On Saturday, November 17, staff from the MacRae Library at the Dalhousie University Faculty of Agriculture gave a presentation on library resources and services to vendors at the Halifax Seaport Farmers’ Market. Elaine MacInnis, Agricultural Campus librarian and Erin MacPherson, reference assistant, spoke to a small but interested group of vendors about agricultural resources and services available to them as off-campus borrowers.
Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage Leonard Preyra with Corbin De Waal of Getaway Farms at the launch of the market book drop this summer.
If vendors borrow items from the MacRae Library, they (or anyone using the Seaport Market) can return library items borrowed from anywhere in Nova Scotia to the new library drop box at the market. Libraries Nova Scotia has placed this drop box at the Seaport Market as a pilot project designed to expand the reach of the Borrow Anywhere, Return Anywhere (BARA) service that debuted in 2009.
The library drop box is located at the north entrance to the Seaport Farmers’ Market. Twice weekly, items are picked up by the Novanet book truck and brought to the Killam Library for sorting and shipping.
While the BARA program and library drop box provide benefits and convenience to our patrons, it also exposes libraries to the Seaport Market community, which is ever-growing. Vendors or agricultural groups who wish to learn more about the resources and services available to them as off-campus borrowers are asked to contact Elaine MacInnis at the MacRae Library at (902)893-6670 or Elaine.MacInnis@dal.ca