Screen shot of Trent Hills Chief Librarian and CEO Graeme Peters from a videotaped council meeting

Graeme Peters’ Vision includes Go Pro cameras, virtual reality headsets, musical instruments, 3D printers and more

“We want to make this the best little library system you could find in Eastern Ontario, and certainly Graham and his staff are well on their way.” Councillor Cathy Redden

Article by Sue Dickens

Trent Hills – The word library is synonymous with books but Graeme Peters, the new Chief Librarian and CEO of Trent Hills Public Library, is bringing new ideas to the shelves of all three branches.

He appeared before Trent Hills Council recently and talked about some of the ideas that he is working on to further enhance the local library experience.

“We have a library of ‘things’ initiative in the works.Those items that are not books that we check out to the community,” he told council. For example, frequently-used tools that can help the community save money …or even introduce them to new items,” he explained

“We recently acquired some LED light therapy lamps for Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) since it’s very dark (early) and we’ll be checking those out to the public,” he explained.

“We’re also thinking of acquiring some portable Wi Fi hotspots for those people in the community without access to internet or with poor connections,” he noted.

And among the “things” he spoke of, some are out of this world.

How about a telescope to view the night sky at home with your family. The Warkworth Branch of the Trent Hills Public Library has a new 4.5 inch Reflector Telescope that allows you to see planets, stars and great views of the moon.

In fact the library is holding an information night on Dec. 15 to learn how to use the telescope and is booking lending dates with those who attend. For more information, call Patrick Muldoon, librarian, at 705 924 3116

“We’re thinking of acquiring some other ‘things’ like GoPro cameras or virtual reality headsets, gardening toolkits…the sky’s the limit with this initiative. So we’re really excited about that,” Peters said enthusiastically.

Partnerships:

He talked to council about the partnerships happening now with the library. “We’ve got a partnership with Bike Action Trent Hills, which is an advocacy group for cycling in the community. So we’re going to have bike maintenance toolkits available in each of the three library branches that can be checked out or used on site. We’re going to have bike racks at each branch, and we’re going to have lots of workshops and programs encouraging the use of bicycles in the community.”

He noted that in October the Library hosted the ABCs of bike maintenance and the Spooky Halloween bike ride.

“We also have a great partnership with the Stirling Musical Instrument Lending Library (M.I.L.L.) in Stirling …..We actually made a promotional video yesterday promoting this service with the Hastings ukulele band. So watch for that video on our YouTube channel,” he commented.

The Musical Instrument Lending Library (M.I.L.L.) in Stirling serves Belleville, Quinte West, & other municipalities in Hastings & Northumberland Counties

Thinking more long-term Peters told council the library hopes to get some Makerspace equipment into the library branches that can be checked and can be used by patrons, because it’s often quite expensive for anyone to purchase for their own use.

The Makerspace equipment includes everything from 3D printers, to vinyl cutters, etc., and Makerspace is also thinking of getting some digital media lab equipment like video cameras, green screens, microphones, etc.

The library hopes to hold some workshops and programs related to the equipment including basic computer classes for seniors and youth workshops on making YouTube videos or podcasts.

“So those are some of the exciting things I think we have in the works as part of our strategic planning process.” Peters said.

He is leading the library through its strategic plan process for the years 2022 to 2025. Part of this process involved putting out questionnaires to the public which happened earlier this year in July and again in November.

“Those responses to the questionnaires are going to guide our strategic planning process and its priorities going forward. And those are currently being compiled,” he noted.

Councillor Catherine Redden who is on the library board as a representative for council, spoke highly of Peters.

“It’s been a time since he (Peters) started here, several months now and he’s already definitely made his mark,” she said.

“If you look at the Facebook postings of what they’re doing last night, I saw a stack of jigsaw puzzles coming out that people could do in the winter time. It’s all kinds of things, videos, tapes, music, as well as what Graham’s just told you, but I think what we’re trying to do is really expand on what people know of as a library.”

Redden added, “And in fact, our virtual presence during COVID has been sort of a saving for a number of individuals who have been locked up in their homes.”

She challenged council members to let Peters know what they want to see available at the library “that you haven’t seen already or you’ve seen somewhere else.”

“We want to make this the best little library system you could find in Eastern Ontario, and certainly Graham and his staff are well on their way.”