Daniel MacIsaac
Northern News Services

Inuvik (Feb 11/00) - Inuvik has been diagnosed with worms. But don't worry, they're the good kind.

To gear up for next month's Education Week, the Department of Education, Culture and Employment has organized a challenge to encourage NWT residents to cultivate their bookwormish natures.

"The Territorial Bookworm Challenge is a method of showing how much we use literacy, language and learning in our daily lives," said Education Minister Jake Ootes in announcing the initiative.

To do its part, Inuvik Centennial Library is growing a bookworm on its walls; complete with a smiling face and "segments" of cards that individuals fill out detailing the books or magazines they're reading.

On March 1, bookworms from across the NWT will be forwarded to ECE and a territorial bookworm will be created and displayed in the Great Hall of the legislature in Yellowknife during Education Week, March 27-April 2.

Centennial librarian Nora Dixon said Inuvik's worm has been continually growing as more people contribute segments.

And she's hoping it will wrap itself right around the entire library.

"We want to see if we can't have the largest worm in the territory by the March 1 deadline," she said.

Myrna Button said there's no reason it won't be. Button has been a library assistant for over five years and during that time, she's noticed a marked increase in the number of people coming to Centennial.

"We're getting an increase in patronage," she said, "as well as a greater variety of ages and a good cross-section of society."

She said people who drop in to check out the latest videotapes or kids waiting to use a computer often check out the vast amount of reading material offered, especially recently-purchased or newly-rotated resources.

"People can always expect new things to come in here," she said, "and anything that we put on display just flies out of here."

One new and enthusiastic reader is seven-year-old Patricia Louie, a regular afternoon library visitor who said she typically cruises through six books a day.

"I read long and short books and like stories about kings and queens, and just people," she said, holding onto Hiawatha and the Big Flood with a tight grip.

Patricia's friend Chanelsa Carnogursky, 8, said she loves Pokemon books and her favourite author is Robert Munch. She added that despite their popularity, computers and video will never totally replace books.

"Because reading teaches you how to write and read," she said, "so you don't get mixed up."

Wildlife officer Ron Morrison said his own daughter, Brielle, 8, is getting some practice reading at school when her class goes through newspaper articles together. Morrison said he always takes time to read with Brielle at home, but finds he does most of his own reading while flying, travelling or on business.

Sir Alexander Mackenzie administrative assistant Val Robertson said all the school kids got segments to fill out in their classrooms. She said that despite holding down a full-time job and looking after a house, husband and children, she makes a conscious effort to ensure that reading remains a big part of her life and that the whole family reads together every evening.

"I make time to read," she said. "You can still read even while you're stirring the pot ... and if I do burn anything, I certainly won't admit it here."