Richmond Public Library (RPL) is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

that serves

Richmond, British Columbia Richmond is a city in the coastal Lower Mainland region of British Columbia, Canada. Mainly a suburban city, it occupies almost the entirety of Lulu Island (excluding Queensborough, New Westminster, Queensborough), between the two estuarine dis ...

, Canada. The library has four branches in the city: Brighouse (Main), Steveston, Ironwood, and Cambie. RPL also offers limited Saturday pop-up services to the Hamilton neighbourhood. The library has won numerous awards, including the John Cotton Dana Public Relations Award in 2008 for its "Ralphy" library card for kids. In September 2018, Richmond Public Library launched a book dispensing machine in the Hamilton Community Centre, allowing nearby residents to access the library's collection. A second machine was launched in the Minoru Centre for Active Living in February 2020. In February 2021, Richmond Public Library permanently eliminated late fines to reduce barriers to accessing library services.

Services

The Richmond Public Library offers a variety of services, such as: *

Books A book is a structured presentation of recorded information, primarily verbal and graphical, through a medium. Originally physical, electronic books and audiobooks are now existent. Physical books are objects that contain printed material, mo ...

, DVDs, magazines,

video games A video game or computer game is an electronic game that involves interaction with a user interface or input device (such as a joystick, game controller, controller, computer keyboard, keyboard, or motion sensing device) to generate visual fe ...

in a variety of languages for children and adults *E-books and audio books offered through

Libby Libby as a feminine given name is typically a diminutive form of Elizabeth, which is less commonly spelled 'Libbie' or ' Libi'. In recent years, it has been used as a shortened version of the name Liberty. The name means ''my heart'' in Hebrew. I ...

, a free app on

iOS Ios, Io or Nio (, ; ; locally Nios, Νιός) is a Greek island in the Cyclades group in the Aegean Sea. Ios is a hilly island with cliffs down to the sea on most sides. It is situated halfway between Naxos and Santorini. It is about long an ...

and Android by OverDrive, Inc. *Birdwatching, Fishing, and Hiking ExplorePACKS *Ukuleles,

STEAM Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

Kits,

Podcasting A podcast is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet. Typically, a podcast is an episodic series of digital audio files that users can download to a personal device or stream to listen to at a time of their ...

kits, and Indigenous resource kits. *Computer and

Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...

Workstations *Silent study rooms *Small bookable spaces for meetings *Various programs for children and adults, including storytimes, ESL conversation circles, cultural festivals and presentations on a wide variety of topics.

The Launchpad

The Launchpad, which was established in 2014, is a makerspace in the Brighouse branch.

3D printers 3D printing, or additive manufacturing, is the construction of a three-dimensional object from a CAD model or a digital 3D model. It can be done in a variety of processes in which material is deposited, joined or solidified under computer ...

Cricut Cricut, Inc. is an American brand of cutting plotters, or computer-controlled cutting machines, designed for home crafters. The machines are used for cutting paper, felt, vinyl, fabric and other materials such as leather, matboard, and wood. ...

machines, digitization stations, and

scanners ''Scanners'' is a 1981 Canadian science fiction horror film written and directed by David Cronenberg and starring Stephen Lack, Jennifer O'Neill, Michael Ironside, and Patrick McGoohan. In the film, "scanners" are psychics with unusual telep ...

are provided. Library users can submit files for 3D printing after completion of an online certification, with charges for material and printing time applied to their accounts. 3D printing is also available at the Ironwood Branch, and Cricut machines can also be found at the Ironwood and Steveston branches.

References

Public libraries in British Columbia Richmond, British Columbia Libraries established in 1975 1975 establishments in Canada {{library-stub