The Greater Victoria Library has more than books to check out. Family passes to the art gallery, museum and now recreation centres are available on loan.
And they’re already a hit.
“We just launched the Saanich passes [last week] and they’re already popular,” said Alyssa Polinsky, director of communications and community development for the library.
There are 20 passes to Saanich recreation centres — Pearkes, Cedar Hill, Gordon Head and Commonwealth Place — available to borrow from the library for one week at a time.
Each pass allows two adults and up to four children entry to the applicable recreation centre.
Saanich Parks and Recreation approached the library about the pilot project after hearing that it already had passes to the Greater Victoria Art Gallery and Royal B.C. Museum available, Polinsky said.
“At the library, we’re always looking for different ways to support the community in learning. For some, it’s taking out a book, and for others, it might be taking in the art gallery,” she said.
Non-traditional collections are becoming more popular. The library has DVDs, CDs and ebooks for members.
It also has climate-action kits for families to make their homes more environmentally efficient.
Unconventional collections will be the topic of a session at a national library conference in Victoria this week, which is expected attract 650 librarians.
They’ll have the chance to discuss how some libraries have expanded their collections to include power tools, bikes and even puppies, and how that serves their commun-ities.
“This is definitely a town of library users, so it will be interesting,” said Polinsky, adding that Greater Victoria has the second-highest library circulation per capita in Canada.
Since the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria pass program with the library began in 2011, it’s been used nearly 2,000 times. The passes were so popular that the gallery increased the number available to 38 from 20 to shorten wait times.
“People love it. It’s incredibly popular,” said Jay Macdonell, visitor services co-ordinator.
“It’s about bringing art to the community. Not everyone can afford to come, so this is one of a few ways they can access the gallery.”
Mena Westhaver, community programmer for Saanich Parks and Recreation, said it was thrilled with the launch of its passes and hopes to see the program grow.
“The idea behind it is to invite more people into our rec centres,” Westhaver said. “Whether they just don’t know about us or haven’t been able to afford to participate, we can reach a new clientele. Our hope is to see more people be active.”
