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By Chris Brown

$159,000 over two years

Kinsmen donation will spruce up children’s space in Medicine Hat Public Library

May 8, 2020 | 2:59 PM

MEDICINE HAT, AB – After unveiling the Medicine Hat Public Library’s Co-op Community Development Play Space in early February something just didn’t look right to Ken Feser.

The brand new space clashed with the old decor and fixtures in the Kinsmen Children’s Library, which looked pretty much the same as it did when it opened in 1992.

Feser said some of the shelving is pretty rusted and there’s wood veneer on it that’s flaking off. The carpet is pretty tired, he said, and described the – forest green and dusty rose – as ’80s colours.

“It’s not really the space that we feel that Medicine Hat deserves,” said the chief librarian. “When we put the new play space in it just kind of made the rest of the space look that much more tired. We really wanted to do something about that.”

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The library approached the Kinsmen, who Feser said were supportive of the plans and stepped up right away.

The Kinsmen will donate $159,000 over the next two years to spruce up the area. A cheque for $80,000 was presented to a grateful Feser on Thursday by Evan Laturnas of the Medicine Hat Kinsmen Club.

“We knew that with the addition of the play space, the library would be serving even more children than they had in the past, and their attendance numbers were already very high,” said Laturnas, the club’s local services director. “We agreed as a club that our donation would likely encourage even more families to visit the library to not just play, but to also leave with a stack of books and the willingness to make reading a regular part of their children’s lives.”

The remainder of the donation will be presented next year.

Feser said carpeting, paint, different types of display shelving that will help show off the collections a little more will be part of the upgrades. Feser said a tween zone and a family zone are also in the works to make the space more socially interactive and other STEM-type toys and equipment will be added.

“We want the library to be a place where there are surprises hidden all over the place where kids can come back over and over again and continue to be delighted and surprised,” he said.

If you’d like to support the Kinsmen in their efforts to support the community, tickets for the this year’s Home Lotto draw are available until 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, May 10