Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries

Annual Report
Provincial and Territorial Library Directors Council (PTLDC)
2005

PTLDC Annual Reports Index

Structure

The Provincial Information and Library Resources Board is a crown agency of the Provincial Government which reports directly to the Minister of Education. The provincial board has 10 members, including:

• the chair of each of the three regional library boards
• the chair of the St. John's Library Board
• six members appointed by Government.

Mandate

Newfoundland and Labrador public libraries are operated by the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board (PILRB). The PILRB operates under authority of the Public Libraries Act.

Section 6 of the Public Libraries Act RSNL1990 CHAPTER P-40 outlines the mandate of the PILRB. It states:

(1) The provincial board shall establish and operate those public libraries in the province that it considers necessary and shall provide support to ensure that library materials, information and programs are available to meet the needs of the public.

(2) The provincial board shall provide:

(a) a resource collection of selected materials in its provincial reference and resource library which shall be available to the various libraries in the province;

(b) a centralized cataloguing and processing service through its technical services department;

(c) library service to communities that do not have a local library through its books-by-mail service;

(d) centralized administrative services through its provincial headquarters; and

(e) the other centralized service considered necessary by the provincial board.

The Organization

• Each library has a volunteer local library board which assists with the provision of library services in their community;
• The chair of each local library board is a member of a regional library board which helps ensure services are consistent in the different regions of the province;
• There are 94 local library boards, 3 regional library boards, and a provincial board in the province;
• There are more than 800 volunteer board members;
• There are 96 public libraries;
• There are 210 full and part time, permanent, staff;
• There are approximately 100 substitute employees;
• There is a centralized technical services division which orders, receives, catalogues and processes all library materials; and
• There are provincial HR, Finance and IT services.

Annual Statistics For 2004-2005

During the year we experienced a decline in the activity levels in the majority of our program areas. This decline is attributed to the public service strike which resulted in the closure of all but four of our libraries for the month of April. When the stats are averaged over the 12 months to compensate for the strike losses, there is an overall increase of 6 percent. We are very pleased that the use of our libraries, as exhibited by our statistics, is increasing even though the population of the province continues to decrease.

Funding

The majority of funding comes in the form of an annual operating grant from the provincial government. Our budget from all sources in 04-05 was $9.35 million. The breakdown was as follows:

While the monetary value of the contributions by municipalities is extremely low, there are significant in kind contributions in the form of free rent, utilities, maintenance, etc. These contributions are valued in excess of $1,000,000 but are not included in our budget. The majority of municipalities in Newfoundland and Labrador are very small with limited tax base and revenue opportunities. It has been recognized that if library services were transferred to the municipalities many sites would close.

Organization Highlights

During 2004-2005 the organization:

• Relocated one existing school-public joint service libraries into new space in the existing school;
• Revitalized four existing stand alone library facilities;
• Successfully completed year two of our three-year strategic plan;
• Completed the establishment of a literacy clearing house, provincial depository of literacy materials, which is distributed to literacy practitioners via inter library loan;
• Negotiated an MOU with CBC for free radio and TV promotions;
• Commenced the development and updating of the PILRB policies;
• Automated two libraries;
• Commenced work to replace our existing automated circulation system (Dynix) which was installed in 1991;
• Completed cataloguing and processing of donated and purchased materials purchased in 04-05 and started work on the backlog of uncatalogued materials which had existed for several years;
• Established a volunteer recognition award program for board members;
• Commenced work on a staff training study;
• Implemented a new capital assets recording system in accordance with the Auditor Generals recommendations;
• Addressed the software licensing issues with public access and staff computers;
• Revised the PILRB website;
• Signed an MOU with the Community Access Program for administration of the CAP program in 90 of the 96 library sites in the province;
• Revised the insurance policy for the PILRB in an attempt to reduce the escalating insurance premiums;
• Negotiated an agreement with Aliant (telecommunications company) for reduced connectivity and long distance rates; and
• Initiated a program renewal/review of the public library services in Newfoundland and Labrador.

Program Highlights

• The Provincial Resource Library assumed responsibility for approximately 90% of the Literacy Development Council's collection when it closed in 2004. These materials will be added to the existing Public Libraries Literacy Collection and will be circulated to literacy providers and students around the province through Inter library loans.
• The Department of Finance discontinued its 1-800 service which provided motor vehicle Red Book values for sales tax purposes. Red Books have been placed in strategic provincial libraries and we are, on a trial basis, responding to inquiries over the phone.
• The multimedia St. John's Regatta Web Site was voted one of the top 12 for 2003 by Industry Canada. The official launch of the site occurred on July 26^th, 2004. This site is a digital collection of the history of the oldest regatta in North America and has generated a great deal of interest.
• For the 40^th anniversary of Land and Sea, CBC is creating a special web page where the Provincial Resource Library will be featured and promoted as a place to borrow Land and Sea programs.
• The Provincial NL Collection is contributing digital scans from the Newfoundlander and the Public Ledger to the Oxford University Press publication, Changing Your World.
• Again this year, various libraries generated significant publicity for libraries with numerous newspaper articles, photos, and radio interviews. Of note were The Telegram's 20 Questions with Michelle Walters and CBC Radio Noon interviews with Kim Gillard of the Literacy Network Ad Hoc Group, Michelle Walters, and Judy Escott, Literacy Coordinator for the Clearinghouse and Patricia Parsons from our Central Division.

Issues

Hours of Operation
The majority of complaints received in the past year related to the reduction of hours for library sites or the need for expanded hours. The reductions were, primarily, as a result of the loss of CAP hours. The need for expanded hours relate to the increasing activity in some sites. The hours issue is primarily related to lack of funding. We will continue to lobby for the continuation of the CAP program and will seek additional funding to be able to address the need for more hours.

New Libraries
The PILRB currently has 26 requests on file for new library services. Unfortunately, our current funding levels are not sufficient to establish new libraries. Additional funding and or a reorganization is required to address the new library requests.

Population Decline
One of the most significant impacts on library services is the decline in population in some of our communities. The program renewal exercise will include an evaluation of the impacts population changes are having on the provision of library services.

Expanded Services
While the number of patrons are declining in many of our rural communities, there are still opportunities for the public libraries to be vibrant centres. In addition to the provision of traditional library services, with modest increases in funding, libraries can become access points for many of the provincial and federal governments' electronic services and can provide applications and forms for many non automated activities. During the program renewal exercise, we hope to evaluate the opportunities for libraries to play a more active role in the provision of other government services.

Respectfully Submitted,

Shawn Tetford
Executive Director
Newfoundland and Labrador
Public Libraries

PTLDC Annual Reports Index