The Heart of the Community: The Best of the Carnegie Newsletter

Ann Turner is the financial and budget manager of the University of
British Columbia Library.

The Carnegie Centre, housed in the grand old Carnegie Library building
located in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C., is the heart of its
community in several senses of the word. Its location is central and
convenient for the resident and transient population, a distinctive
landmark and gathering place in the area. Its services and programs
address the social, educational, and cultural needs of the community
respectfully and on its own terms. One of those services is the Carnegie
Newsletter.

Begun in Vancouver’s Expo year, 1986, it has been written,
illustrated, and edited entirely by volunteers throughout its more than
16 years. Its content goes to the heart of matters in the community. The
pain, anger, and despair of poverty, the drug and sex trades, and
political threats to the community’s very existence are balanced by
the joy of having family and friends there, the sense of belonging to a
community that pulls together to fight adversity, and the hope and pride
that successful community projects bring.

The articles, poems, and artwork selected for this volume are among the
best that have appeared in the newsletter. They speak from the heart,
and many are very good by any standards. The pieces are arranged in
chapters by year of appearance, and a brief synopsis of the political
and other external happenings in each year gives them context. There is
no index, but a detailed table of contents lists the items in each
chapter by title.