394 Schreiber, ON Public Library

When I arrived at Schreiber, the assistant librarian and a patron were having coffee and chatting. From them, I learned that the present library was once the post office. The story sounded like a game of musical chairs, with buildings changing hands as local needs changed. There is an effort underway to enlarge the current building.

A central area holds a long table and half a dozen chairs. To the rear of this is a room with the adult fiction and non-fiction collections, plus set-ups for X-Box and Wii gaming. There are many history binders and five computers.

The children's area is near the front. A neat feature is a cushion-lined seat above two drawers labeled Toys--see picture below. I admired this, but learned that rearranging the whole library space is being considered, in which case this might be a casualty. There are books, of course, for children big and little, including teens. Top shelves hold one of the largest collections of jigsaw puzzles I've ever seen. A table has a roll of paper in a rack, similar to what I saw recently in Iowa. This creative "maker space" is much loved by the kids. Perhaps most surprising was a collection of drums and other percussion instruments. "This is not a quiet library," the librarian explained.

Paintings by local artists decorate the walls, and it seems there is a lot of artistic talent in Schreiber and the surrounding area. The "past and present" mural outside, however, showing people waiting to take a boat to Rossport for picnics, was painted by an artist from Thunder Bay.

This was my first chance to deal with my car's "check engine" light, which had been on since I left Thunder Bay. The librarian and patron agreed that I needed to see Jim Payne, and they directed me to his nearby shop. Jim was able to use computer diagnostics to determine that there was nothing serious wrong...and to turn off the light! Thanks, Jim, for your help!

http://www.schreiberlibrary.ca/ 5/17/2017

Mural of the boat to Rossport

The library building was once the post office;
there are plans afoot to fix the clock,
which is presently correct only twice a day.

The drawers beneath the reading corner hold toys.