Inukjuak shuns library as more homes get computers

Inukjuak’s public library houses thousands of new and second-hand books – many of which are left sitting on the shelves. (PHOTO BY CHARLIE KOWCHARLIE)

It’s as quiet as a building of its kind should be, although not for the right reasons.

Inukjuak’s public library still opens its doors every weekday afternoon in hopes of catching the after-school crowd, a group that has shrunk since the library opened almost four years ago.

In those days, Inukjuak’s young people had to get in line to get into the new library, the first of its kind in Nunavik.

Today, many of its books and computer stations sit collecting dust.

But town councillor Andy Moorhouse says he has no regrets. As mayor of Inukjuak in 2004, he was the force behind creating this community service.

“I have always supported education and any means of learning at the community level,” Moorhouse said. “Like with any facility, though, there are times when spaces are used more and less. It goes up and down.”

For a long time, the project was only looking up.

The idea to open a library in Inukjuak came after Moorhouse was on a flight to Montreal, where he read an article about a library opening in a Nunavut community.

When he found federal funding to help, Moorhouse moved ahead to secure a space to house the new library, in a residential duplex and former Makivik Corp. office in the centre of the village.

“We were able to connect with the Canadian Library Association network,” he said. “Through them, we were able to acquire a lot of second-hand books.”

When the Inukjuak public library opened in 2006, the facility had collected close to 5,000 books, Moorhouse said. About 250 of those are Inuttitut titles, mostly purchased new from the Avataq Institute.

The municipality continues to manage the library today, with the help of the library’s one staff member, a librarian-coordinator.

Charlie Kowcharlie, the library’s first — and former — coordinator, spent hours setting up computers and categorizing the thousands of donated books.

Kowcharlie installed 15 computers with internet connection, a service that soon became the library’s biggest draw, at a time when few people had internet connection at home.

“It turned out very nice,” he said. “When we first opened, we used to have a long line-up outside of people waiting to come in.”

For a couple years, Kowcharlie said the library remained popular among local youth.

But gradually, more internet access in Inukjuak’s homes meant fewer library users.

“Today it’s very quiet because most people own their own computers,” Kowcharlie said. “People don’t bother with the books — hardly any more children go there.”

Kowcharlie said he doesn’t know why youth are not interested in the books, especially with so much Inuttitut-language material available.

Regardless, Inukjuak’s public library continues to open six days a week — and sometimes Sundays — from 3:30 to 10 p.m.

Paul Bourassa, principal of Inukjuak’s Innalik school, says the town’s public library is much smaller than the one at the school, although serves a very different – and important — purpose.

“In my opinion, the library has been very successful,” Bourassa said. “It’s another service for the kids, it gives them an option other than the youth centres.

“Sometimes it’s just somewhere to go – a refuge from a crowded home,” he said. “And anything dealing with literacy is very much encouraged.”

And other Nunavik villages may soon follow Inukjuak’s example.

In 2007, the provincial government earmarked $100,000 to assist two communities in the region to develop their own library facilities.

In his current role as corporate secretary with Makivik, Moorhouse is still working on identifying which two communities are the best fit for new libraries.

Outside of Inukjuak, there is only one other semi-public library — at Kuujjuaraapik’s Social Club, which has long housed a book collection and newspapers for its customers.

In Kuujjuaq, former mayor Larry Watt campaigned to open a municipal library but fell short of finding a facility to house it.