A new, tiny library now graces the front of the Langley Hospice Society’s main offices in Langley City, offering a little help for those who need it.
The small wooden hutch, stocked with books and pamphlets, is in the mode of the popular “little free libraries” that have sprouted up across North America during the past decade.
It’s the creation of Langley Hospice volunteer Steve Scheepmaker, one of the society’s volunteers.
Scheepmaker said that he and his family are huge supporters of the society’s work.
He notes that for a long time he only associated the word “hospice” with end of life care. The society’s most prominent operation is its Doug and Fran MacDonald Residence, near Langley Memorial Hospital.
But the society isn’t just about helping people through their last days. It’s also there for loved ones – primarily through grief support programs for both youths and adults.
It was not until the unexpected passing of a loved one that Scheepmaker learned about their bereavement services.
He become involved in the society himself, and now hosts the Cooking Together program as part of the adult bereavement program.
“We love to help out wherever we can,” he said.
Scheepmaker is also a hobby carpenter, “just to generate some sawdust on the weekend,” he said.
So in honour of a late family member, an avid reader, he created a little library a few years ago, and installed it in front of the family home. Stocked with books, it proved popular with his neighbours.
Last summer, he decided to upgrade the library with a new structure.
Scheepmaker said that when Langley hospice executive director Shannon Todd Booth heard he was going to have a spare little library. She let him know the society would be interested in hosting it.
Scheepmaker put a new roof on the library, and his daughter Stefani created the new Langley Hospice Library sign for the front. The library box was installed out in front of the hospice’s office, at 20660 48 Ave.
“Not everybody is ready to walk in the door,” said Todd Booth.
Putting some pamphlets and books in the library about hospice services and grieving could be a first step for some.
“Hopefully, this will be a good place for people to get a few resources,” Scheepmaker said, hoping it will help bring awareness to the services the society provides.