The Shortgrass Library System consists of fourteen member

public libraries ''Public Libraries'' is the official publication of the Public Library Association (PLA), a division of the American Library Association (ALA). It is devoted exclusively to public libraries. The print edition is published six times a year and i ...

in Southeast

Alberta Alberta is a Provinces and territories of Canada, province in Canada. It is a part of Western Canada and is one of the three Canadian Prairies, prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to its west, Saskatchewan to its east, t ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The system headquarters is located in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in Southern Alberta, southeast Alberta, Canada. It is located along the South Saskatchewan River. It is approximately east of Lethbridge and southeast of Calgary. This city and the adjacent Town of Redcliff, Alberta, R ...

. It has the distinction of being the first regional library system in the province of Alberta to have all eligible municipalities as members of a library system. Shortgrass was created by the Alberta government in 1988 as the fifth library system in the province. Services provided by Shortgrass for member libraries include cataloguing, deliveries, maintenance of the automated library system, IT support, and licensing of digital content.

Services

*Information and reference services *Access to full text databases *Community information *Internet access *Reader's advisory services *Programs for children, youth and adults *Delivery to homebound individuals *Interlibrary loan *Free downloadable audiobooks

History

In 1988, the municipalities of Brooks, Medicine Hat, Redcliff, Foremost, Bow Island, and the County of 40 Mile formed the Shortgrass Library System (SLS). Also during 1988, municipalities were invited to bid on the location for the headquarters building. The communities of Brooks, Redcliff and Medicine Hat all bid on becoming the home of the future SLS Headquarters. After much deliberation, Medicine Hat was chosen. The Medicine Hat Public Library was designated as the resource center for SLS with responsibility for coordinating interlibrary services and providing reference services. The Graham Community Library in Ralston entered into a contract with SLS in 2000. Then in 2003, the Town of Bassano and

County of Newell A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

(Divisions 1, 4, 5, 6 and 10, Rolling Hills and Rainier) joined SLS as municipal members. This meant that Alcoma Community Library, Bassano Memorial Library, and Rolling Hills Public Library became members in the Shortgrass Library system. Rosemary and the County of Newell Division 7 joined SLS in 2004. The municipalities of

Cypress County Cypress County is a municipal district in southeastern Alberta, Canada that surrounds the City of Medicine Hat and the Town of Redcliff. The municipality is part of Census Division 1, Alberta.http://www.albertafirst.com/profiles/statspack/2 ...

and Tilley joined Shortgrass in 2005. Graham Community Library became a full member of SLS in 2005. On May 13, 2011, the Duchess and District Public Library agreed to become a partner with the Shortgrass Library System. With the Duchess and District Public Library becoming a member, the Shortgrass Library System is the first regional library system in the province of Alberta to have all eligible municipalities as members of the library system.

Branches

As of June 2015, the following libraries are members of the Shortgrass Library System: ::* Bassano Memorial Library ::* Bow Island Municipal Library ::* Brooks Public Library ::*

Duchess Duke is a male title either of a monarch ruling over a duchy, or of a member of royalty, or nobility. As rulers, dukes are ranked below emperors, kings, grand princes, grand dukes, and above sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they a ...

and District Public Library ::* Foremost Municipal Library ::* Gem Jubilee Library ::*

Public Library ::* Alcoma Public Library (located in Rainier) ::* Graham Community Library (located in Ralston) ::* Irvine Community Library (located in Irvine) ::* Redcliff Public Library ::* Rolling Hills Public Library ::*

Rosemary ''Salvia rosmarinus'' (), commonly known as rosemary, is a shrub with fragrant, evergreen, needle-like leaves and white, pink, purple, or blue flowers. It is a member of the sage family, Lamiaceae. The species is native to the Mediterranean r ...

Community Library ::* Tilley and District Public Library SLS has provided contract services for the Medicine Hat School District #76 since 1997 and the Prairie Rose School Division #8 since 2004.

References

External links

Shortgrass Library SystemAlberta Municipal Affairs: Library Systems
{{Authority control Public libraries in Alberta Medicine Hat Libraries established in 1988 1988 establishments in Canada