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Scrabble and Loonies
I admit it: I finally got on to Facebook. It’s a pretty cool way to stay in touch with friends and family, especially when you’ve moved around as much as I have. 90% of my Facebook time, though, is spent feeding my word game habit, playing long-distance with my friend Marsha in Washington. These games may be called Lexulous and Wordscraper, but they are both just Scrabble with enough changes to ward off the copyright police.
There’s something about playing a board game the old fashioned way, with little pieces that you blow on for luck, that’s so much better than an online facsimile. If you have a game habit, mark this on your calendar: the Friends of the Whistler Public Library are once again sponsoring their periodic Scrabble Tournament & Games Nights, with the first two sessions on Monday, November 9th and Monday, December 7th. We have Scrabble, of course, but also Boggle, Clue, Pictionary, Monopoly, chess, checkers, and more. We’ll have refreshments, and the fun goes from 7:00 to 9:00 pm. Anyone aged 16 and older is welcome, and Game Nights are free.
Be sure to bring your library card with you if you want to use the Internet at WPL. Starting November 1, we began charging a loonie for every Guest Pass. We have discovered that the vast majority of patrons who were lining up for Guest Passes at the desk were eligible for a free library card, but they either didn’t know it or didn’t want to take the time to get a card. With the much-publicized provincial budget cuts, the Library Trustees made the decision to chargenon-residents $1 for up to one hour of Internet access. This applies only to people who do not have their library card from anywhere in British Columbia: the people who do not contribute to the tax base in BC and therefore do not support library services in this jurisdiction.
The decision to charge for library services is not taken lightly, and this change does not affect the use of core library services. Access to the library catalogue, our databases and many reference sites is available through workstations in the main library. The Guest Pass fee applies only to computers which allow access to e-mail, shopping sites, and – yes – Facebook. If you have any questions about this change, please feel free to contact me or any member of the Library Board.
Lauren Stara, Library Director