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Back to school brings pencils, papers and AI chatbots
A Pitt Meadows librarian highlights FVRL resources for families navigating back-to-school costs, climate concerns and new AI tools in classrooms.
Back-to-school preparations in 2026 still include buying supplies, finding shoes that fit and packing lunches children will eat. But families are also navigating climate-change concerns and questions about which artificial-intelligence chatbots may support learning, according to a Pitt Meadows librarian.
Curtis Acton says Fraser Valley Regional Library can help with those learning journeys. Borrowing materials with a library card rather than buying them can reduce consumption, support the familiar principles of reduce, reuse and recycle, and save money.
Readers can already place holds on Louise Penny’s Miss Wolcott’s Ghost, due out Oct. 20. Library-card holders can also use the Kanopy app for British mysteries and Libby, FVRL’s digital collection app, for magazines, which have no waitlists.
Chatbots such as ChatGPT have become integrated into many parts of modern life, including education, during the past three years. This year, school districts will begin introducing AI into the curriculum, giving students in Grades 9 through 12 access through Microsoft Copilot. Students may already know the technology from Google AI summaries or other chatbot services.
For parents who are unfamiliar with AI or have questions, Alan Cadwell of Chilliwack ElderCollege will deliver a one-hour presentation, What Is AI? Understanding the Technology That is Changing Our World, at eight FVRL libraries this fall. The session will examine what AI is and is not, how it works, why it has become so widespread and the infrastructure behind it.
Cadwell will speak at Maple Ridge Public Library on Tuesday, Sept. 22, at 1 p.m., and at Pitt Meadows Public Library the following evening, Wednesday, Sept. 23, at 6 p.m.
FVRL also offers ways to spend time outdoors. Patrons can borrow a disc golf set for the Bonson Park Disc Golf Course, or a nature pack with walking poles to explore Golden Ears Provincial Park. The Playground™ collection has options for all ages. Program and service information is available at www.fvrl.bc.ca or from a local library.