Calgary’s Memorial Park Library has a rich cultural and historical background. Originally established as Calgary’s Central Library in 1912, it was the first public library built in Alberta. The Victorian-style park that surrounds the library is Calgary’s oldest park and remains, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful public spaces in Calgary.
Clearly, the Memorial Park Library has no problem breaking new ground. Which made it the perfect location for an exciting new program aimed at providing Calgarians with access to musical instruments and education. The Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Library, opened in June 2017, allows anyone with a library card (free to residents of Calgary) to rent out a range of instruments such as guitars, violins, ukuleles, banjos, keyboards, bongos, djembes, cajons, and xylophones for up to two weeks.
Julia Harrington, the community outreach librarian for the Memorial Park Library, believes the program is a natural progression for the library, which prides itself on providing arts and cultural experiences to the community. “Obviously things like providing literacy skills, developing early learners, helping people love education and love books and experience reading, are core to who we are, but musical instruments offer us a new way to provide something that we knew that a lot of Calgarians don’t necessarily have access to.”
Besides the obvious connections of music as a topic in literature, Harrington believes there are a number of parallels between music and reading. “If you think about it from the perspective of adults and children developing their skill sets, the ability to read music and to play music is in some ways expanding your mind and your capacity in a way that’s similar to literacy.”
The program started off with a celebration featuring renowned Canadian recording artist k.d. lang, city councillor Evan Woolley and Mayor Nenshi as well as children from various local schools. And the public response has been so overwhelming that the library is struggling to keep up with the demand. “There is never an instrument that is not either on hold or out. It’s been a success right from day one.”
For those that do manage to get their hands on an instrument, the library offers several resources to help you get started including a wide selection of theory and notation books as well as one-on-one music lessons with a qualified instructor for guitar and violin.
Additionally, the library also has a small practice room featuring a keyboard, upright piano, upright bass, electronic drum set and a guitar that can be rented up to two times a week free of charge.
“Our intent is to make it so that this is accessible for people, that they can explore these things that are wonderful and beautiful in our lives whether they have a penny to their name or a million dollars. That’s really what the library is about, is ensuring that it doesn’t matter who you are, you can access this.”
Originally published in Oh the Humanity, issue one, a 24-page magazine made at SAIT in 2017, reported, photographed, and laid out solo.