Killaloe – The Killaloe and District Public Library is seeking recipes for a cookbook which will not only provide some tasty meals but tell the story of the village.

“We are looking for short stories with the recipes,” explained Kate Murton, the chair of the Killaoe and District Public Library Board. “Maybe something like, ‘I served this for my granny’s 80^th birthday and she ate all of it’.”

The book is called Cooking Through the Seasons and patrons and supporters are being asked to contribute their favourite seasonal recipes.
“Tell us what season you make this recipe in and why it is special to you,” the flyer noted. “Include your name, so we can credit you in the cookbook.”

The cookbook is also going to be unique with some Joyce Burkholder art in it, so this also showcases the area, she said.

This is the first time a cookbook has been produced by the library to her knowledge, but she said as people are talking about it many are bringing out old cookbooks which were done as fundraisers in the area. Some date back to the 1960s and all are done by the same publisher which will be printing this cookbook, so she noted it is a tried-and-true recipe to produce a fundraiser cookbook. The cookbook will be bound with a spiral binding, making it easy to open to read a recipe.

The library has been asking for recipes and they are a bit slow coming in, she said. As the March 1deadline for submissions approaches, they are hoping more people in the community and surrounding area will send recipes and be involved in the cookbook.

“We are really looking for community submissions,” she said. “We are on a fairly tight deadline.”

The publisher is in Winnipeg, so the cookbook content needs to be submitted in enough time to get all the cookbooks back for the launch on May 25 at the library’s annual fundraising plant sale.

“We decided to undertake a cookbook fundraising project to help provide programming at our library,” she explained.

Fundraising is a very important aspect of providing funding for the library and a cookbook is something new, as the library seeks to diversify fundraising opportunities.

The library is always in need of funding, and it is exciting to see new programs being developed in the library to meet the community need, Ms. Murton said.

“Programing is really important for our community,” she said.

One example of new programming is targeted to teens and called A Chill Space. There are activities, snacks and games included, all at the library.

“They come in after school on Wednesday and it fills a need,” she said. “There are not a lot of activities for kids after school.”
The library is very much a hub for the community and a place which is used by people of all ages, she pointed out. Whether it is a senior seeking some computer knowledge or a pre-teen looking for a place to use a computer, people looking for books or DVDs, it is all located at the library.

“The library is a hub for gathering,” Ms. Murton said.

Following the expansion of the library there is a large area with computers, an attractive children’s centre and spaces to sit and read, explore or find new materials. She said the library staff is doing a wonderful job of making the library a place which meets the needs of the community.

“We would love to do more programming,” she added.

Having special events, including a speaker or musician come in, could be something offered by the library, but it all needs funding and this is where fundraising comes in to help.

“Fundraising is a big part of it and it is tough to come up with novel ideas, so we thought we would make this cookbook,” she said.

The first run of the cookbook will have 250 copies printed. They will be on sale for $20 each.

“I have my name on five,” she joked. “And if we need, we can get it reprinted.”

She encourages anyone in the community to donate a recipe by March 1, or early March at the latest.

“That gives us a month for the next stage of the exercise,” she said.

Recipes can be sent to friendskdpl@gmail.com or dropped off at the library before March 1.