Library adds ServiceOntario to website: Key information found at your fingertips
by Michelle Minnoch

Never one to disappoint, the Innisfil Public Library is offering yet another service to make life easier and a bit more manageable for members of the community.

ServiceOntario is a link you can find on the Innisfil Public Library's website, www.innisfil.library.on.ca.

ServiceOntario is where you can access government information and services online.

Some of the services offered include applying for a birth certificate, address change for your health card, driver's licence and outdoors card, and much more. There is education and employment information and access to over 400 government forms.

The school link has a great assortment of information for students, including apprentice information, independent learning, distance learning, student assistance program, awards, youth opportunities, and much more.

"Many people come into the library and ask us, for example, where they can get a marriage certificate, or where the nearest passport office is," said Lakeshore Branch Manager Marilyn Pillar. "Now all the information is at their fingertips."

She said staff has been trained on the system by government trainers and can guide any one through it if assistance is needed.

"There's parenting and teaching tips, and a kid's zone," she said.

Other information you can get from the site include information on driving, recreation, health and social services, life events (births, marriage, death, divorce, lost wallet, personal loss, moving, retirement, changing your name upon marriage, vacationing in Ontario), newborn service information, adoption information regarding disclosure, and various links for business owners, including WSIB (Workplace Safety Insurance Board).

There is also information about current laws on the table in the House.

"You can view laws and see the status of bills going through the legislature," said Pillar.

She said there is not just provincial links, but federal as well.

"It is great for the library to be involved in this. The library is where people go for information."

Pillar said the ServiceOntario at Libraries Initiative grant the library received for the program totaled $9,600. The money was used for additional computers, promotion and advertising of the service and staff expenses for learning the system.