'\n ', 'Your free ', 'Calgary Public ', 'Library card is an important step in finding ', 'support ', 'in Calgary. ', 'At the Library, you can ', 'borrow books', ', mo', 'vies, and music', ', use computers', ' and ', 'Wi-Fi, ', 'print documents, ', 'attend programs to ', 'practise', ' your English skills', ', and get ', 'connected ', 'to newcomer services agencies ', 'who can help', ' you', '. It’s all free!', '\xa0', '\n '
Read more about "'Welcome to Canada and the Library'"Margaret Wu Committee Membership: Audit and Finance; Strategy and Community; Calgary Public Library Foundation Board Term End: 2026 Before the metaverse was part of everyday conversation, a young Margaret imagined her own version fueled by the Library. It was at the Library that Laura Ingalls Wilder taught Margaret the difference between cake and yeast donuts. Monica Hughes introduced a new way to understand prejudice and how empathy is the only bridge to both sides. And Tolkien showed her that just because something like Lord of the Rings is popular, that doesn’t mean she has to like it. Today, Margaret understands that the Library is more than a physical place; it’s an ideology too. Through the Library, she hopes to gift the next generation a Calgary that has found a healthy balance between our right to intellectual freedom with the responsibility as citizens to participate, respect others, and contribute positively as represented by Calgary Public Library.
Read more about "Margaret Wu"Francis Melting Tallow Francis Melting Tallow was born in 1936 on the Siksika Nation to Matthew and Nancy Melting Tallow. His father was from Kainai, his mother Siksika. His childhood name was Bluebird, and later in life, he was given the name Red Bull. Francis was raised by his uncle, Jack Big Eye. Francis learned a lot from Jack, including how to care for cattle and horses, which lead to his lifelong love for ranching and rodeo. He has broken a lot of horses! Jack did not attend residential school, so he had a strong base in traditional culture, which he passed on to Francis. During his childhood, Indigenous families came from all over Western Canada to work at the coal mines in Siksika, where the common language was English. Francis attended Crowfoot Residential School from 1942-1954. His traditional background and command of the English language prepared him as an interpreter and leader among his friends and schoolmates. After graduation, Francis attended business school in Edmonton, and then joined the Canadian Air Force for three years. He then returned to the cowboy life before becoming the first employee of Siksika Administration, beginning the operation with half a pencil! After seven years, Francis studied Social Work at the University of Calgary. He then went to work in Thompson, Manitoba at the nickel mine, before moving to Winnipeg where he worked for Native Alcohol Services and Stony Mountain Penitentiary. Returning to Calgary and Siksika, Francis worked for the Indian Association of Alberta and helped form the Treaty Alliance. Francis has six children and more than twenty grandchildren. He lives with his wife Ruth Scalplock in Cluny. He has many horses and is an avid hunter. Francis wants to see a world where there is a real awareness of Indigenous culture and history, and the effects of colonialism. He hopes for a full rollout of Indigenous control of Child Welfare, the settling of Land Claims, and a time when Indigenous and Western ways live together.
Read more about "Francis Melting Tallow"Join us for a live, interactive, virtual tour of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights. Explore exhibits and powerful human rights stories. On this unique tour, you will travel...
Read more about "Virtual Tour: Canadian Museum for Human Rights"More Resources Blackfoot Language Resource Project from the University of Lethbridge contains audio recordings in Blackfoot, with transcripts, and others shared in English. Blackfoot Teacher’s Guide developed by Elders Reg Crowshoe, Geoff Crow Eagle, and Maria Crowshoe provides learning activities for students in grades 1-6. Empowering Spirit is a comprehensive collection of Alberta-based educational resources to support reconciliation. Four Directions Teaching is an interactive site for students grades 5 and up, and covers teachings of the Piikani Blackfoot, Haudenosaunee/Mohawk, Ojibway/Anishinaabe, Woodlands Cree, and Mi’kmaq First Nations. Guiding Voices is an Alberta Education curriculum tool for integrating First Nations, Métis, and Inuit perspectives through your curriculum. National Centre for Collaboration shares information from an Indigenous perspective. It covers topics like biology, nutrition, history, and music. Niitsitapiisini Teacher Toolkit from the Glenbow Museum accompanies their online exhibit about Blackfoot (Niitsitapiisini) culture. Stepping Stones is a publication of the Alberta Teachers’ Association that supports teachers in learning to meet the First Nations, Métis, and Inuit Foundational Knowledge competency. Ten Ideas to Learn More About Treaty 7 and Métis Culture like books, videos, and backyard adventures. Traditional Stories are available to listen to through the Glenbow Museum. These audio recordings are spoken in Blackfoot, with English transcripts provided. Werklund School of Education provides resources related to colonization, ways of life, literature, and decolonization. Books to Build On: Indigenous Literatures for Learning is an interactive web resource that is designed to assist educators with weaving Indigenous ways of knowing, being, and doing into their teaching and learning.
Read more about "More Resources"'\n ', 'Find practice tests for occupations such as firefighting, ', 'law enforcement', '\xa0including RCMP, ', 'Canadian armed forces', ',\xa0cosmetology, nursing, and real estate. ', 'Prepare and practice for ', 'GED', '.', 'Newcomers can find ', 'Canadian citizenship tests', ' and ', 'English language proficiency tests', ', such as IELTS, TOEIC and TOEFL.\xa0', 'Students in Grades 4 and up can also practice their reading and math skills.', 'Not sure how to start? Watch the tutorial on Niche Academy: ', 'Learning Express Tutorial', '.', '\n '
Read more about "'Practice tests and tutorials for careers, newcomers, and students in Grades 4 and up'"Melissa Legacy Director, Visitor Experience Melissa completed her undergraduate degree at York University and her Master of Library and Information Studies (MLIS) at Western University. After graduating from Western, she spent one year teaching English in Ulsan, South Korea. Melissa has experience in both academic and public libraries. Over the past 14 years Melissa has worked in six public library systems across Canada, including Ontario, Alberta, British Columbia, and the Northwest Territories. Melissa has done nearly every job in public libraries — from shelver to CEO. Throughout her career she has held multiple leadership roles, has actively worked on committees advocating for public libraries, and has engaged in association work and training, including LEAN and Service Design.
Read more about "Melissa Legacy"Councillor Kourtney Penner Committee Membership: City Councillor, Ward 11 Term End: 2024 Kourtney has always been an avid reader. As a kid, she loved library day in school, book fairs, and visits from what we now call the Book Truck. It’s no surprise that she studied English Literature in university. Now she enjoys attending and hosting events at the Library, bringing her own children to experience reading and playing, and taking out books (and occasionally returning them on time). Kourtney sees Calgary Public Library as an innovative civic institution, leading the way with both programming and building design. She is keen to support the continued value that Calgary Public Library delivers to Calgarians and encourage ongoing initiatives, especially those focused on youth, seniors, marginalized populations, and low-income Calgarians.
Read more about "Councillor Kourtney Penner"Books, government documents, and periodicals on Canadian History.
Read more about "Canadiana"A Message from our CEO As we launch our new 2023 – 2026 Strategic Plan, it provides an opportunity to reflect on our achievements, lessons, and growth over 110 years of service. Today, Calgary Public Library is proud to be an internationally respected leader in library service and innovation, and we are just getting started. We emerge from years of disruption and transition and see a community that needs us more than ever. We are a city facing urgent issues that require many voices around the table. That table where everyone is welcome is your public library. We see this strategic plan as a powerful roadmap to create space to drive action and ensure equitable outcomes. We provide the space for people to access new ideas and inspiration, find valuable community connections and supports , and work together to create a strong future where everyone can find success and belonging. We are where literacy and learning live. We create places for people to become neighbours , and we work every day to address barriers so everyone can realize their potential. The future we envision is bold and optimistic because we know what our community can accomplish when we work together. As our city grows, we will always be there to help you fall in love with reading, start a business, navigate a new country, learn a new skill, or have a conversation with someone new. Our promise is that everyone belongs at the Library because the Library belongs to you. Sarah Meilleur CEO
Read more about "A Message from our CEO"After attending a 50+ Coffee and Conversation group, Rudy Wagner and his wife Mary Jean decided to keep the conversation going. Now, using a free, bookable meeting room at Signal Hill Library for the past eight years, it’s more than just a casual coffee group — members attend lectures together, share in weekly tai chi lessons, and more, all for free at the Library.Rudy Wagner, eight years with the group“It’s such an interesting group, and as long as we have the space at the Library to do it, I’m happy to make it happen. My wife and I supply the coffee, and the group supplies the conversation! Some of them bake, and so we’ll get to try different foods from different countries around the world. It’s the variety that I love. I used to be a principal at public schools in Toronto, so I’ve been working with the community my whole life, and I just love meeting new people. It’s the companionship. We have new people join us every time, there are no strict rules. People come when they can, there’s no fee. It’s just a place for people to get together and chat.”Mary Jean Wagner, eight years with the group“Our grandchildren were getting older and starting to head off to school, so we weren’t so occupied with them anymore, and I wanted to meet other people. Where we live, there are a lot of people our son’s age. We moved from Toronto to live near him and help with the two grandchildren, but we had difficulty meeting people our age. And I really wanted to make new friends, because it can be hard to meet new people as you get older. So, this was a perfect opportunity for us. We feel that we’ve made friendships here, and others have done the same. The Library makes it easy for us to continue doing what we’ve always loved to do.”Pal Aggarwal, eight years with the group“We came to Calgary from Germany in 2011, my wife and me, and my wife was just coming to the Library for some books. Then she saw this group here and started talking to them. Now we’ve been coming here every week, ever since we came here. It’s a real cosmopolitan group, you see people from all different countries, you have different subjects to talk about, that’s the best part. We are a big group, but there are four of us couples, and now we have each other [over] every once in a while, for dinner at our home. We meet every two weeks at somebody’s house for drinks, it’s nice. We are all very friendly to each other. It’s a real inspiration, it gives you a positive feeling, and I appreciate that.”Elaine Lee, seven years with the group“The best part of this group is that people who feel isolated or don’t know too many people have a place to go. They have a community, and they know that they have something to look forward to each week. It keeps them active. That’s the beauty of the group, they open up to you. It’s not just a weekly meeting, they become like family for those who come on a regular basis. Getting to know them has really been my greatest honour and pleasure, because I really feel like I can bring them joy, and to see them interact with one another and to see how the group has grown brings me so much joy as well.”Jeffrey Quo, two years with the group“I had joined a Library reading club … actually, I joined two. I used to be a computer engineer, but after I retired, I had to find a way to kill the time. That group forced me to read some books which I would never have thought to involve myself in; it forced me to expand my interests, same as this group. I find it quite interesting. I needed to find some new focus in my life. Before I retired, I only focused on my job. Now I need to change my lifestyle. So reading, or making a new friend, that’s important for me. I enjoy that about this group. In this hour we always have lots of new people join us, and we get the chance to know new friends.”Shirley Lutz, two years with the group“It’s fun, it’s free, it’s close by, and the people here are just so warm and friendly. I love the conversation because I get to learn more about the people around me. It’s an interesting group we have, because we have so many different nationalities here. A lot of our people don’t come from around here, and it exposes me to other cultures and ideas, which I really enjoy. Today I just met a new lady who joined us from Vietnam, so I’ve been getting to know her, and she says she’ll be coming back. It’ll be great to have her join our group.”Tam Dang, first-time visitor to the group“I just retired, so I have a lot of time on my hands. So I started to wonder, where can I go? When we work, we wake up, go to work, we come home, we sleep. We have the same routine. But since then I’ve become so bored. I miss having a place to go. Every day I saw my friends and had conversations with them, but now it’s so empty. So that’s why I am looking for a group a bit older, with the same feelings as me. In this group, I can be with people the same age and in the same situation as me. Even though I’ve only seen them this first time, people have already explained to me: we are friends now, and we can talk.”David Stratford, two years with the group“I find the people in the group to be so funny — their little explanations of their lives, where they come from and what they do day to day. They really are absolutely wonderful people to be around. I try to make them laugh, and mostly I can do that. Some can’t hear as well as they used to, so you may have to tell your joke a couple of times. I call us the crumblies — I say I’m going to go visit with the crumblies, because frankly we’re all falling apart a little bit. But I love to be a part of that. We’re all here, we all try, we don’t give up. We’re just trying to live this section of our life fully. If you want to stay young, then you have to think young, and you’ve got to laugh.”
Read more about "Stories ‘To Know New Friends’ Older patrons are using the Library in a new way to create their Library Story"Find the right job for you, build a website, start a business, prepare for college, and more.
Read more about "Gale Courses"It’s ok to talk about death. Experience the benefits of engaging with mortality in a supportive community environment. A Certified Death Doula from the Home Hospice Association...
Read more about "Death Café"Acclaimed writer Denise Chong returns to Calgary with her new book, Out of Darkness, a stirring account of the journey of domestic assault victim Rumana Monzur. Wordfest is...
Read more about "Wordfest Presents Denise Chong & Rumana Monzur"