A TRIBUTE TO LOIS HOLE

News Release - January 19, 2005

Banff and Camrose Public Library boards recommend tribute to the late Lois Hole

The Banff and Camrose Public Library boards have written to Premier Klein recommending that the province of Alberta recognize Lois Hole for her outstanding contribution to this province by endowing a lasting legacy in her honour -- ongoing funding to support the annual provision of a free library card to every Albertan at his or her local public library.

Background:

The late Lois Hole was a strong supporter of public libraries. On a number of occasions she expressed her view that public libraries should be free –most recently at a library event in Banff in July 2004. She said:

“Giving free library memberships to all members of the community is a wonderful idea, and like you, I believe it should become standard practice throughout the province.”

Free public library membership to local residents is standard practice and a cherished principle throughout North America: in fact, Alberta and Quebec are the only jurisdictions where the principle of free access to the public library is not universally honoured.

Organizations supporting literacy often describe the public library, as the UNESCO Public Library Manifesto does, as “a cornerstone of democracy. The public library shall in principle be free of charge.”

Lieutenant Governor Hole also made the link between literacy, public libraries and democracy in a speech in July 2004:

“Without true literacy, democracy itself becomes impossible; the real battle of the 21st century, I believe, will be between those who would use ignorance to serve their own greed, and those who selflessly open the doors of knowledge to anyone who cares to listen.

“By building a culture that venerates the principles of literacy, we may yet save ourselves from a grim future of literary haves and have-nots.”

The Banff and Camrose library boards’ letters conclude:

Alberta’s first Public Libraries Act in 1907 decreed that “All libraries shall be open to the public free of all charges.” What better year than Alberta’s Centennial to renew this ideal and, in the words of our late Lieutenant Governor, “open the doors of knowledge to anyone who cares to listen”.

Contact persons:

Shelley Mardiros 403-762-3521
Donna Phillips 780- 672-7471

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