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Bragg Creek satellite library now open

A long-awaited satellite library in Bragg Creek is officially open for residents, after a nearly two-year process.

A long-awaited satellite library in Bragg Creek is officially open for residents to use, after a nearly two-year process.

“We haven’t done a big launch yet because of COVID-19 concerns,” said Alannah Turner, president of the board of directors for the Bragg Creek Community Association (BCCA). “We are going to wait until things are a little bit better before we invite a large percentage of our community in to see it.”

Turner said while a grand opening is postponed, the satellite library is now ready and functional. For locals who want to use the service, all they need is a TRAC card, which is offered through the Marigold Library System (MLS).

To use the service, Turner said members can go online and search through the large number of titles and order directly from the website. Once ordered, the items are delivered from a library in the MLS to Bragg Creek. The books are then put in a locker located at the Bragg Creek Community Centre, at which time members are given a notification it is ready for pick-up.

According to Turner, the library is a big win for the community. She said prior to the opening of the satellite library, Bragg Creek residents were forced to either head all the way to Cochrane or Millarville for library-related services.

“I think for a lot of people, if you don’t have kids in school, that is the drive you would have to make,” she said. “Now with restrictions, I think people just weren’t using library services at all. This gives a cost-effective way to give our community access to library services. We obviously aren’t large enough to have a full library, so this reduces the requirement for community members to have to drive.”

As the need for library services has been present in Bragg Creek for some time, Turner said she is happy the long wait is over.

“A library, even in this modified form, will really bring our community to our community centre, which will bring people together again,” she said.

The announcement of the opening comes after Rocky View County council approved a budget adjustment during a regular meeting on July 14, 2020. The County allocated $90,000 to the resource, which helped push the project over the finish line.

Turner said the library owes credit to the MLS and Cochrane Public Library, who initially brought the idea forward to the County’s Recreation Governance Committee, who then recommended council to approve the initiative and funding.

“They asked us if we wanted one,” Turner said. “We didn’t have to do the original work. They did all of that to help us get this [and] we are going to reap the benefits of their hard work.”

Jordan Stricker, AirdrieToday.com
Follow me on Twitter @Jay_Strickz

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