Town residents will have the opportunity to meet town council candidates one-on-one Oct. 11 and 14 at the Westlock Municipal Library.
Instead of the traditional forum format, residents will be able to book 10 minutes with candidates to speak with them about whatever they want in what is being called a “human library.”
Candidates will be available from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Wednesday and from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday.
“There’s too many candidates to hold an effective forum,” said librarian Wendy Hodgson-Sadgrove. “You get limited information when there’s more than three candidates.”
She pointed out that by the time all seven candidates got through a couple rounds of questions it would be time to go home.
“I think a lot of the voters would like to be able to speak personally to one person in a comfortable environment,” she added.
This is the first time this format has been used in Westlock.
Hodgson-Sadgrove said that residents will be able to bring whatever concerns or ideas they want to the table.
“The conversation is between the resident and the councillor,” she said. “We’re just offering an opportunity to have an in-face discussion.”
Conversations will be held in public at various stations throughout the library.
While walk-ins are welcome, Hodgson-Sadgrove said that she is taking bookings if residents have a burning issue they really need to speak to a particular candidate about.
There are several ways to reserve a session.
Hodgson-Sadgrove said that people can sign up via the library’s Facebook page or website, or book a candidate over the phone or in person.
A poster is also in circulation with a QR Code that links directly to the website.
Hodgson-Sadgrove said the idea came from success the library has had holding human libraries on other subjects.
“We had a smaller one for Arts and Culture Days where you could come in and speak to an artist,” she said.
“It lends itself more to one-on-one conversations. This way, the person who is having the conversation with the councillor is in charge of what the topic is.”
