Libraries Open Easter Sunday & All Sundays in 2008

Immediate Release – March 11, 2008

(Vancouver, BC) -   The seven branches of Vancouver Public Library that regularly open on Sunday will for the first time open on Easter Sunday on March 23 as well as opening all remaining Sundays in 2008.

The Sunday branches are: Central Library (noon-5p.m.), Carnegie Reading Room (10 a.m.- 10 p.m.) and Britannia, Joe Fortes, Kitsilano, Oakridge and Renfrew, which are all open from 1-5 p.m. 

All libraries, except the Carnegie Reading Room, will close for the Good Friday and Easter Monday statutory holidays as they normally do. The Carnegie Reading Room is located in the Carnegie Community Centre which is open 365 days a year.

“We are very pleased to be offering this extended service to the community. Library users tell us repeatedly that having their libraries open more hours is among their top priorities,” said City Librarian Paul Whitney.

The Easter Sunday opening and the ability to open on Sundays next to a statutory holiday are possible because of negotiation of a new collective agreement last fall between the Library and CUPE Local 391, added Mr. Whitney.

Founded in 1869, the Vancouver Public Library is one of Canada's largest library systems, dedicated to meeting the lifelong learning, reading, recreation and information needs of the people of Vancouver. Each year, the Library’s 22 branches serve over 370,000 patrons, offer over 2.5 million items and countless online resources to the public, and answer more than one million reference questions. In 2006, a record 10 million items were circulated.