This year saw the Manitou Regional Library join together with South Central Regional Library (SCRL) as their 5th branch.

Cathy Ching, SCRL Director of Library Services, said this was an exciting time for SCRL.

"Manitou is a good fit," explained Ching.
 
The open house in November was successful, and 55 people came to update their cards at the Manitou branch.

In total, Ching said around 100 people have registered with new cards at the branch so far. The library also offers junior library cards for children under the age of 13.

In the future, the Manitou library will also be extending their hours of operation.

A challenge this year for the library was the retirement of SCRL Head Librarian Mary Toma, who oversaw library services for 17 years.

"This year was the first full year without Mary Toma," explained Ching. "We all kind of feel like, okay, get 2017 over and 2018 we're going to follow up on some stuff."

However, Ching said they took on this challenge by focusing on making connections within the communities and creating a larger presence.

Ching wants to continue to "make libraries a place where people want to be."

"Don't be afraid to ask the staff for anything because we have excellent staff in all of our branches and they can pretty much help you find whatever you want," she added. 

For a list of branch hours visit the SCRL website.

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