CHMA was able to drop in on the 65th anniversary celebration of the Port Elgin branch of the New Brunswick Library system on Saturday, November 29th. The library hosted an open house for the community, offering refreshments, a cupcake cake and activities for all ages, including a scavenger hunt.
There was a fair amount of activity on the day, and the library was full of energetic folks of every age. A few of the youngsters were playing a game on the public access computer, and others were looking at books or enjoying a cupcake with family.
“This library makes me feel great. And I like how Marcie, over here, is always feeling good about how the day’s gonna end,” says Jay Jay Patten-Gallop.
“My favourite thing about the library is all the books here, the games and the scavenger hunts and all the fun stuff,” reports young David Nyugen.
And Gabriel Hamilton says he enjoyed his summer activities at the library, which were led by Meg Edwards this year. The theme of the summer activities was Space. Of his favourite facts gathered, Gabriel says: “that the Earth has two moons. One of them is an asteroid that’s been with us forever since 1960, and it’s just an asteroid orbiting.”
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Also in attendance were Candy MacLouglin and Jean Hart, both members of the Port Elgin Library book club, which meets on the third Tuesday of each month at 3:00 pm.
“We love our librarian Marcie,” Candy says. “She gets us our books timely, and so that’s a big advantage. I love books.”
“When my granddaughters visit in the summertime, I bring them here for books, trying to distract them from their electronic devices,” Jean added with a smile.
Marcie Bronson is the library manager at the Port Elgin Library and has held the post since August 2023. She underlined that the library isn’t just about books.
The Port Elgin Library also has board games and puzzles, sports equipment such as basketball, pickleball, and disc golf sets, skateboards and helmets and pads, as well as metal detectors and ukuleles. And there are many activities offered.
“We offer a monthly creative workshop, usually on Saturdays, making things like sun catchers, lanterns, friendship bracelets, and we always have a drop-in craft that community members can make any time they visit the library,” Marcie says.
“It’s family friendly, and anyone is welcome to take part no matter their age. This month we have a holiday card station with lots of fun and festive materials for folks to craft away with. We always have a scavenger hunt for kids who get a small prize when they find all of the images hidden around the library.”
Find more information on the Port Elgin Library on Facebook and Instagram @BiblioPortElginLibrary. You can also sign up for their newsletter by finding the Port Elgin Library branch page on the New Brunswick Public Library Service website. Call the branch at (506) 538-9001 or email: portelginlib@gb.ca.
