Receiving an award in recognition of his “unerring commitment” to public libraries is already very good. It’s even better to have two prizes in your name to highlight the quality of the construction or layout of a library.
This is what happened to the historian, publisher and former minister Denis Vaugeois (born in 1935), triple honored during the first edition of the Public Library Awards of Quebec. A total of 13 awards were presented at a gala held Tuesday evening at the Grande Bibliothèque in Montreal.
The first Denis-Vaugeois prize rewards construction in a town of 5,000 or more inhabitants. He returns to the Auguste-Honoré-Gosselin library, in the city of Pont-Rouge, inaugurated in February 2021. “Everything has been put in place to arouse creativity, pleasure and the taste for discovering varied literary universes”, notes the jury.
Another Denis-Vaugeois award, this time for development, highlights the transformation of the Dollard-des-Ormeaux public library to “increase its surface area, rethink the spaces and modernize the services offered to citizens”.
Denis Vaugeois is named “Ambassador” in the category highlighting the work of elected officials “as a sign of recognition of his infallible commitment to public libraries”, says the supporting statement. The former Minister of Cultural Affairs (1978-1981) under the first Lévesque government had a plan for the development of municipal libraries (“the Vaugeois plan”) adopted, which stimulated the creation of the Quebec network and the hiring of qualified personnel. . Under this impetus, the number of public establishments increased from 121 in 1979 to 849 six years later.
The 13 prizes recognize “remarkable achievements” and players in the field with “invaluable contributions”. They are created and presented by the Association of Public Libraries of Quebec (ABPQ) and the BIBLIO network to highlight “new approaches that have had a positive impact in a community”. The distribution will recur annually. It is done as part of Public Libraries Week.
The distribution follows the unveiling at the beginning of the week of a first national survey on the state of the Quebec network, which has just given it an overall score of 66% based on five basic criteria (accessibility, spaces, seats, renewal collections and professional services). Both initiatives stem from the BiblioQUALITÉ program, set up this year to improve the network.
“We said to ourselves that if we promote quality libraries with the diagnosis so that they progress and improve, we should find a way to highlight with prizes the dynamism of the best initiatives, of excellence and commitment”, explains Denis Chouinard, president of the ABPQ, interviewed on Tuesday during the day, before the gala was held.
The pandemic, and after
The inaugural batch takes into account the achievements carried out between January 2019 and March 2022. It is therefore marked by the pandemic period.
The Raymond-Dion library, in Saint-Pierre-les-Becquets, receives a Eureka award in recognition of “a new approach that has had an impact in the community”. The establishment has created thematic toolboxes for seniors that include games and books adapted to different clienteles who are autonomous or have cognitive difficulties. Another Eureka prize goes to the Paul-Aimé-Paiement library, which has set up reception periods for autistic children and their families outside normal opening hours, with the help of the Canadian Institute of Quebec.
The Montarville-Boucher-De La Bruère library, in Boucherville, has developed another project for seniors intended to break their isolation. The establishment has created six small book repositories adapted to different living environments. For this, she receives a Complicité prize.
The Radiation award, which highlights “creative communication”, honors the establishments of the city of Saint-Jérôme for the subscription campaign developed during the pandemic.
In architecture, the Gérard-Desrosiers prize in the category of towns with fewer than 5,000 inhabitants is awarded to the library of Notre-Dame-de-Pontmain. “The redevelopment work allowed the addition of an entertainment room and particular attention was paid to the materials used,” noted the jury.
This time, the reward recalls the exceptional dedication of the doctor Gérard Desrosiers (1919-2016), who helped to set up a library in Saint-Narcisse in 1961, the first rural locality to acquire this secular equipment, as well as a book lending center in Mauricie. Its mobile library, launched in 1962, gave birth to the central lending libraries and finally to the pan-Quebec BIBLIO network. In short, the Dr Desrosiers also fully deserved to see his name associated with an award in the sector.
Details of the battle between finalists can be viewed on the Prix des Bibliothèques publiques du Québec website.