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Libraries in Nunavut
Reading
The arctic regions of Canada have huge distances and many villages are very isolated. Some larger communities have their own public-library buildings but many communities are just too small. Even the smallest communities, that have no libraries, can use the Northwest Territories public library system which offers books to everyone in the far north through their Borrower-by-Mail program.
The same program is available in Nunavut. Children in these areas request library books by e-mail or phone. A mobile library doesn’t come to their community but the books are sent to them through the mail. If the library doesn’t have a book in its system, it will borrow the book from another library in Canada. When a book is borrowed it comes with a stamped, addressed envelope so the children don’t have to pay to return the book. Children can keep their book for up to six weeks. Then they mail the books back.
How do We get our Books?
International Children’s Digital Library (ICDL):
The ICDL is a non-profit organization that was created by an interdisciplinary research team at the University of Maryland in cooperation with the Internet Archive. The goal of the ICDL is to build a collection of books from around the world that represent outstanding historical and current books. The foundation wants to have every culture and language represented so that every child can appreciate children’s literature from around the world. Since launching in November 2002, the ICDL has had over a million unique visitors to the website. There is a group of six children, ages 7-11, who work with the adults in the lab. They help to develop and evaluate how the website works and how easy it is to use. They look at how to search, browse, read and share books in the electronic form.
Some Statistics of the ICDL:
People from 166 different countries have used the ICDL. Most users come from:
- United States (50%)
- South Africa (15%)
- China (7%)
- United Kingdom (6%)
- Canada (5%)
- Islamic Republic of Iran (4%)
- Taiwan (4%)
- Philippines (4%)
- Australia (3%)
- Egypt (2%).
The ICDL currently uses these 9 languages:
English, Spanish, Chinese, Persian, Arabic, Filipino, French, German, and Hebrew.
Of those registered to use the website, 1082 are adults, 508 are children. There are 1031 female and 560 male registered users. For a book to get onto the ICDL, a librarian, teacher, author, illustrator, publisher or child can suggest that it should be added to the collection. Each book is carefully evaluated. Some are very old and are out of copyright. For newer books, the ICDL must get permission from the person or company that owns the rights to the book before it can be added. There is a set of rules that were created by the Advisory Board of Librarians and the International Advisory Board. These rules must be met by each book before it can be scanned into the library. To find for a book you can search by the following categories (and any combination of them).
For a simple search:
- Ages (3-5, 6-9, 10-13)
- Characters (Kid, Real Animal, Imaginary Creatures)
- Color of covers (Purple, Pink, Black, White, Gray, Brown, Red, Orange, Yellow, Green, Blue or Rainbow)
- Length (Short, Medium, Long)
- Types (Picture, Chapter, True, Make Believe, Short story, Series, Plays, Comic books, Action/Adventure, Poems/Songs/Rhymes, Mythology/Folk Tales, Fantasy/Science Fiction)
- Category (Recently Added, Award Winning, Fairy Tales and Folk Tales)
- Rating (3, 4, and 5 star)
- Emotion of story (Happy, Sad, Funny/Humorous, Scary/Horror)
- Language (47 languages available)
- Key Words can be combined with any of these searching categories.
- For an advanced search:
- Audience (Age, Language, Publication Date, Date Added to Library, Collections)
- Appearance (Cover Colors, Format, Length, Shape)
- Content (Continents, Countries, Other Places, Characters, Time Periods)
- Type (True vs. Make Believe, Genre (different kinds), Feeling, Rating)
- Subject (Culture and Society (how people live), Entertainment, History, People and Relationships, Places, Science and Nature, Tools and Machines, Animals)
Writing / Books
List of American Poets and Novelists
The Canadian’s Children Book Centre
Photos of North America
