Local faces “strike a pose” for the KFPL

Julie Druker | Oct 01, 2015

Regular visitors to various branches of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library recently had a chance to strike a pose to help celebrate October as Canadian Library Month.

At the Sharbot Lake branch on September 22, Debbie Whan of Mountain Grove, who is a regular visitor to the Sharbot Lake, Parham and Mountain Grove branches, was approached by Meredith Westcott of programming and outreach services with the KFPL. Westcott invited Whan to add her face to the MY KFPL promotional campaign, which aims to celebrate the faces of real people who love to spend time at their local libraries.

The photos along with a personal quotation stating why the library user loves to visit their local library, were taken at numerous branches of the KFPL including the Sharbot Lake and Sydenham branches and they will be used for various advertising and promotional publications for the KFPL in the upcoming months. “With stock photography you are not able to get realistic people who best represent your local community. The whole idea with this project is to find the real people who use the libraries and share their reasons why. Our aim is to show that we are a community organization and that we are open to all types of people of all ages and all backgrounds”.

Whan said that she visits her local branches regularly not only to quench her love for DVDs, especially those on the topic of Queen Victoria and Prince Albert, but also because it is “a quiet and peaceful place to visit”.

Westcott said that she has photographed various local patrons who each have their own personal reasons for visiting their local branch. “It is the richness of the materials available that attract people. Not only do we have books on all topics, as well as a wide selection of DVDs and CDs but we also have download-able movies and magazines and our online resources are also phenomenal. For people who love music, they can get free music every week and it is all totally free.”

Westcott also mentioned the numerous free family programs that are also popular, including story times, P.A. Day and March break programs, and various live musical and theatrical performances by professional artists, which are available through funding by Friends of the Library.

This is the second time the KFPL has run the many local faces promotional campaign, the first having taken place in 2013. Westcott said that not only will this new promotion help library staff to update their photos but that the participants and local residents can look forward to seeing a few familiar faces in print and on view at their local branches in the coming weeks.