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Treasures of our Memorial Library From its earliest activities, our library has considered the special department catering to the needs of young people to be an integral and important part of its structure. As West Vancouver's population and the pace of its social activities have grown, this essential element of our library has managed to keep in step. Under the constant pressure of enquiring young minds, our Youth Department has become one of our busiest services. In 1997, for instance, circulation of its own items reached the impressive figure of 264,818! In recent years, the variety of these items has widened explosively, stocking not only hardcovers and paperbacks, but also cassettes, CD's, videos and CD-ROMs. The computer "arm" of the Department, started in 1994, is one of its busiest, probably reflecting the generally high skill and intelligence levels of our young patrons. Its equipment now includes three CD-ROM stations; one Internet station; and three computer catalogues of the Department's own stock. Several of these units and the CD-ROMs available for loan were funded by the Friends of the Libraiy. A good selection of French books caters to the considerable number of West Vancouver students who are in French Immersion classes. The interest and duties of the Department's staff - two librarians and one library assistant, extend far beyond the supervision and distribution of books and ancillary materials. Their very active programmes, amounting to over 20 per month, consist of entertainments and story-telling sessions. Retired staff member Kathe Soukup used to make puppets for the puppet shows, some large, some finger size, but all guaranteed to delight the children. Occasionally, authors come to speak to the young patrons, or there are visits by groups interested in promoting learning activities related to subjects such as science or animal life. Sometimes the youngsters are organized into craft groups to prepare small treasures for Easter, Christmas, or Mother's Day. All such activities are held in the "Storyhouse", a feature adaptable for endless uses. This facility is also used for staff conferences and for groups such as Brownies and Cubs. All of the Department's own programmes are designed in some way to foster interest in books and reading skills, though the target groups may range from babies to teenagers. Of course, liaison with parents is of special interest. They are often supplied with lists of selected books, or loaned a bag of materials individually chosen. The staff often attend teacher-librarian meetings and periodically send out a bulletin, "News for Teachers", which they themselves prepare. Summer Reading Club The Theme of this year's Summer Reading Club is "Wild About Books". The artwork for the banners, T-shirts, posters, and so forth include a ship wreck on a desert island, castaways, delightful animals and a Robinson Crusoe character. We will be hearing more about the programme at our May meeting and hope to include an article in next month's newsletter. The Friends traditionally provide some funding for the T-shirts and incentive items.