This text is part of the special section Philanthropy
The foundation wants to reach readers where they are.
Picking up a book from the library: a simple, even banal action, but also free and rewarding. But if you have a perceptual disability or, again, if you live in a youth center, you will need special services to access resources. This is the kind of initiative supported by the Fondation BAnQ (Library and National Archives of Quebec), which, since 2014, has sought to improve the well-being and quality of life of all Quebecers.
Young people in youth centers do not have it easy. Some have been victims of neglect or abuse, have behavioral problems or difficulties at school. Many live and study there, others go back and forth with their family or with a host family. But the taste and the pleasure of reading can be developed in everyone. This is why the Center jeunesse de Montréal asked BAnQ to come and animate its reading corner. The BAnQ Foundation, thanks in particular to the support of the Friends of BAnQ, provided financial means to the Grande Bibliothèque’s Espace Jeunes to quickly launch a pilot project.
“That was in 2013, and the project is now celebrating its 10th anniversary,” rejoices Émilie Guertin, director of the BAnQ Foundation.
Improve reading skills and self-esteem
For the animation of the reading corner, the librarian chooses a theme that is likely to interest young people, such as robotics, animals or manga. But she still retains flexibility. “It takes the pulse of young people and, if some are not willing to participate in the activity, they can simply take a book and go relax in a corner, explains Émilie Guertin. It’s a sweet moment for them that can help them overcome a behavioral problem or an emotional difficulty. It is also an activity that can help them avoid dropping out of school by allowing them to improve their reading skills and their self-esteem. »
BAnQ also organizes the mobile library activity, for which a librarian travels with her suitcases full of books, which she presents to young people. “They can then borrow them, and when she returns the next time, they can keep them to read on, or trade them in,” she explains.
This activity is particularly appreciated by young people. “Last summer, a survey was conducted among them and, of all the programming offered to them, the Mobile Library was their favorite, and they absolutely want it to continue,” adds the director of the foundation.
Over time, this activity has been deployed in a total of three establishments of the Center jeunesse de Montréal with different clienteles. Only last summer, in June, July and August, 21 visits were made and reached nearly 300 young people.
“We now have two librarians who do the visits and, of course, we would like the project to grow even more extensively and in particular to be able to leave Montreal,” says Ms. Guertin. But it’s not so easy because they walk around with their suitcases. We continue to think about it all the same, because good ideas must spread. »
Audio and braille books
The BAnQ Foundation also supported the Service québécois du livre adapted (SQLA) present at the Grande Bibliothèque by purchasing equipment a few years ago to allow greater accessibility to the collections for all Quebecers. Thus, thanks to the embosser and the engraver robot, it is possible to print books in Braille and burn CDs to make audio books directly at the Grande Bibliothèque.
“We already have more than 30,000 audio books and 20,000 Braille books, which makes it the largest collection of French-language adapted books in North America,” says Émilie Guertin. The equipment we have acquired allows us to continue to produce them to enrich the collection, according to the needs of users and by reducing delays. »
The SQLA, founded in 2005, sends and receives around 350 Braille documents every week across Quebec, free of charge.
“We think of people who have a visual impairment, but audio books are aimed at a much broader clientele, in particular, people who have learning disabilities with or without hyperactivity, explains Ms. Guertin. About 5,000 BAnQ users with a perceptual disability use the SQLA. »
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