It really is true, time flies when you’re having fun! We kicked things off in April with our grand opening party for the new Pitt Meadows Library and our staff and customers have kept the party going ever since.

This summer saw the return of our annual Summer Reading Club, which rewards kids, teens, and grown-ups for all the great reading they do during the summer. To promote the program we visited every elementary school in the City and performed puppet shows to the community’s ravenous young readers.

More than 500 children came into the library with their reading records during the summer and joined in the fun with great Summer Reading Club performers like Norden the Magician, Pangaea Arts and Mad Science.

Special thanks to Councillor Doug Bing, who took the time to hand out medals to all the readers who attended our grand finale party, where more than 200 people took over the library and grooved to the tunes of Chris Hamilton. Check out the pictures on our Facebook page!

We also recently started our first ever regular Babytime program, where children 23 months and under, along with their moms (and some dads), get together to enjoy songs, rhymes, and bounces once a week. It’s also a great opportunity to meet other new parents and trade tips, challenges, and ideas on coping with a new addition to the family.

The library will continue to offer Babytime sessions this fall, Tuesday mornings from 10:15 to 10:45 a.m. beginning Sept. 18. New babies are always welcome to join in on the fun.

Our family games nights have benefited from the increased space in our new building and we are proud to announce we will now be holding them every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m.

Whether you just want to play chess or Scrabble or are looking for someone to play Magic: The Gathering with, stop in and see who’s here.

And even though the kids are back in school, we still have lots of other exciting events coming up at the library. Wednesday, Sept. 19 marks the 10th anniversary of International Talk Like a Pirate Day, and we can’t pass up an anniversary like that.

Not only will we be talking like pirates, we will be dressed like pirates, too! There will be games to play and prizes for everyone who comes dressed as a pirate and, like true pirates, you can loot the library shelves (as long as you have a library card, of course).

On Saturday, Sept. 29, from 7 to 9 p.m., our Friends of the Library group is hosting the first annual Pitt Meadows Library Quiz Night. The Friends of the Library is made up of community members who help us out all year long, volunteering at events to help them run smoothly and putting on fundraisers like Quiz Night. Get your team of up to eight people together, and test your trivia knowledge against the rest of the community (and some library staff) while competing for prizes and bragging rights. Tickets are only $10 per person and available at the Pitt Meadows Library while supplies last.

Unfortunately life can’t be all fun and games; sometimes we have to work before we can play.

This fall, we will be offering two job-hunting workshops in our new computer lab, where we will demonstrate our newest online resource, JobFreeway, which lists job postings around the Lower Mainland.

We will also share tips and strategies for building resumes and cover letters and finding employment and retraining opportunities using the computer resources available in the library.

Our first workshop is Tuesday, Sept. 25 from 7 to 8:30 p.m., and it will be offered again Thursday, Oct. 18 from 3 to 4:30 p.m.

If you find the prospect of using computers confusing or need a little help formatting your resume or making the most of email, we are also offering One-on-One Computer Help all winter long. We will have our staff experts available to answer your questions on Mondays, Sept. 17 through Nov. 26, from 2:30 to 4 p.m. Please call or visit the library to register.

With Halloween and Christmas just around the corner, we have plenty of other plans; for all the details, grab a copy of our new program guide the next time you come into either Maple Ridge or Pitt Meadows Library!

– Curtis Acton is a Pitt Meadows librarian