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Saltzberg approached the VPL’s head librarian, Sandra Singh, who embraced the idea enthusiastically.

“Libraries are about knowledge, information and cultural exchange in many formats,” said Singh. “Our role is to make sure everyone in the community has equal access to knowledge, information and culture. (Libraries) have always been a catalyst for creative innovation.”

Sun Life Financial, whose philanthropic arm is committed to making the arts accessible to the community, jumped on board with $130,000 in funding, as well as a donation of the first 100 musical instruments. Long & McQuade joined in as a partner to maintain and refurbish the instruments.

The program launched in Toronto in April, and Saltzberg is planning to expand to other communities across Canada.

“The demand for this is massive, possibly unlimited,” said Saltzberg. “The goal, ultimately, is to have these music lending libraries available in every province.”

At the Toronto library, said Saltzberg, there was a lot of concern about finding enough storage space for the instruments. “I said, ‘Don’t worry about storage’,” recalls Saltzberg, “‘They’re all going to be gone.'” Indeed, within a week of the launch, there were no instruments left to borrow from the Toronto library.

Hedley vocalist Jacob Hoggard will be on hand Tuesday to launch the program. Public access to musical instruments has a special meaning to Hoggard, who grew up in Surrey and Abbotsford. He said that as a kid he relied on the public library for creative fuel — CDs, movies, books on tape. His first guitar was “literally a borrowed instrument” — from his sister. “I took it from her, and learned how to play, then saved up and bought my first electric guitar.”