American poet William Cullen Bryant once called Autumn "the year's last, loveliest smile."
An Alberta fall is one of our province’s most spectacular but all-too-short seasons.
From Airdrie to Lloydminster to Tofield to Jasper, you would be hard-pressed to find such a sweeping and stunning transition from summer to fall anywhere else.
From fields of golden wheat bent with the weight of their bounty, swelling like ocean waves under the pressure of cool autumn winds; to the rolling foothills aflame in hues of orange, red, and yellow; to the ancient and rugged Rocky Mountains dusted with a hint of the snowy quilt to come, fall in Alberta does feel like “the year's last, loveliest smile."
Here at Airdrie Public Library (APL), we are in transition too. Though it may not be as breathtaking as an Alberta autumn, it still has its moments.
As we mentioned in last week’s column, we’ve moved from summer programming to a fresh lineup of fall programs and events. How we’re delivering these programs may be different due to the pandemic, but our mission to foster literacy, knowledge and cultural connections remains unchanged.
One of the ways APL does this is through new acquisitions for our physical collection. Over the summer, we’ve added 816 adult books, 78 adult audio-visual materials, 885 children’s books and 45 children’s audio-visual materials. In fact, our Children’s Area is so flush with new material, we’ve had to add two extra bookshelves.
On top of this, we’ve added to our Spanish and French collections, our video game collection, and to our magazines with the latest editions of Rolling Stone, Guitar Player, Quilting World and many more.
You might call it a fall harvest of sorts, one where the adventure of learning and knowledge is as attainable as your free library card.
So, yes, fall may signal the end of the warm days of summer, but it also hints at something new.
For more information on APL’s collections, programs, and services visit www.airdriepubliclibrary.ca
