NORTH BATTLEFORD — On Dec. 22, the North Battleford Public Library in partnership with its parent organization Lakeland Library Region, hosted its very first COVID-19 vaccine clinic for children.
This was not their first partnership with the Saskatchewan Health Authority. Since July, the library has opened its doors to Saskatchewan Health Authority COVID-19 and flu vaccine clinics about 30 times, allowing thousands of residents to get free and easy access to COVID-19 and flu vaccines. This time, the library hosted three simultaneous vaccine clinics, two for adults and one for children.
The North Battleford’s new head librarian and branch manager Oksana Moshynska, who has just graduated with her Masters of Management in Library and Information Science degree from the University of Southern California, was excited to see so many children smile.
According to Moshynska, “The modern library is no longer limited to the library’s physical walls; it delivers electronic materials to patrons’ homes. At the same time, the library opens their spaces and invites their community to not only read in the library, but to play games, connect with others in their communities, exercise their right to vote, and, when a global pandemic strikes, get vaccinated.”
The library staff members created special gifts for children who were planning to come over to the library. These included superhero buttons, heroes, and an opportunity to add their names to the wall of superheroes kids.
The CEO and Director of the Lakeland Library Region, Jake Marion, is “very pleased that the public library is a useful venue for the Saskatchewan Health Authority,” and hopes that this is the first of many partnerships.
Before the 2021 year ends, the library will be welcoming the Saskatchewan Health Authority’s vaccine clinics on 27 and 29.
Submitted by Lakeland Library Region
