The Shortgrass Library System consists of fourteen member public libraries in Southeast

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The system headquarters is located in

Medicine Hat Medicine Hat is a city in 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 to the northwest are with ...

. 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 (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 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 Bow Island () is a town in Alberta, Canada. It is located on Highway 3 in southern Alberta, approximately north of the United States border, southeast of Calgary and southwest of Medicine Hat. History The community of Bow Island recei ...

Municipal Library ::*

Brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

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 sovereign princes. As royalty or nobility, they are ranke ...

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

Gem A gemstone (also called a fine gem, jewel, precious stone, or semiprecious stone) is a piece of mineral crystal which, in cut and polished form, is used to make jewelry or other adornments. However, certain rocks (such as lapis lazuli, opal, a ...

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, native to the Mediterranean region. Until 2017, it was known by the scientific name ''Rosmar ...

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