Posted on 08 October 2026 by Chris Brown.
A new storytime program is the first step for Medicine Hat Public Library toward providing permanent services to neighbourhoods south of the Trans-Canada Highway.
Storytime Stars is a six-week program in partnership with Medicine Hat Public School Division and Miywasin Friendship Centre. It began in late September and will run each Friday afternoon until Oct. 30. Library staff present a 30-minute storytime followed by a play-based activity organized by school division officials, while members of Miywasin bring a cultural-learning element to the program.
The weekly sessions take place inside a portable classroom at George Davison School in South Ridge. It’s an area of the city bursting with young families and one in which library officials want to grow its presence.
“Over the years, our board has engaged with lots of community needs assessment and what we're consistently hearing from the community is that the desire among younger families is to have more services in the south end,” says Carol Ann Cross-Roen, Head of Youth Services at Medicine Hat Public Library.
The program is for children two-and-a-half to six years old. Registration is required through the public school division.
Cross-Roen says Storytime Stars is a positive for everyone involved.
“We know that early literacy programming is among the highest value work that we do because we're seeing decline in reading scores, attention spans, and school preparedness. So anything we can do to help families get more ready for school helps them, helps the library, helps the school district.”
She adds that research shows every dollar spent in early childhood programs yields between $4 and $13 return on “investment.”
Even though the six-week session has started you can still register by emailing [email protected] or calling 403-979-2583.
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