Comb the aisles here and there and you鈥檒l find a story anywhere.
Sign it out and bring it back, that鈥檚 how everything stays on track.
I remember the infatuation I had with the library at school when I was a kid.聽 We鈥檙e talking about the early to mid 1990鈥檚 here, which means that one particular series of books was being signed out and traded back and forth between most of us Conquest kids 鈥� the 鈥楪oosebumps鈥� books by ultra-prolific author R.L. Stine.
On a side note, I was actually able to meet and chat with Stine at an entertainment expo in Calgary a few years ago.聽 I was glad I had an opportunity to thank him for so many chills and thrills reading his books as a kid.
When I wasn鈥檛 reading the latest volumes in the Goosebumps series, I was overloading my brain on everything from dinosaurs to profiles on Hollywood鈥檚 best and brightest.
As I got older, the library became even more of a destination hotspot.聽 The environment may have changed from Conquest to Outlook, but it also made for a larger and more in-depth supply of books.聽 It was at the library in Outlook High School (I remember it being located in what I believe is now called the 鈥榤ulti-purpose room鈥�) that I was introduced to authors like Stephen King, Harper Lee, Edgar Allan Poe, and John Steinbeck.
All of their works provided worlds of wonder beyond most of my comprehension and opened my eyes, my heart, and my mind.聽 I know you get something like a week or so when you sign out a book, but I was operating on a three or four-day turnaround, blazing through them like a hot knife through butter.聽 I couldn鈥檛 read enough of what I was being exposed to in this new and exciting literary world, and I have the library system to thank for it.
Flash forward many years later (perhaps 鈥榤any鈥� isn鈥檛 the right word 鈥� I鈥檓 not that 鈥榮easoned鈥�) and we鈥檙e living very different lives than we were in the 90鈥檚.聽 Everything鈥檚 on our phones or tablets and electronic 鈥榬eaders鈥� have become something of a normal institution for a number of years.
Personally, I just can鈥檛 get behind the notion of an electronic book reader.聽 I have to have a physical book in my hand, one that I can slip a trusty bookmark in when I decide to conclude my literary journey for the evening.聽 Don鈥檛 get me wrong, I understand the convenience of an e-reader, notably the ability to load it up with multiple books in one handy device, but it just doesn鈥檛 beat the tried-and-true paper and spine of a manufactured novel.
Plus, I don鈥檛 like the idea of knowing there鈥檚 a limit on how much I can read when it comes to electronic gadgets.聽 I don鈥檛 have to 鈥渞echarge鈥� my copy of 鈥楾he Green Mile鈥�.
In 2020, there鈥檚 a lot of talk about the relevancy of places such as libraries when information is available at the click of a button on any handheld device.聽 On the contrary, I think that in this divisive and oftentimes biased world we live in where misinformation runs rampant, the library is a place of absolute truth and knowledge.
Outlook鈥檚 current community library is just such a place, but sadly, its future is now something of a question mark.
For some time now, there have been issues back and forth between the Town of Outlook and the Sun West School Division surrounding the Town鈥檚 presence in the library, which is a branch of the Wheatland Regional Library system and also a part of Outlook High School.聽 The issues are, for the most part, related to accessibility since the public can only access the library by entering the school.聽 If by chance there is to be a direct-entrance door installed from the outside, then apparently that raises questions about needing to have a washroom facility as the library then becomes a public building.
Talks are being sought between the school division and the Town, of which I certainly hope a peaceful resolution can be reached.聽 That being said, there has been speculation over where to move the library in town, should that talk lead to such a formal decision.聽 One possible location is the old recycling depot on the north part of McKenzie Street.
I have to question this.聽 For one thing, why would you move a library to what is essentially Outlook鈥檚 industrial sector?聽 Secondly, do people not see the emptiness of downtown Outlook?聽 Right next door to us are two empty buildings, and I believe there is empty space across the street too.聽 Or what about the former medical clinic?聽 Ample parking there, and with the greenspace beside it set to be a future Veterans Memorial Park, I can鈥檛 think of a better one-two combination.聽 Check out a book and go sit in the park located mere steps away.
All I know is a peaceful resolution to this library situation is long overdue.
For this week, that鈥檚 been the Ruttle Report.
