Libraries and Literacy 2013 Provincial Library Grants Report Instructions

Libraries and Literacy 2013 Provincial Library Grants Report Instructions

Reports are due March 1, 2014.

The Provincial Library Grant Report is one piece of the overall accountability framework for public libraries and federations who receive public funds. The information you provide in the grants report will be used in part to demonstrate the value of public funds in relation to the priorities of the Provincial government. The Libraries and Literacy Branch is committed to working with libraries to provide seamless, high-quality library services throughout the province. Based on feedback from previous reporting years, we have created a refined process including a new template.

Thank you

Thank you for the work you do every day in libraries. By completing this report you are helping to demonstrate that public libraries have measurable positive impacts on communities across this province. This report is one way to celebrate and share your work.

Requirements and Instructions

1.  Reports are due March 1st, 2014

2.  Reports received by Libraries and Literacy may be published online in the Commons and/or the Ministry of Education website.

3.  Use the attached template to write your report.

·  Using this template will help guide you through the reporting process and ensures comparability between reports.

4.  For this report, choose 3 out of the 5 Provincial priorities (listed on page 2) and tell us how your library used the grants that you received to meet them.

For each priority selected, please include:

·  Goals, Accomplishments - Any goals you have from your strategic plan that support the priority; by identifying the goal and describing if you were successful in achieving that goal (yes, no, still in progress), and share the evidence or outcomes you have to demonstrate that you were successful. Focus on the qualitative impacts that were made within your library and community, as the quantitative results are already reported through the Annual Statistics;

·  Programs, Services - A key program and/or service your library offered this year that connects to the priority (keep this to two examples maximum as we are looking for only exemplary items);

·  Key Partnerships - Identify and describe any key partnerships you formed, or continued with this year, which helped to support your library meeting the priority. These partnerships can be within your federation, partner organizations (i.e. literacy organizations, schools, and/or community organizations, etc).

Further information is available on the PLGR Template Attached, including a section on Outcomes/Outputs and Partnerships.

HOW TO SUBMIT

Please submit your 2013 Provincial Library Grants Report as a Word or PDF document via the Commons Results Section.

·  Start here: http://commons.bclibraries.ca/

·  Login with your username and password

·  On the top right-hand side of the page, click on the Results tab

·  Select the Reports option from the submenu listed

·  A new page will open where you will see Documents Due

·  Select Provincial Library Grant Report 2013

·  Go through the steps to attach the report from your computer to this page (this is similar to adding attachments to email messages

Directors have permission to submit and review these reports. If you would like another staff member to have permission to submit on behalf of your organization, please email us at .

The BC Government Provincial Priorities for 2013:

These priorities were outlined in the February 2013 Conveyance Letter which accompanied your grants.

1.  Equitable access to library services for all British Columbians, including efforts to extend library service outside the local area; to unsupported communities or populations; or to under-represented groups of users within the local area (e.g. Aboriginal users);

2.  Supports for education transformation, particularly in the area of reading for early learners (individualized/personalized learning in formal and informal environments) ;

3.  Library collaboration and cooperation, including working together in the development of collaborative services and shared resources among libraries and through library federations and other partner organizations (e.g. schools, arts, culture, literacy, heritage and community groups);

4.  Accountability and transparency in dealings with the public, supporting open data and open governance through strong planning, effective measurement and clear reporting of outcomes for library programs and services; and

5.  Community engagement and collaboration (for example, actively supporting community priorities and initiatives, building collaborative community partnerships and modeling decision transparency).

Can we help?

If you have any questions about the provincial library grants report please contact Mari Martin () or Cindy Ralph (). Both Mari and Cindy can be reached via telephone at 800.663.7051.

Provincial Library Grants Report 2013
Template

Introduction

The Valemount Public Library Association was established in 1964 and is currently operating in a 1600 sq.ft. log building, which was built in 1988 with Expo ’86 funds. The Village of Valemount owns the library building and provides a portion of the funding for maintenance of the grounds and the building. We serve a population of approximately 1800 people, including the surrounding areas.

Valemount is a small, rural community with a population of approximately 1020 people. It is located at the point where three mountain ranges meet; The Rockies, The Monashees and The Cariboos. Valemount is located on Highway 5, 300 km north of Kamloops, 350 km east of Prince George, and 120 km west of Jasper, Alberta. Our nearest community is Mcbride, which is 100 km to the west.

About 7 years ago the local mill, a main employer, closed down. Logging activity was seriously affected and many residents found it necessary to leave Valemount to work, either moving their entire families, or commuting back and forth to work in the north. Many businesses were affected by the loss of the mill and the result has been a community watching stores close, leaving only the basic essential needs being available locally. Jobs in our area include logging (to a much lesser degree), CN, Road Maintenance, and assorted small business or tourism related jobs. Heli-skiing and snowmobiling contribute to the winter economy.

Newcomers to Valemount include retired persons, entrepreneurs looking to set up small businesses, and young families with work away fathers. Although the economy is suffering in our town, there are also opportunities for jobs that would not be available in larger centers (receptionist at the local health center, teacher’s aide, and local community television positions). There are many volunteer opportunities that are very fulfilling and the experience obtained is valuable for future jobs.

There are limited resources available in Valemount, so the library plays an important role in the community. We are both an information hub and an entertainment resource. We provide free Internet access for locals, removing the financial barrier that would prevent access to those who cannot afford a computer or Internet access. We offer computer training and assistance to patrons. Our library is the only source of DVDs in town, there are no rental outlets. Our meeting room is available to organizations and groups for meetings and workshops. We offer storage space for museum archives, local “Top Shelf” art space, sheet music storage, and newspaper archives. The library and museum offer summer programming for kids and most days there are kids playing outside in the green space. Local initiatives are supported by the library; we are the registration location for a local “Walk around the world” health initiative.

The biggest challenge the library faces is the lack of space. We have long outgrown our space and our collections are crowded, as are public and staff areas. Programming in the library is limited due to space constrictions and events are being held in other venues as a result. Convincing the local government that the library is a valuable resource and should be on their list of priorities is an ongoing process.

Our strategic plan was developed in 2012. We have three main goals:

1.  To make the library a more welcoming space.

Ø  Expand the library’s physical space. We listed 7 steps to achieve this goal. We have achieved the first four. We requested council support for the project, applied for funding to create building plans, and created a working committee made up of library staff, board and village council and staff. The plans are complete and now we need to find funding for the expansion. We will be working on fundraising and exploring grant opportunities this year.

2.  To strengthen library services.

Ø  Improve service to patrons - We have been taking advantage of staff training opportunities; attending conferences and taking online workshops in order to better serve our patrons.

Ø  Ensure collection is current and meets the needs of patrons - Our collection development is an ongoing process. We welcome and respond to patron requests for materials. Collections are being weeded and updated on a regular basis to ensure currency and relevancy. An official collection development policy has not been created this year, it is something we will be working on in the near future.

Ø  Enhance technology based services - Overdrive (Library to go) is now available to our patrons. We are investigating the option of a music database in partnership with the NCLF and will be investigating other opportunities for cooperative resources. We will be upgrading the public access computers in the next two years. More room is needed for laptop use in the library, but is dependent on an expansion of the building.

Ø  Enhance services for youth - Our youth initiative has not yet been implemented. We intend to have more feedback about library programming and resources from this segment of our community. We will be focusing on this goal in the near future. A dedicated to teen area is dependent on a building expansion.

3.  To increase the awareness of the library and its services

Ø  Strengthen and develop partnerships to enhance literacy in our community - We continue to nurture and strengthen partnerships with other organizations to enhance literacy in our community. Partnerships with CBAL and the local Adult Learning Centre as well as Valemount Arts and Cultural Society and the Valemount and Area Museum have been productive in the areas of programming and promotion of literacy. Together we can combine our resources and ideas and offer better quality programs than we could individually.

Ø  Celebrate Valemount Public Library Association’s milestones – We are celebrating our 5oth anniversary this year and are planning to host events throughout the year; draws, book sales, food for fines, anniversary book bags, and a large summer event in conjunction with the museum’s 100th celebration are in the works.

Government Priorities, Goals, Programs and Services, Partnerships

Supports for Education transformation

Library goal: To strengthen library services by enhancing services for youth:

The library hosted a preschool story time program in 2013. The program ran once a week for eight weeks and consisted of stories, snacks and crafts. Music and yoga was incorporated into the weekly themes. Two young women in the community were hired to run the program. We saw new faces in the library and enjoyed watching the moms and tots connect and discover the library. We issued new membership cards and circulated literacy kits and other materials. Response was great with more of the same type of programming requested. There are many young families in our community right now and this program was a way to bring them into the library to see what we have to offer. We plan on offering more children’s programming in 2014.

The summer reading program ran for eight weeks and we had key figures from the community come and visit the kids; a police officer came with his cruiser and the kids got to sit in the car and try the lights and siren, Smokey the bear arrived with the Initial Attack crew and the kids were taught how to put out a fire and use a fire hose. This hands on program was very impactful; one young girl left trying to decide if she wanted to be a police officer or a fire fighter. This program is a great way for the library to connect with young people and provides a safe place to learn and have fun while connecting with other kids.

We partnered with the BCLA (SRC materials), Columbia Basin Alliance for Literacy (promotional materials, support), United Way (Success by six funds for materials and advertising), North Central Library Association (shared collection), and the Valemount Elementary School (promotion) to run and promote these and other youth programs.

Library collaboration and cooperation

Library Goal: To strengthen and develop partnerships to enhance literacy in our community.

We continued to connect with other organizations to partner on programs and events, offering a variety of author talks, Books for Babies Program, Children’s entertainers, Local art space, and shared collections.

Family Literacy Day was a collaboration between three organizations to offer a chance to win one of 12 prizes. The draw form included a section for entrants to list the ways that they learn as a family. The draws were located at the library which brought people in; some new and some being reintroduced to what we have to offer. It was great to see the parents and kids working together to fill out the forms and deciding which ways they “love learning”. The comments received were compiled into a poster which shows all the ways that families learn together.

People & peaks: Women of Willmore Wilderness – film presentation. This collaborative effort offered a unique experience in our community. Susan Fedema-Leonard, turned her book into a film, which she took on tour. The film retraces the steps, by horseback, of some of the pioneers of our community. The film includes original footage from the early days of back country trips blended with current footage of the same areas being travelled in the same method. There was a direct connection for families in our community, as many of the people in the original footage were parents, grandparents, etc. of current residents. This was a way for the library to connect outside the walls of our building and to work with other organizations to provide a glimpse into the history of the area.

Partnerships that support the priority: CBAL (Literacy Day planning and promotion), Valemount Elementary School (entries distribution and promotion), Valemount Adult Literacy (planning and prizes), Valemount Arts and Cultural Society (insurance, promotion), Valemount Secondary School (theatre space and promotion) and Valemount and Area Museum (organization, promotion).