Six Montreal libraries gifted 100 musical instruments РRoxboro Library along with 5 other Montreal libraries will benefit from the Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library program. Thanks to a donation of 100 new instruments valued at $30,000, patrons of the Roxboro, Frontenac, P̬re-Ambroise, Mordecai-Richler, Pointe-aux-Trembles and Robert-Bourassa branches will be able to check out instruments free of charge. Sun Life Financial is also donating $140,000 to extend the program through October 2020.
In total, 19 libraries in 15 boroughs will provide Montreal area residents with guitars, violins, ukuleles, keyboards, drums and xylophones.
Bibliothèques de Montreal maintains a collection of 330 musical instruments and around 30 instruments are used for local cultural activities. Over two years, participating libraries have made 3,000 musical instrument loans and received over 5,000 instrument reservations. The Musical Instrument Lending Library program augments the libraries’ current music collections, which include CDs and sheet music.
Instrument loans were initially offered in eight libraries beginning in 2016. Thanks to the continuous generosity of Sun Life Financial, the popular service was expanded to five other libraries in the Ville de Montreal library system.
“The popularity of instrument loans shows how relevant this program is to our residents. The program is made possible thanks to the generosity of Sun Life Financial, whom I thank profusely. The program is also a testament to the diversity of services offered by our libraries and their contribution to the cultural and artistic vitality of our neighbourhoods,” said Christine Gosselin, Ville de Montreal executive committee member responsible for culture, design and heritage.
“We believe that culture and the arts must be promoted within our communities and should be made accessible to everyone, regardless of their financial means. This is the main goal of our national Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library program and we are excited to share the joy of music by expanding to even more Montreal libraries,” said Robert Dumas, President and CEO, Sun Life Financial Quebec.
