One Place to Look: King Township Public Library’s Community Calendar

The King Township Public Library launched a new Online Community Calendar in May of 2007 on the Library’s website [link to www.king-library.on.ca]. The Community Calendar provides a place where the Library and local non-profit community groups can post upcoming events. Many of these groups have since joined with the Library and have started posting their events to the calendar. These groups include the King Township Museum, the King Township Historical Society, Arts Society King, King Township Parks Recreation and Culture and the King Township Chamber of Commerce among many others.

The Evanced Solutions calendar software, Events, is purchased in Canada through Convergent Library Technologies of Barrie, Ontario. Allison Standen, Director of Sales and Marketing, is our contact at Convergent. The company has a number of other libraries using the product but, to our knowledge, we are the first to enable community groups to post their own information following an initial authorization process.

The impetus behind the calendar was a need within the community to have a central place to promote the many events occurring throughout King Township . This need was identified by a number of community groups at a strategy session held in late 2006. The King Township Public Library was a logical choice to act as host as the library has always been a focal point in the community and this was one more way for the Library to further its role as the main information provider.

The Online Community Calendar is easy to use by patrons and staff alike. Through its features it is possible to colour code events by “agency host”. This makes it easier for viewers to quickly know who the event is sponsored by and where the event is to be held. The calendar also includes the option for viewers to receive an e-mail reminding them about specific events that are up and coming. We are very pleased with our purchase and know it has brought us closer to goal of truly being community-centered.

If you'd like to learn more about King Township 's implementation of Events please contact Sharon Bentley, Deputy Chief Librarian, directly at s.bentley@king-library.on.ca , 905-939-8785.

For Sales, please contact the WebClarity Sales Team @ 866-213-8880 x116, email (sales@webclarity.info), or visit www.webclarity.info for more information.