What is NewToBC?
NewToBC connects newcomers to the information they need to settle in BC. NewToBC does this in three unique ways.
- The Library Champions Project (LCP) is a volunteer program for newcomers. Through a series of training sessions, Library Champions learn about library and settlement services, programs, and resources. They also build communication and presentation skills, learn about different cultures, gain volunteer experience and local references, increase their confidence, develop a deeper understanding of their new community, and make friends and connections. Trained Library Champions share this knowledge and help other newcomers access library and settlement programs and services.
Each year, the NewToBC team delivers training to dozens of newcomers. Since the program started in 2013, more than 2,600 newcomers have been trained as Library Champions. To date, Library Champions have reached out and provided library and settlement information to nearly 130,000 other newcomers!
To download a PDF version of project highlights, click here: Library Champions Project Highlights. - The NewToBC team updates this website and its online resources to ensure newcomers and the people who help newcomers have access to accurate and up-to-date library and settlement information. The team works with its library and community partners to regularly review and update these resources. Library, settlement and immigration news and events are sourced and posted each week. Regularly updated resources include:
- a directory of Programs and Services for Newcomers in BC;
- Settling in BC: Questions and Answers provides links to credible information on a range of settlement-related topics;
- information about public libraries in communities across the Mainland / Southwest region including library hours and locations and news and events;
- Collections in Different Languages held at different libraries in the Mainland / Southwest region of BC;
- English Language Learning Materials organized by language skill, by level, and by type of material; and
- Community Immigrant Demographic Profiles for cities in and around Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley as well as Kelowna.
- NewToBC uses social media to help newcomers learn about and actively participate in their communities. Newcomers and others follow our channels to learn about and register for workshops, language and employment training, festivals, concerts, job fairs, and more! The NewToBC social media channels have thousands of followers. The team posts to Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn. Start following us today!
NewToBC acknowledges and extends appreciation for the opportunity to work in the traditional, ancestral, and unceded territories of Indigenous Peoples across British Columbia.
