Canada Day: ORL locations will be closed on Friday, July 1, for Canada Day. Regular hours resume on Saturday, July 2.
For all the little scientists in your life you can borrow an even littler robot from our Library of Things collection! We have Ozobots Evo and a Code & Go Robot Mouse kits that are great for kids ages 5+, and the Sphero Bolt for kids ages 8+, with a caregiver’s help.
While playing with the Ozobot Evo, kids can begin learning coding concepts! The coding can be done either by drawing lines on paper or through an online site called Ozoblockly.
Kids can also learn coding without a computer with Colby, the programmable robot mouse! Colby has buttons you can use to program it so that it can it find its way through a maze to gets its cheese.
The Sphero BOLT lets kids code their own program and design their own activity using an app on the iPad included with the kit. Kids can program this robot to create a painting, race a car, or have a dance party.
These robots are just a few of the learning experiences you can borrow from our Library of Things collection. We have experiences for all ages - find them in our Catalogue!
This April, hundreds of participating Canadian public libraries, including Okanagan Regional Library, will offer unlimited access to The Break by Katherena Vermette. It will be available in eBook and eAudiobook formats, in English and French, and without holds or waitlists!
The book is made available as part of One eRead Canada, a month-long digital book club presented by Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) from April 1 to 30, 2022, with the support of CBC/Radio-Canada.
In Katherena Vermette’s book, The Break, Stella, a young Métis mother, looks out her window and notices someone in trouble on the Break — a barren field on an isolated strip of land outside her house — and alerts the police of the possible crime. Through the perspectives of various characters and shifting narratives, a story about the lives of people living in Winnipeg’s North End unfolds. A powerful intergenerational family saga, The Break showcases Vermette’s rich writing talent as an exciting new voice in Canadian literature.
Download the eBook or eAudiobook from the Libby App or from the ORL’s OverDrive collection in English and French. New to digital books? View our help page for video tutorials and instructions on downloading titles.
Are you a reader of alternative formats? You can get the book from CELA (English | French) or NNELS (English). View our info page for details on how to use these collections.
Join the discussions happening in the One eRead Canada Book Club Facebook group or on Twitter (@1eRead_unLivrel).
You’ll also get the chance to attend live virtual events in both English and French through livestreams on Facebook and Twitter.
On April 20, author of The Break, Katherena Vermette will be in conversation with CBC host Shelagh Rogers from 4:00 to 5:00 PM PDT (in English).
On April 21, Mélissa Verreault, the French translator of The Break, and Radio-Canada host Marie-Louise Arsenault will be in discussion about the book from 4:00 to 5:00 PM PDT (in French).
In-person library programs will be re-starting after January 18. Program offerings will vary branch to branch. Please check your local branch in the events calendar for upcoming programs.
Proof of Vaccination and Masks are required for participants of in-person programs, as per the Public Health Orders. Contact your local library if you have questions.
Online programming is available for anyone unable to attend in person. Some library branches are not able to offer in branch programming at this time, but the online programs are available for our entire service region. Sign up for Virtual Story Times for kids and families or check out our online events for adults.
As per the current Public Health Order, the ORL will not be holding in-library programs (e.g., Story Times, Knitting Clubs, etc.) until January 18. We are looking forward resuming our planned programs as soon it is safe to do so.
We continue to offer online programs. Sign up for Virtual Story Times for kids and families or check out our online events for adults!
Just a reminder - All library locations are closed beginning Friday, December 24 and resuming normal operating hours on Tuesday, January 4. Hold on to your checked out items! Loan periods have been changed so no materials are due over the closure as book return bins are closed/locked.
Stay cozy, healthy, and warm inside while delighting in free magazines, newspapers, digital books, music, and movies – all available through your library website with your library card.
ORL eBooks from OverDrive is the ORL’s largest collection of downloadable eBooks and eAudiobooks. With hundreds of popular fiction and non-fiction titles to choose from, this collection will have something for everyone. You can enjoy best-selling novels, well-known classics, self-improvement guides, and much more.
Get Started with ORL eBooks.
TumbleBook Library for Kids features animated, talking picture books as well as puzzles and games, based on books in the collection.
TeenBookCloud is great for tweens and teens. A part from a eBooks, the collection includes graphic novels, quite a few books found on High School Language Arts curriculum, and eAudiobooks.
With these two collections, there are no downloads or waitlists and the book plays right in the browser of your computer or your tablet.
Get started with Digital Books for Kids or Get Started with Digital Books for Teens.
Our genealogical database Ancestry: Library Edition is available to patrons at home until December 31, 2021. Got some time off and want to discovery your family history? Now is your chance! You can find records for births marriages, military services, passenger lists and more from Canada, the U.S. and the U.K.
Find it at https://www.orl.bc.ca/elibrary/online-resources/subject#Genealogy .
Use the holidays to learn a new language through Rosetta Stone. Learn Spanish, German, Korean, Arabic, Dutch, Polish, Portuguese and more. You can enjoy Rosetta Stone on your computer, or you can enjoy it on your smartphone or tablet using the Rosetta Stone mobile app.
Get Started with Rosetta Stone.
Have you ever wanted to learn how to improve your photography skills, learn computer coding, learn how to design a logo, or develop business and marketing skills? You can watch video tutorials on these and other topics for free with your library card, through LinkedIn Learning for Libraries.
Get Started with LinkedIn Learning for Libraries.
With The Great Courses (found in our Kanopy Streaming Film collection), you can watch lectures given by professors and teachers but you won't have to deal with exams, group projects, or tuition fees. Learn about history, astronomy, finance and math, creative writing and more.
Get Started with The Great Courses
Need some fresh, ad-free music for your holiday listening pleasure? Stream classical music with Naxos Music Library on your browser. Listen to entire albums, or create your own playlist!
Get started with Naxos Music Library.
Kanopy gives ORL members access over 30,000 films, including award-winning documentaries, rare and hard-to-find titles, film festival favorites, indie and classic films, and world cinema.
Get Started with Kanopy.
Want to catch up with the latest in politics, business, and celebrity gossip? Or get new crafting, hobby, or holiday entertainment ideas? Check out OverDrive Magazines. This collection offers ORL customers access to hundreds of popular magazines!
Get Started with OverDrive Magazines.
Get holiday cooking and entertaining ideas from Chatelaine, Martha Stewart Living, and Fine Cooking. Get caught up with news with People, Maclean’s, Time. For the kiddoes, find puzzles, science experiments and awesome comics and stories from Chickadee and Owl magazines.These digital magazines can be found only in the ORL’s Flipster collection.
Get Started with Flipster Digital Magazines.
Keep up with news from Canada and all over the world, with PressReader, the world’s largest online newspaper and magazine kiosk. ORL members have free access to full content digital replicas of more than 4,000 publications such as The Daily Courier, The Vancouver Sun, and The Guardian.
Get Started with PressReader.
This is just a taste of the online resources the library has to offer. Discover all of the ORL's online resources.
Enjoy your holidays – we can’t wait to see you when the library system re-opens on January 4.
The Okanagan Regional Library provides Library services to the citizens of Lake Country. For over 30 years, the Okanagan Regional Library Board has had established policies to guide communities and staff expectations for branch placement, sizes and open hours. The District of Lake Country has historically been serviced from 2 locations – the main library, which is currently situated in the Lake Country Municipal Hall and from a tiny location in Oyama. This Oyama library existed for historical reasons and has not met Board standards or policies for branch size or location (due to the small population being served and the proximity of other nearby libraries).
During the summer of 2021, the building which the Library has been leasing for decades was put up for sale by the Oyama Community Association. The Library was notified that under the terms of any sale, tenants, including the Library, would be allowed to stay until the end of October. If the building sold, anything past that time would be at the discretion and terms of any new owner. This potential sale triggered an internal review of our operations and services to the District of Lake Country, explicitly focusing on the effectiveness of the services provided and the money spent to operate this tiny facility in Oyama. As part of this review, alternative forms of service to the community with the resources currently allocated to Oyama were considered.
Decision:
After reviewing the various options, staff recommended, and the Board agreed that the resources allocated to the operation of this tiny Oyama branch of the ORL could better serve the entire District of Lake Country. Service Changes that will begin in November include:
The proposed additional 8 hours of service, offered to the entire District of Lake country through the Lake Country library, would provide significantly more materials, more convenient open hours and many other services to the whole community.
The Library Board and Management empathize with the community and appreciate that changes to local services are difficult, particularly for small communities. We believe that the approved changes implemented in the fall of 2021 will better direct the Library funding to provide more excellent services to more people in the entire District of Lake Country while maintaining local Oyama special programming and additional services such as wi-fi and a convenient book return.
ORL is increasingly expanding its online catalogue, allowing for a more immersive in-home, on-the-road, relaxing by-the-lake library experience. In-person services are also increasingly supplemented by virtual services, including an expanding variety of virtual programs and resources such as pre-recorded classes and workshops, child and adult activities and other e-books and materials, which can be accessed online 24/7.
After the announcement of the tragic discovery of the remains of 215 children buried on the site of the former residential school in Kamloops, we wish to offer our sincere condolences to the Tk’emlups te Secwepemc and to all local First Nations - and to everyone impacted by residential schools in Canada. This news deeply saddens us, and our thoughts are with your community and families, and with all affected communities at this time.
We hope that this announcement, and all of the connected issues it has raised to prominence, will encourage each of us to learn more about our country's past, and find ways to apply the lessons we learn to come together in reconciliation to build a better future.
Some sources of support that are available for anyone affected by these latest reports or the lingering affects of residential schools include:
Don Nettleton Chief Executive Officer
KELOWNA, BC – VantageOne Credit Union’s generous $4,000 donation to Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) has helped strengthen community programming in the communities of Peachland, Vernon, Armstrong and Enderby, BC. The charitable gift will support ORL in two vital ways: Improving public access to digital learning and tools and fostering the development of S.T.E.A.M. programming at four of our smaller library branches.
“We are thrilled!” says ORL’s Chief Executive Officer, Don Nettleton, on receiving the charitable gift. “ORL is so grateful for this timely donation from VantageOne which will help support community needs for STEAM programming.” STEAM includes activities that encompass an educational approach to learning using Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts and Mathematics. It enables young people, and those of all ages and abilities, to innovate and build critical thinking and problem solving skills and to engage in self-motivated learning and collaboration.
“We are very pleased to partner with Okanagan Regional Library to help support this type of educational programming in local community library branches.” says Roxanne Davyduke, Vice President of Consumer Banking Services at VantageOne. “It is very encouraging to know that our donation is being used to support STEAM programming and the purchase of four new Cricut Cutter machines for four local library branches in communities where we do business across the Okanagan Valley.”
At the May 19th, 2021 Meeting of the Okanagan Regional Library Board of Trustees, the Board was presented with a financial "clean bill of health" from auditors BDO Canada for the 2020 fiscal year. The Library system strengthened its balance sheet in 2020 with an increase in financial assets and decreased the overall net debt. It also posted a surplus for the year, most of which will be transferred to the building reserve to help to finance new branches such as West Kelowna.
The Library system looks ahead. Early planning is getting underway with the establishment of the 2022 budget preparation timeline, which will see the Board Finance Committee work with staff between now and September to recommend a budget to the Board. The Board must adopt next year's budget by its November meetings later this year.
The Board reviewed and approved the ORL 2020 Annual Report. 2020 was a challenging year for all of us. Like most other businesses and organizations, ORL had to constantly monitor and adjust service levels to ensure public and staff safety, compliance with public health mandates and recommendations and ORL's responsibilities to the communities.
The Annual Report highlighted many statistics which illustrate the significant impact ORL branches have on the communities they serve. The report also demonstrated the clear need and demand for libraries, especially during the Covid19 pandemic.
Considering that due to the pandemic, ORL buildings were closed for over two months, after which curbside holds pickup was available for the following two months, and ORL did not offer in-person programs for most of the year, the library still managed:
Established in 1936, the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) is the 16th largest library system in Canada, serving over 400,000 residents through 31 branches. It covers 59,600 square kilometres of some of the most beautiful territories in BC, stretching from Golden in the Rockies to Osoyoos in the heart of the Okanagan wine and fruit growing areas. The system is staffed by energetic and committed people who have begun shifting to a more learning and technology-focused service.
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Our newest Makerspace, the Inspiration Lab at the Vernon library branch, will be opening on June1! It is a free space dedicated to digital creativity, collaboration, and storytelling.
“We’re so excited to finally be able to open the Inspiration Lab to the community,” said Library Branch Head Kristy Hennings.
It will be joining our ORL Makerspaces that we have at the Westside Learning Lab, the Downtown Kelowna branch, and the Golden library branch.
Check out what you can find at Vernon branch's new Inspiration Lab:
Two Creation Stations for digital design and editing of all kinds, including video production and animation.
Three digitization stations that you can use to preserve your memories by converting old media into digital files:
A Cricut Maker, a machine that can cut hundreds of different materials accurately and quickly, from the most delicate paper and fabric to matboard and even faux leather. Great for DIY projects!
At the downtown Kelowna branch and Westside Learning Lab, you can print three-dimensional objects using a Makerbot 3D Printer.
The 3D Printer and the Cricut Maker require certification before using them. Beginning May 21, you will be able to certify online to use these maker stations. Online booking is available for maker stations at downtown Kelowna library Makerspace, the Westside Learning Lab, and will be coming soon for the Vernon Inspiration Lab!
Have any questions about our Makerspaces? Email help@orl.bc.ca or call us toll free at 1-844-649-8127.
Do you have little ones at home, not yet school-aged? Have you noticed how they are growing up so fast? Well, what better way to get them prepared for the big wide world ahead than by reading together.
We have an exciting new list of 100 Books to Read Together Before Kindergarten available for you from:
Just a few exciting titles and authors are:
Regular reading aloud helps to create strong parent-child bonds and promotes healthy brain development. Children who are read to more often have improved language and listening skills, experience stronger emotional connections, and gain a lifelong love of reading.
Some benefits of reading are:
When you and your little ones have finished the list, please take it to your nearest ORL branch and collect a prize!
The Kids, Teen, and Preschooler Winter Challenges are now completed! Thank-you to all who participated!
A whopping 341 submissions were sent in either by email or to the branch. The Winter Bingo Challenge generated 191 entries with 150 entries for the Hot Cocoa Colouring Challenge.
The following library branches have handed out Gift Cards to the lucky recipients:
Thanks for all your efforts and look for more challenges to come this Summer!
A change is coming to Lynda.com (info page), the library’s source for video courses about business, project management, and popular software...
On March 24, Lynda will be moving to a new site and changing its name to LinkedIn Learning for Libraries.
On the new site, you will find all of the great video courses you have come to love and more:
For full details about the move to LinkedIn Learning for Libraries, go to: https://www.linkedin.com/help/learning/answer/107121
Love the RBdigital Magazines collection? Now you can read RBdigital favourites like The Economist, Us Magazine, The New Yorker, and thousands more on the same site you get your eBooks and eAudiobooks!
The magazines from the RBdigital Magazines collection can now be found in the ORL's OverDrive collection at https://orl.overdrive.com, you can read them online in your browser, or enjoy them on the Libby App!
Choose from over 3,000 magazines, always available to borrow.
Check out as many as you like! Magazine checkouts do not count toward your digital book borrowing limits.
Learn more about OverDrive magazines at https://www.orl.bc.ca/elibrary/overdrive-magazines.
Happy Reading!
There Are Many Ways to Read.
Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) has extra services for the approximately 10% of Canadians who cannot read standard books because of a print disability.
Print disabilities include:
If changing the format of a print book makes it possible to read, the library can help!
The ORL has increased our capacity to service eligible community members for selection service and assistance in accessing Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and National Network of Equitable Library Service (NNELS).
CELA and NNELS are online services, accessed for free through the ORL, that people can use to get free audiobooks and listen to them on iPads, tablets, and smartphones. CELA also offers access to magazines and newspapers. Mail service, which sends audio CDs (DAISY discs) to patrons (played on CD players, DAISY players, or any other device that can play the MP3 format), is also available from CELA.
For more information about this service – connect with us:
If someone you know is not able read print and doesn’t have a library card, connect them with a library membership!
On December 17, digital books from our RBdigital collection will be moving to our ORL eBooks|OverDrive collection, so you can find your favorite books all in one place.
You will continue to be able to browse, borrow, and enjoy all the same great eBooks and eAudiobooks you loved, but they will be available in Libby App and on the ORL eBooks website.
You won’t see much change, other than you may notice even more great titles available for you to borrow!
If you currently have a book checked out from the RBdigital App, it will be available through the remainder of the lending period, so you can finish your book without disruption or risk of losing your place in the book.
Holds and items on your wishlist cannot be moved to the ORL eBooks collection. You can get a record of this info from your account on the RBdigital Books website prior to December 17. Here's how:
For the time being, you can continue to enjoy RBdigital Magazines on the RBdigital App and on the RBdigital site. More details to come in 2021!
Check out this article from OverDrive, our digital book provider: https://www.overdrive.com/RBdigital-transition-preview or email help@orl.bc.ca.
Saying that 2020 has been a year of many challenges for most of us is an understatement!
As year-end approaches and the holidays arrive, all of us at the Okanagan Regional Library want to thank each of you, our Library users, for your patience, understanding and support as we continue to navigate the evolving world of COVID-19. We have tried our best to adapt our services throughout the year to help keep everybody safe while still ensuring access to our many needed resources now more than ever.
We hope you enjoy your time during this holiday season. Be it with a book by a fireplace, an audiobook while making dinner, in front of a computer watching Lynda tutorials to sharpen up your skills for 2021 or our many other virtual services.
Our buildings will be closed between December 23 and January 4, but our virtual services are not. You can still access programming for children, including many STEAM programs, and some adult programming. Of course, we also have excellent online resources such as training videos from Lynda, eBooks and eMagazines that can be accessed for free to fill your leisure time.
Remember that we are here for you 24/7 right here on our website. Visit us and watch, listen, and explore what we have to offer.
Stay Well, Be Kind and Keep Learning! We look forward to serving you in 2021.