British Columbia

Public Library Services Branch
Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services

Annual Report
Provincial and Territorial Library Directors Council (PTLDC)
2003 - 2004

PTLDC Annual Reports Index

Mandate

The Public Library Services Branch exists to provide leadership and support to 69 public library boards in British Columbia and to sustain public library service for all British Columbians. The major goals of the Branch are to provide financial and other support programs for public libraries; to administer library legislation and provide advice to library boards and staff; to assist libraries in implementing new technologies; to facilitate cooperation and resource sharing among all types of libraries; to work on behalf of public libraries with government and the private sector; and to provide leadership at a national and provincial level on issues that affect public libraries.

Legislation

The Library Act, R.S.B.C. 1996, c. 264 authorizes the establishment and operation of public libraries and their management by library boards. The Library Act provides for four types of public libraries: municipal libraries, regional library districts, public library associations and integrated public library systems.

Structure

The Branch, one of six branches/divisions in the Local Government Department of the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, has offices in Victoria and Vancouver, with seven staff positions in Victoria and three in Vancouver.

Finances/Grants

• Annual Operating Grants

All public libraries established by authority of the Library Act are eligible for provincial per capita operating grants. Support is conditional on compliance with the terms of the Act. Funding may be withheld or reduced if the amount allocated exceeds local support. Annual operating grants must be used to purchase library materials or to defray general operating expenses. Per capita operating grants totalled $8.92 million in FY2003/04 for an overall increase of $300,000 from last year.

Per capita grant rates range from $1.90 to $3.80 per capita, with higher rates paid to libraries serving smaller communities and regional libraries serving rural areas. Per capita grants are calculated on the basis of the most recent annual population estimates published by BC Stats and the most recent available Federal census data.

• Other Grants and Contributions

Other grants and contributions, approximately $1.1 million in total, up $20,000 from the previous year, include a subsidy of reciprocal borrowing among 17 library boards serving over 2.4 million residents in the Lower Mainland; grants to public libraries for interlibrary lending; co-funding, in partnership with the British Columbia Library Association and the Electronic Library Network, of OutLook Online, an electronic "union" catalogue that contains records for materials found in all British Columbia public and academic libraries; writers-in-libraries grants; and operating and other special grants to provincial library organizations.

Activities - Network And Automation

• With funding from the Ministry of Management Services, Youth@BC program grants totalling $512,000 for summer youth employment were paid to 51 libraries and two provincial associations involved in public library Internet training initiatives in 2003/04 resulted in hiring 99 youth.
• During the late spring and summer, training was delivered to public library interlibrary loan staff throughout BC on the new features of OutLook Online AGent portal that includes BC union catalogues as well as BC university library catalogues and national catalogues of Canada using Z39.50 technology.

Activities - Other Developments

• Consultation on a strategic plan for public libraries. To more effectively focus the government's efforts in the development and support of the public library system, the Ministry of Community, Aboriginal and Women's Services, as part of its three-year service plan, embarked on a consultative process to develop a strategic plan for public libraries. This process, which will focus on library stakeholders including library boards, local government and other organizations as well as individuals having a special interest in public libraries, will conclude with the approval and adoption of a provincial strategic plan for public libraries in 2004/05.

Issues

As part of the consultation process on the provincial government's strategic plan for public libraries, a Situation Assessment was prepared which outlined some of the challenges and opportunities facing public libraries in British Columbia. The ministry has obtained significant stakeholder feedback and comments on the paper. Deadline for submissions to the branch closed the end of November, 2003. Additional consultation has been carried out with library boards and library directors which has contributed to the creation of a draft strategic directions paper.

Web site:

The Public Library Services Branch website at
www.bced.gov.bc.ca/pls/

Maureen Woods, Director
Public Library Services Branch

PTLDC Annual Reports Index