36 - Wednesday, September 15, 1993 - North Shore News WEST VANCOUVER MEMORIAL LIB wee iN oe wemntid bina? Chief librarian Jack Mounce says expansion will serve W. Van weil ONE FLOOR up from the. old West Vancouver Memori- al Library building, chief It- brarian Jack Mounce is sett!- ing into his new office. By Maureen Curtis Contributing Writer He hasn’t had much time to reflect on the last 16 months of renovation headaches — the noise, the dust, the heat, the cold and the rearrange- ment of books. There’s still work to be done. But he will reflect on how “great”? it feels to be head of _ the library with the highest 44 (Our citizens) pay more but they use the of entering the civil service, Mounce trained as a librarian in Newcastle, England, and returned to Canada where he soon became chief librarian at Red Deer College in Alberta. In 1978,. completing his Masters of Library Sciences at UBC, Mounce became Director of Library and Learning Resources at the Pacific Vocational Institute in charge of installing fibrary and audio-visual services. It was geod preparation for his move in 1982 to West Vancouver Memorial Library, which was making the dif- ficult transition to a fully automated systens and moving away from the philosophy that a library is just for books. The. introduction of cas-. settes, videos, computer solt- ware and the gigantic CD ROM data’ base has been NEWS photos Cindy Goodman JACK POUNCE is settling into his new office at the Mlemorial Library. The 58-year-old: chief {i- brarian originally had plans‘te enter the civil service, but has now decided he's exactly, where he criticized by some people, but to Mounce it’s part of the progression humanity, has ex- library more. 99 — Chief Librarian Jack Mounce per czpita. consumption of - books in’ the.country,. which . has just doubled in: size to: 55,000 square feet. '*Mounce, 56, is one of those . people who,.having set out on . one road, took a detour. that --headed him in an entirely different and unexpected di- rection, ‘. In} 1965, a. University of British. Columbia: history and international: studies graduate travelling. in‘ Europe, ‘Mounce -contemplated” the loose change in his pocket and took .a.temporary job at the Nature - Conservancy. Library in Lon- don’s Belgrade Square. * .Months ‘turned ito: years, _and- after’ renouncing dreams perienced from the ‘days. of ' the stone tablet and papyrus scroll. “If you’re going to have a book on Richard II, why not have the video?’’ Mounce. Even though the days are coming when people will have says access to any book from their personal computers, Movrice - doubts that automation and futher technological advaaces will spell: the end: of the library as a place to visit. **Psople are- still animals,’* he contends. ’ Along with the changes to the inner structure of the library, Mounce has. also had to preside over. the recent transformation of. the -outer social stracture from a modest wood OPENING CEREMONY SATURDAY SEPTEMBER 18, 1993 10 AM -5 PM ; BOOK SIGNING Author Nick Bantock 10 AM PUPPET SHOW 71 AN MUSIC 12:30 - 3 PM OFFICIAL CEREMONY 2 PN TOURS AND REFRESHMENTS AVAILABLE ALL DAY . wants to be. and stone building to a major facility clad in concrete and steel. - Although some’ patrons mourn the loss of the close and cosy atmosphere they loved, Mounce is confident that a keen and caring staff, helpful volunteers. and loyal . patrons will manage to maintain the charm.the facil- ity is famous for. Rather than adding a branch library. somewhere .in. the municipality, the expan- sion on .the original site allows West Vancouverites access to a wide and eclectic selection of about volumes. — close. to ‘the 190,000 - number of books divided among North Vancouver District’s three branches. Mounce does not dwell on the fact that West Vancouver attracts more and more library patrons from the rest of the North Shore, and loans more books out of. the municipality, than its own redidents borrow elsewhere. While wandering patrons are costing other libraries funding, via the Greater Vancouver Library Federa- tion, West Vancouver ends up being reimbursed, “Qur citizens still pay more per capita for the library than residents pay for any other library in the province. They pay more but they use the library more,’’ says Mounce, If West Vancouver Memo- ria} is starting to-look like a regional facility, that-is not the objective. “Our intent and the intent of the expansion is to serve the people of West Vancouver and provide space’ for about: 25,000 books. in storage at Hillside.”’ In the future, Maunce:: , plans to continue to’ provide . the service‘and ‘top notch’ collection West Vancouverites expect, and keep the cost per loan among the lowest in the province. Historic stained glass window will grace library again: THROUGHOUT ITS many incarnations, the West Van- couver Memorial Library has had one constant. By Maureen Curtis Contributing ‘Writer The stained glass window, soon to be re-installed in the expanded library building, has contributed to the peaceful and pensive atmosphere of the facility for four decades. Placed in the west wall shortly after the original small wood and stone library building opened in 1950, the window was a tribute com- missioned by Henry and Beatrice Stone. It was a memorial to their only son, Lieut. Horace Gor- don Stone, who died in active service in 1918, The windew is a reproduc- tion of Sir Frank Dicksee’s painting ‘‘Harmony,’’ and depicts a woman playing the organ in church while another Person listens intently. The window was created by master craftsman John Henry Dearle of Morris and Co. a London firm, and placed in the Vancouver Art Gallery. During the Second World War, the gallery returned the window to the Stone family, until Lieut. Stone’s _ sister, Mrs. Alan Gentiles, donated it to the library. At first, light. shone through the window onto the memorial shrine, location of the ‘‘Book of Remembrance” which paid homage to each. West Vancouver son who, had fallen in the wars. With the 1976 expansion,” ‘the window was relocated ‘to. the new tower facing Marine - Drive. Currently in “storage, : the stained glass window will be installed in the main’ hall,. where people will be able to enjoy the. light shining through it in front of the in- ner courtyard. “Tes the best location in a long time,’’ comments West Vancouver chief librarian Jack Mounce, Congratulations to the West Vancouver Memorial Library. Helping to build a better tomorrow through literacy. BUILDING FOR OUR FUTURE CONSTRUCTION LIMITED Engineering Co. Ltd, | We provide mechanical engineering services for libraries, hospitals, schools, and conimercial buildings. 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