RDPL FAQs

What is my PIN?

In order to be able to access your account and place holds in the library catalogue, you will be required to enter your 14 digit library card # and PIN. By default, the PIN is set to the last 4 digits of the telephone number you provide when your account is set up.

How many items are in the collection?

Total # of items (all formats, Downtown Branch) - 173,930
Total # of items (all formats, Dawe Branch) - 40,104
[December 2011]

How is the Library funded?

About 70% of the Library's $3 million budget comes from Red Deer's municipal tax levy (residential and business property taxes).
About 15% comes from the Provincial Library Grant, a per capita grant administered by the Libraries Section of Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing.
The remainder, also about 15%, is generated by the Library itself, from user fees, fines, room rentals, interest, photocopying, and the Library's fee-for-service projects.
Red Deer Public Library receives no money from any municipality outside of Red Deer.
[March 8, 2007]

How big are the Library facilities?

The Downtown Branch is about 4,000 square meters.  The Dawe Branch was 631 square meters, but grew to 966 square meters in the recent renovation (2010).  The Lion Plaza Express Branch was 200 square meters [May 20, 2008]

Can we eat and drink in the Library?

Yes.  Nothing goes better with a book than a cup of coffee.  Bring your brown-bag lunch and read a magazine.
Just a couple of things: please don't eat or drink at a computer terminal (unless it's your laptop: then knock yourself out).
When you're at the Downtown Branch, consider buying your lunch or a snack at Café Noir (one of the first full-service coffee shops in a Canadian public library, by the way).  When you're at the Dawe Branch, try the Sno Biz Grille Cafe in the G.H. Dawe Centre mall area, just down the hall from the Library. [March 8, 2007]