After a short break due to the holidays and social distancing measures, the Moose Jaw Public Library has restarted its programs through online streaming.
The new series of events kicked off with a meeting of the library’s book club on February 9, discussing Emma Donoghue’s latest novel “The Pull of the Stars”, a historic novel set during an Irish pandemic. The library also hosted an instalment of its popular Archives History Mystery on February 11, challenging local history buffs to identify eras, places and people. Still to come is the Festival of Words Virtual Book Club, which aims to highlight authors who will be featured at the upcoming literary festival. This month’s edition will feature Jael Richardson’s dystopian science-fiction novel “Gutter Child”.
The library also features programs aimed at younger audiences. Teenagers are welcome to the Teen Digital Dungeons & Dragons sessions on Tuesday evenings, while the Teen Anime Club relaunched on the February 13 with a screening of the movie “Okko’s Inn” through the library’s free streaming service Hoopla. For younger children, there are a set of Virtual Storytime sessions on offer.
Library programs like these, often promoted through tools like brochure printing and social media posts, can be crucial for encouraging literacy and making connections between people when they are unable to meet in person.
The Festival of Words Virtual Book Club will next meet on February 25. Virtual programming takes place over Zoom for adult and children’s programs, and through the library’s Discord server for teens.
