The '
Vancouver Island Regional Library
''(VIRL) is the fourth-largest library system in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. It serves more than 430,000 people on

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian Provinces and territories of Canada, province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are o ...

Haida Gwaii Haida Gwaii (; hai, X̱aaydag̱a Gwaay.yaay / , literally "Islands of the Haida people") is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast of Canada. The islands are separated from the mainland to the east by the shallow Hecat ...

(formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Central Coast (Bella Coola) through 39 branch libraries and a books-by-mail service. Administrative offices are located in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the Canada 2021 Census, 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "H ...

. Vancouver Island Regional Library opened its doors in 1936 as the Vancouver Island Union Library; it was the second regional library in North America.

Services

Vancouver Island Regional Library offers a books-by-mail service. VIRL has a searchable online catalogue.VIRL online catalogue
/ref> *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

Branches

With Central Services on Hammond Bay Road in north Nanaimo, VIRL has branches in Bella Coola,

Bowser , or King Koopa, is a fictional character, the primary antagonist in Nintendo's Mario (franchise), ''Mario'' franchise, and the arch-nemesis of Mario. In Japan, the character bears the title of . Bowser is the leader of the turtle-like Koopa ...

, Campbell River,

Chemainus Chemainus is a community within the municipality of North Cowichan in the Chemainus Valley on the east coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Founded as an unincorporated logging town in 1858, Chemainus is now famous ...

, Comox,

Cortes Island Cortes Island is an island in the Discovery Islands archipelago on the coast of British Columbia, Canada. The island is long, wide, and in area. It has a population of 1,035 permanent residents (2016 census). Cortes Island lies within Electora ...

, Courtenay, Cowichan,

Cowichan Lake Cowichan Lake is a large freshwater lake located on southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. It is located along the Cowichan Valley in the Cowichan Valley Regional District, with its eastern shore about west of Duncan, British Colum ...

Cumberland Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...

, Daajiing Giids,

Gabriola Island Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is about east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by a 20-minute ferry service. It has a land area of about and a resid ...

, Gold River,

Hornby Island Hornby Island of British Columbia, Canada, is one of the two northernmost Gulf Islands, located near Vancouver Island's Comox Valley, the other being Denman Island. A small community of 1,016 residents (as of the 2016 census), Hornby is home to ...

Ladysmith Ladysmith may refer to: * Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa * Ladysmith, British Columbia, Canada * Ladysmith, Wisconsin, United States * Ladysmith, New South Wales, Australia * Ladysmith, Virginia, United States * Ladysmith Island, Queenslan ...

Masset Masset , formerly ''Massett'', is a village in Haida Gwaii in British Columbia, Canada. It is located on Masset Sound on the northern coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Col ...

, Nanaimo Harbourfront, Nanaimo North, Nanaimo Wellington, Parksville,

Port Alberni Port Alberni () is a city located on Vancouver Island in the province of British Columbia, Canada. The city lies within the Alberni Valley at the head of the Alberni Inlet, Vancouver Island's longest inlet. It is the location of the head offices o ...

Port Alice Port Alice is a village of approximately 739 (2021 census) located on Neroutsos Inlet, southwest of Port McNeill, on Vancouver Island, originally built by Whalen Pulp and Paper Mills of Vancouver. The community is known for its natural environme ...

Port Clements Port Clements is an incorporated village situated at the east end of Masset Inlet in Haida Gwaii (formerly the Queen Charlotte Islands) off the coast of the Province of British Columbia in Canada. Known as Gamadiis in Haida language, HlG̱aagil ...

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east end of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 4,132 as of the last census (2016). It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North Co ...

Port McNeill Port McNeill is a town in the North Island region of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada with a population of 2,356 (2021). Located on Vancouver Island's north-east shore on Queen Charlotte Strait, it was originally a base camp for logger ...

Port Renfrew A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

Quadra Island Quadra Island is a large island off the eastern coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. It is part of the Discovery Islands, in the Strathcona Regional District. Etymology In 1903, the island was named after the Peruvian Spanish n ...

Qualicum Beach :''"Qualicum" re-directs here. For the neighbourhood in Ottawa, see Qualicum, Ottawa'' Qualicum Beach () is a town located on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. In the 2021 census, it had a population of 9,303. It is situated at the fo ...

, Sandspit, Sayward, Sidney/

North Saanich The District of North Saanich is located on the Saanich Peninsula of British Columbia, approximately north of Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria on southern Vancouver Island. It is one of the 13 Greater Victoria municipalities. The District ...

Sointula Sointula is an isolated village on Malcolm Island in British Columbia, Canada. Lying between Vancouver Island and the British Columbia mainland, northeast of Port McNeill and not far from Alert Bay, the island is part of the historic and present ...

Sooke Sooke is a district municipality on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Canada, by road from Victoria, the capital of British Columbia. Sooke, the westernmost of Greater Victoria's Western Communities, is to the north and west of the Sooke Ba ...

, South Cowichan,

Tahsis Tahsis is a village municipality on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada, about (by air) northwest of the provincial capital Victoria at . , the Canadian census listed 316 residents, a decline from the 2006 Census count of ...

Tofino Tofino ( ) is a town of approximately 2,516 residents on the west coast of Vancouver Island in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The District of Tofino is located at the western terminus of Highway 4 on the tip of the Esowista Penins ...

Ucluelet Ucluelet (, also Ukee) is a district municipality (population 1,717) on the Ucluelet Peninsula on the west coast of Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. Ucluelet means "people of the safe harbour" in the indigenous Nuu-chah-nulth (No ...

, Union Bay and

Woss Woss, also commonly known as Woss Lake after the nearby lake of the same name, is a small village in the Nimpkish Valley, located southeast of Port McNeill and north of Campbell River on Highway 19, in northeastern Vancouver Island, British C ...

References

External links

* Public libraries in British Columbia Libraries established in 1936 1936 establishments in Canada {{Library-stub