also represented a new kind of library for Write to Read BC. The new facility, near Merritt, BC, not only offers books and recorded media. It also has Internet-connected computers that offer remote access to courses and conferences. The Nooaitch library was Write to Read’s eleventh partnership to install libraries in isolated, Indigenous communities across BC.

    At the Nooaitch opening, Chief Marcell Shackelly said the library is a tool that builds a vision for their band’s future.

    The previous Chief, Joyce Sam, partnered with Write to Read BC to start the Nooaitch project. Sam is excited to see how the band will use the new building. “It’ll get us together,” she told a Merritt Herald reporter, adding that it’s a place for children to read quietly, or for learners to study for an exam. “All the tools are there, the resources are there,” Sam said.

    The opening was a festive event. Judith Guichon, the lieutenant-governor of BC, also attended.

    The ribbon-cutting ceremony at Nooaitch's library opening, near Merritt, BC.
    Two band chiefs and the lieutenant-governor of BC cut a ribbon to open Nooaitch library

  • Ditidaht library opened by royals

    The village of Ditidaht opened its library in mid-September 2014, with community fanfare and visiting dignitaries. The library is the result of a partnership with Write to Read BC.

    Cutting the ribbon were British royals, Prince Edward and Princess Sophie. Edward formally asked the permission to be on Ditidaht titled lands. Sophie was given a cedar band for her head, which had been woven for the occasion by one of Ditidaht’s eldest citizens, Sophie wore the headband throughout the visit. The royals were accompanied by the lieutenant-governor of BC Judith Guichon.

    In addition to celebrating the library, the ceremony honoured Ditidaht schoolteacher Eva Clarke for envisioning a space for storytelling, theatre, and reading aloud. Clarke, with the Rotary Club and Write to Read BC, was instrumental in getting the library installed.

    With this new library and community gathering place, the community hopes to promote literacy and learning for its younger members.

    Ribbon-cutting ceremony at the Ditidaht library opening in September, 2014 on Vancouver Island, BC.

  • Libraries for isolated BC areas —CBC

    On 27 May 2014, CBC reported six new libraries have been installed in isolated, Indigenous communities across BC. Each new library adds to the 200 First Nations that already have a library.

    CBC credits Write to Read BC, along with Bob Blacker and former lieutenant-governor of BC, Steven Point.

    At its start, the project recruited retired librarians to solicit book donations. Write to Read BC soon had over 30,000 new and used books to assess and catalogue from their headquarters in a donated storage locker.

    The work is ongoing, with more libraries planned.

  • Thistalalh Memorial Library opens

    The Heiltsuk First Nation and the Qqs Projects Society officially opened the Thistalalh Memorial Library in Bella Bella on March 26, 2014. Qqs is pronounced kuks, means eyes, and refers to the community’s watchful stewardship of the area.

    The portable building that now houses the library was renovated and shipped to Bella Bella complete with shelving and computers thanks to a unique partnership between Write to Read BC and its partners. The Rotary Club led the project’s fundraising. Britco Structures (now Boxx Modular) provided the portable building. Nanaimo Correctional Centre built the shelving. London Drugs provided computers that allow the library to offer remote attendance in courses and conferences online, in its learning centre. Other supporters provided shipping, books, and volunteers.

    The library is home to books donated from around the world after the town’s previous building burned down. “We are incredibly moved by the upwelling of support from strangers and booklovers who want to help us get back on our feet and put books back in the hands of our community members,” said library curator Jessie Housty. She told The Tyee news that the library is “a gathering space around stories.”

    A reader and a computer user in the library at Bella Bella.
    Cozy, curved shelves create the illusion of space inside the portable building that houses the library.

    Housty added: “Stories are sacred things. As Heiltsuk people, we really are nothing more than the sum of the stories we have lived in.” In addition to books and stories important to its culture, the library and its learning centre form an online bridge to other places and cultures.

    Opening ceremony for the library in Bella Bella.
    Community members and lieutenant-governor of BC Judith Guichon stand in front of the Write to Read BC library at its opening ceremony.

    The Write to Read BC library has a beautiful view of the Inside Passage, the sheltered waterway between the BC mainland and Vancouver Island. Travel to Bella Bella is only by sea and air.

    The original library was built in 2007 by Qqs Projects Society, a Heiltsuk First Nation non-profit organization.