Guest review program launched to help local students earn community service hours
Port Colborne Leader
James Culic
There may not be any leaping lords, or partridges in pear trees, but there are 12 days of gifts up for grabs at the Port Colborne Public Library this holiday season.
“The Port Colborne Optimist Club just showed up with all these brand new books for us, so we decided to go with a 12 Days Of Christmas theme,” said library services director Susan Therrien. “We’ve got them wrapped up into 12 different gift packs to give out.”
Elsewhere at the library, the building is back to curbside pickup only, but they’ve found a unique way to keep that in-person browsing feeling while maintaining COVID safety protocols.
“We’ve started doing window shopping, which people seem to really be getting a kick out of,” said Therrien. The local librarians have set up shelves in the windows along the front of the building, and rotate in fresh books and their newest recommended reads. “People have been coming by and looking at the books through the windows, then they point to the one they want and we bring it out to them.”
The library has also launched a new program aimed at assisting local students earn some community service hours, while also helping them hone their literary writing skills.
“Students can write a guest review for one of our books, which both earns them some community service hours, and helps them work on their writing skills,” said Therrien. Each book review earns students five hours of community service. The program is open to students from Lakeshore Catholic and Port High.
To volunteer to write a guest review, or to put your name in for one of the 12 book prize packages, email the library at library@portcolborne.ca or call 905-834-6512.
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