Celebrate Asian Heritage Month! 

Have you heard of Paldi, a once-bustling multicultural town near Duncan, or of Jean B. Lumb, a Chinese Canadian activist raised in Nanaimo? 

We've collected short stories of Asian Canadian history on Vancouver Island and curated great titles by Asian Canadian authors to celebrate Asian Heritage Month.

Check it out!

Sea & Cedar Magazine seeking submissions for 2023 issue 

We are now seeking submissions for the 2023 winter issue of Sea & Cedar Magazine.

Sea & Cedar Magazine, is a biannual literature and art publication created by our team at Vancouver Island Regional Library to celebrate new work by artists and writers across Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands, Bella Coola and Haida Gwaii. The inaugural issue launched online in 2021. This year, we also added limited print copies to our collection.

We are looking for new poetry, short fiction, creative nonfiction and artwork to fill the pages of our next winter issue. The deadline to be considered is August 12, 2022.

Learn more

Read our new book club pick 

Join our Take a Break virtual book club this month as we read A Tale for the Time Being by Ruth Ozeki.

The psychological fiction novel was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and the National Book Critics Circle Award, and is the winner of the LA Times Book Prize and the Medici Book Club Prize. As this month's featured title, there are no waitlists or holds for the eBook or digital audiobook on the Libby App between now and until May 31.

Borrow it today and join our discussion with library staff and other book lovers in our Take A Break Facebook group.

Learn more

Replacement charges coming for long, long overdue books

Customers with long (long, long) overdue material could see a billing charge appear on their accounts this month.

In January, we reactivated overdue notices to help remind customers it’s time to return overdue material. While there are currently no late fees, we encourage library users to return items so others can use them. If those items aren't returned within 120 days, we assume they've been lost and a replacement charge will be added to customer accounts.

As of May 15, customers who have overdue items or items checked out since January will have reached the 120-day mark and will start to receive invoices. If you receive an invoice, but find and return the overdue item, we will remove the charge. If the item remains lost, please connect with staff at your local branch to discuss payment options.

Borrowing FAQ

Have you switched to Libby yet? 

With the legacy OverDrive App being discontinued, we recommend readers switch to the free Libby App for ebooks and audiobooks.

OverDrive App users may find that some features are no longer working and the app is no longer available for new downloads.

If you're new to Libby, check out our Learning Libby with the Experts webinar, to learn the basics.

Watch now

New podcast episodes!

Meet Me in the Stacks, our podcast for bookish people, is back with two new episodes.

Listen in as we chat about fines and library fine crime and give recommendations for thrillers in Episode 15. In Episode 16, we dive into recommendations with Vivi and Catherine of Duncan's bookstore, Volume One.

Listen now

Six new Canadian picture books kids will love

Ladysmith Librarian Ginger Warden is celebrating Canadian Children's Book Week (May 1-7) by sharing her favourite six picture books by Canadian authors. Check out our latest episode in our VIRL Recommends series to see her full list of picks and find out why these are great reads for kids.

Watch now

Hey Book Lover! What's Your Sign? 

All signs point to a year of great adventure for you Taurus! You will make great plans and by sticking to them will succeed in many aspects of your life. Learn more about our predictions and see the titles we've hand picked just for you!

Biblioscope

Explore B.C.'s historical newspapers online 

We are excited to have a new offering in our electronic collection: Proquest BC Historical Newspapers. 

You can now explore articles, images and ads from from three British Columbia daily newspapers and unlike print newspapers, this archive is fully searchable. 

It's also available without a library card to anyone accessing from BC and Yukon; no login is required.

Tell me more

Indigenous Collection

The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour, by Dawn Dumont, Sept 2021

From the publisher, Freehand Books: 

The Prairie Chicken dance troupe is all set for a fifteen-day trek through Europe, performing at festivals and cultural events. But then the performers all come down with the flu and John Greyeyes, a retired cowboy who hasn’t danced in fifteen years, finds himself abruptly thrust into the position of leading a hastily-assembled group of replacement dancers.

The Prairie Chicken Dance Tour is loosely based — like, hospital-gown loose — on the true story of a group of Indigenous dancers who left Saskatchewan and toured through Europe in the 1970s. 

Place a hold now

Feel Good Friday: Seven-year-old Pia, a patron of our Queen Charlotte branch on Haida Gwaii, recently had a class assignment to dress up as someone who has changed the world. Her mom stopped by our branch recently to let us know she picked a librarian. 

If you have a short tale for Feel Good Friday or ideas for our monthly eNewsletter, we want to hear from you. 

I have an idea!