Gaynor Family creating matching fund to help local dollars go further
The Gaynor Family Regional Library in Selkirk is more than just a library. It’s a regional hub for Dunnottar, Selkirk, St. Andrews and St. Clements. They have previously announced their planned expansion to the children’s section and outdoor area, and local donors have quietly made steps to fund the new space. Now, at the Story Continues event last week, they are officially starting their local community fundraising campaign, and a generous donation from the Gaynor family makes it an amazing time to give.
The announcement came at a packed meeting at the library on Oct. 8.
After a land acknowledgement from Erin Nosal, chairperson of the library’s board, the fundraising chairperson for this project, Lorie Fiddler, who is also a member of the library board and Deputy Mayor of the City of Selkirk, took to the podium to say a few words.
“I’m so excited to be here as the fundraising chair. My job has been made, really quite easy by all the generosity and the excitement that we have tonight and that we’ve had over the last few months since we’ve announced our plans,” she said, teasing the announcement.
She then handed the stand to Minister of Sport, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Nellie Kennedy, who said a few words about how important this library space really is.
“Today’s announcement really is just a celebration and a recognition of the vital place that this library holds for all residents, and not just for Selkirk, there’s (also) the Rural Municipalities of St. Clements, St. Andrews and Dunnottar. So, it’s really just so heartening to see all of you in this library that is just so beloved by the community. The story continues. The library extension campaign is a significant initiative that’s going to help this place continue to grow,” she said.
Talking about the importance of libraries, she continued.
“It’s a place where people connect with information, but also with storytelling and with each other. And this is certainly what this library does for the community. It really plays a pivotal role in promoting literacy, of course, fostering lifelong learning and ensuring that there is equitable access to knowledge and culture and activities for everyone,” said Kennedy.
After Kennedy, our local representatives headed up to share how happy they are that this library, which is a project in which all four municipalities are involved, is going to expand in the future.
Mayor Larry Johannson of Selkirk started.
“I know that fundraising is hard to do, but people know this is for their children, this is for their grandchildren, and generations down the road, it will be their grandchildren’s children. So that makes it all that much more important that we have a building like this,” he said.
He explained that the library isn’t just a place to get books, but for so much more, and this expansion builds on that.
“This expansion will allow the library to grow, offer more services, a larger collection, expanded programming, serving citizens now and into the future. This is a meaningful investment in community building. Over the coming years, countless children will learn to read in this space and perhaps be inspired to become writers themselves. Lifelong friendships will be formed through library programming, educational resources to support students will be available to foster learning and growth. The community will have access to these essential resources. This is truly a commitment to the future, and I want to thank Ken (Kuryliw). I want to thank the board for all the hard work behind the scenes,” said Johannson.
Mayor Joy Sul added her thoughts next.
“I’m so proud of this building as well. It serves so many residents in St Andrews, and it’s just so exciting to see when the municipalities work together, what can be accomplished,” said Sul.
The Deputy Mayor of St. Clements, Dave Horbas, came up next to share.
“It’s wonderful to be here to share this excitement as we get our first look at the Gaynor Library’s expansion plans. I know St Clements is very excited about this,” he said.
The final Mayor to join in the celebration was Dunnottar’s Richard Gamble.
“Our community, is so happy to be a part of this facility. It’s just worked wonders throughout the region and on behalf of our community, thank you for having us in here,” said Gamble.
Next up on the announcement agenda was a video from Jim and Betty Gaynor. Though Selkirk’s first library began in 1901, the current library building in Selkirk was (made) possible thanks to a generous donation from Jim and Betty Gaynor, as well as funding from St. Clements, St. Andrews, Selkirk and the province. In the video, they explained why they, as former local business owners in Selkirk, wanted to support something that would benefit the community in such a big way.
Fiddler then returned for the official announcement.
“The Gaynors have announced they will match all donated funds to the library, up to $300,000. So, every one of our dollars is two,” she said.
She also explained that the Gaynors have put a timetable on this to encourage local donations. All donations must be in before the end of November to qualify to be matched.
Fiddler said that she was pleasantly surprised that so many organizations, such as the RMs and Selkirk, as well as the Rotary Club and more, have come forward to start the fundraising on a great note.
The library is now raising the last $600,000 that they need for phases one and two of the expansion. Half of which could be funded by the Gaynors’ matching donation if enough local donations come in.
Director of Library Services Ken Kuryliw says that this expansion is very much needed.
“The library is one of the busiest in the province, with over 149,000 visitors last year. That’s the highest of any rural library in the province. And the biggest issues with the library, this expansion solves,” he said.
When the library was built in 2014, the original people making the space didn’t know how much it would be used by the community. Being a non-shush library, where everyone is allowed to use they space, library staff see many different groups, activities, and people from all over the region enjoying the space.
At the announcement, Kuryliw shared three stories from locals about how the library is important to their lives.
A local child wrote in saying how the library means everything to them because even when their family can’t pay for their Wi-Fi (spelled Why-fyi in the letter), the library is a place where they can get movies.
A local mother wrote in saying that after having her child, when they were a few months old, she joined the library’s Rhyme Time programming. She explained that it was the first group setting she joined after becoming a new mom. Then life got hectic for her, as a few months later, her husband was diagnosed with MS and the library, again, offered a quiet escape from the hardships of life.
“I felt like we had been regulars for years. The other parents and kids were amazing, very kind and playful. I didn’t feel awkward, like everything seems to feel after having a baby. I had become quite isolated in the beginning, only going out to pick up prescriptions and struggling to make my way through regular, everyday interactions. The library helped me out of my shell, (which) I was becoming too comfortable in. I started to feel like myself again in the library,” said the letter.
The final letter was from a grandfather who wrote in saying how the library allows his family to visit. It’s between where he and his child and grandchild live, and so they meet at the library to keep their family connection strong.
Another aspect of the library that in 2014 they didn’t realize would be so important is their study space. Kuryliw says that come exam time, they’ve had to open up their theatre space in the past just so that they can have enough room for students.
“We want everybody to feel it’s their space and (to) be comfortable here. So by expanding, we get to solve issues like one of the major ones, that’s a little in the weeds is that we only have room for 60,000 volumes in the building. And the province recommends a minimum collection size for our community of 110,000 (volumes). So, even if I add the ebooks that we have, we only get up into around 85,000, so by expanding the collection, we’ll be able to reach that 110,000,” he said.
He also explained that it’s going to be a very fun addition. Because it’s a kids’ space, they are going to be able to add some really great stuff like an interactive cabin with a little mouse inside, serpentine shelves, and even some fun animal shelves, which along with being more interesting than straight shelves, will represent local animals.
The library specifically needs increased kids’ space because they had 5000 kids sign up for programming last year alone. Which is a more than 50 per cent increase in their numbers from before the pandemic and more than five times as much as their previous location.
If everything goes well, the plan for this expansion is that they will go to public tender in December and if that goes well, the construction should start and, with any luck end, in 2026.
According to the library’s website (accessed on Oct. 13, 2025), the Library sees over 150,000 patrons yearly and has a return on investment (ROI), on items borrowed of $6.5 million. For every dollar spent, the community gets $7 in direct value just on the value of the items borrowed alone – this number increases when programming for the community is added. This means that this investment isn’t just a good one for our communities but a sound financial move as well.
The second phase of this expansion is going to focus on the outside portion of the library, with plans to have accessible walkways through the Indigenous Healing Garden, with art murals all the way out to the gazebo that Home Hardware provided. In this phase, they also plan to do some upgrades to the entrance to the parking lot, and they plan to install blinds in the windows which shine, perhaps a little too brightly on a beautiful winter day.
To donate to the matching fund, residents can give at the library itself or online at the library’s website at https://gfrl.org/continue-our-story.
The total fundraising for this project was $2.5 million, so this really is a final push to get this project funded, and Kuryliw said that every donation, regardless of size, counts.
“Even the smallest gift makes you feel even more ownership in part of it. You’re part of the success of making a difference in people’s lives. And so, you feel good about that. You know it’s a positive thing. You know that every cent that you give goes towards a wonderful community service. So yeah, small or large, any amount would be amazing. And with the Gaynor family matching it, as Lorie said, that doubles it,” he said.
