This is part of a year-long ‘Love for Local’ series called NB365: portraits of New Brunswick entrepreneurs, businesses, and organizations. Huddle is a media partner with Love for Local. Today we feature Chantale Bellemare of the Moncton Library.

The library is a great place to read, learn, and innovate. We are equitable, accessible, and free to all.

Public libraries enrich the social, cultural, and economic vitality of our communities by opening doors to lifelong learning for everyone. We are experts in providing access to the world’s information, ideas, and entertainment.

We provide a core educational and cultural component within the city and we are in the midst of an exciting period of transition, where quiet is being replaced by the hum of the community and where information and knowledge are found in various formats: print, electronic, audiovisual, and even from community experts sharing their knowledge in free programs.

The public library belongs to the community and it is amazing not only to see so many groups and people taking advantage of its free resources but also giving their time to help build a better community.

Over the years, we have partnered with dozens of community organizations, businesses, and volunteers to provide free programs, like second language conversation circles, book clubs, science programs for the youth, financial literacy workshops, story time in languages other than English and French, author readings, basic computer classes, genealogy workshops, and literacy programs for preschoolers–just to name a few.

We help to develop the love of reading from the youngest age and we continue to provide resources for all abilities, needs, and interests through all steps of life.

We have heard so many heart-warming testimonials over the years, from families who just moved here and found friends by coming to library programs; from people who found a job using the library’s public computers; from emerging artists who had their first exhibit at the library; from patrons who can’t read print and found materials in a format accessible to them; from amateur genealogists who finally found missing information about their family; from teens who needed a safe place when things were difficult at home; from adult learners who used a study room to meet their tutor or came here to learn about computers; and of course; from readers who discovered so many great authors by browsing the shelves or talking to our staff.

The library is a fantastic community hub, improving the lives of all New Brunswickers.