Libraries and Literacy2012 Provincial Library Grants Report

Due: March 1, 2013

1. What goals did you set for your library in 2012? How successful were you in achieving those goals?

The three main goals for the Pender Island Public Library and associated Reading Rooms (Galiano, Mayne, Saturna, & Piers Islands) were: 1) facility upgrades, 2) migration to the Sitka Evergreen Integrated Library System, and 3) expanding programs and services. All three goals were implemented to meet the growing demands of patrons by providing updated facilities, increasing public access, and integrating library catalogues with Sitka libraries province-wide. As the Pender Is. Library and Reading Rooms are run almost entirely by volunteers, undertaking these goals required much dedication and an enormous amount of volunteer hours. All goals were successfully undertaken and will continue into 2013.

For facility upgrades, in 2012 the Pender Is. Library completely renovated the entire interior of the library facility (316.2 sq.m). Using reserved funds and a multitude of fundraising events, a complete upgrading and renewal of all aspects of the facility was completed over a 6-month period, during which the library was closed. The library interior was redesigned to provide new Adult and Children’s sections, new office space, a new welcoming front desk, improved lighting and front door access, and a new public computer areas (desktop and wireless laptop). As well, funds were used to remediate a mould issue to improve air quality and circulation, and to improve energy use efficiency. The Library upgraded their computers, purchasing eight new office/front desk computers to allow improved Internet connections, upgraded software, and secure back-ups of library work and financial documents. The Children’s Area was greatly enlarged in floor space and shelving, with six moveable book carts commissioned by a local carpenter. The provincial operating grant is critical to the Pender Is. Library and associated Reading Rooms, as these funds form the backbone of new book acquisitions, new library shelving, and maintaining computer equipment. The successful outcome from the Pender Library renovation is reflected in patron appreciation, an increase in volunteers, and increased circulation of items and increased visitation. The Galiano Is. Reading Room embarked on a massive project of building a brand new library facility, in conjunction with the CRD and School District #64. Construction commenced in Fall 2012, with completion planned for Spring 2013. The new Galiano Is. facility will greatly expand programs and services, provide public access computers and a meeting room, greatly expand shelving, provide a venue for partnerships with local art societies, and serve the community to meet both library and community needs.

The second goal of the Pender Is. Library and associated Reading Rooms was to update the integrated library systems for all Southern Gulf Island libraries through migration to the Sitka Evergreen System. In 2012, the Pender Is. Library joined the BC Libraries Cooperative and with the Reading Rooms, began preparations for migrating their library collections, including re-barcoding +45,000 items in four separate facilities, designing and issuing new patron cards for each facility, and revisiting library policies regarding lending, fines, holds, etc. In 2012, two Reading Rooms (Mayne & Galiano Islands) successfully migrated to the new system and were able to provide patrons with greatly improved circulation services and access to online catalogues. Pender Is. Library and Saturna Is. Reading Room will migrate to Sitka Evergreen in 2013. The successful outcome of migrating to the new ILS is already apparent in the cataloguing consistency between the Pender Is. Library & the Reading Rooms, the greatly expanded public access through the online catalogue, and the improved facilitation of daily library transactions using Sitka Evergreen.

The third goal of increasing community programs and services was initiated by first soliciting feedback through Patron Surveys, from Parent Committees (for Children’s Sections), and by Art Committees (for collaborating to display local art), and by focusing on community needs to prioritize new programs. Most library facilities also developed new logos and improved their branding to help identify the library/reading rooms within their local communities.

2. Sharing of library resources (through direct patron requests and BC OneCard);

Pender Is. Library participated in sharing library resources through the provincial Inter-Library Loan and BC One Card programs. The Resource Sharing Grant was used entirely to support these programs. The Pender Is. Library and Reading Rooms promoted the ILL service through their regular news columns in local newspapers and magazines. The Pender Is. Library also continued to share resources and provide support to the associated Reading Rooms to provide these programs. Galiano Is. Reading Room reviewed the implementation of BC One Card when using the new Sitka Evergreen system, and subsequently enhanced access of BC One Card patrons to the Galiano collection by making their privileges the same as Galiano Residents. An initial positive response has been received and further evaluation will take place in 2013 after the policy has been in place for a longer period. Pender Is. Library also distributed free library and provincial materials throughout to the Reading Rooms. Overall, patrons’ needs were well met using these programs to bring books to small, rural islands.

3. Collaboration with other libraries and community partners to enhance services and programs, extend the reach of libraries and leverage shared costs

The Pender Is. Library collaborated with other libraries this year primarily to assist with migration to the new integrated library system. The experience of several libraries (Salt Spring, Nelson, others) was sought regarding implementation and use of the Sitka Evergreen system. Both Pender Is. Library and the Galiano Is. Reading Room communicated and/or visited the Salt Spring Is. Library to gain insight into best practices for implementation and workflow ideas. This allowed Pender Is. Library and Reading Rooms to be prepared to integrate the new Sitka system, train volunteer staff, and provide a smooth transition for patrons. Many hours were spent in training, in preparing User Manuals, and in inter-library communications to ensure migration to the new system would proceed well. The successful outcome is that the Library and Reading Rooms progressed extremely well with preparation towards migration and implementation after go-live dates.

In 2012, Galiano Is. Reading Room partnered with the CRD and School District #64 for the construction of a new library facility, adjacent to the local school. This partnership has greatly facilitated bringing a new library facility to Galiano Is. to replace the existing rental space that was filled to capacity. Involving the community in the development of the new library building was a major focus of outreach activities, providing updates on construction plans via the school newsletter and inviting community members and key stakeholders to information meetings.

The Pender Is. Library and Reading Rooms continued to collaborate with many community partners to provide programming, receive funding, and share facility space. Community partners include Lions Clubs, Recreation Associations, Sports Clubs, dedicated storytellers, Saturday Market Committees, local Fall Fair Committees, and local schools. For example, in 2012 a Pender Is. Library Board member was assigned to sit as a representative on the local Recreation Association Board, to collaborate with community programming. The Mayne Is. Reading Room established a new Program Committee in 2012 and launched new programs including Author Readings and NFB Film Nights based on popular books. The Galiano Is. Reading Room, in partnership with Galiano Island Books, once again sponsored the 3rd annual Galiano Literary Festival, a popular event promoting both literature and literacy. The Pender Is. Library and Reading Rooms were also able to share their facilities with community partners by providing meeting rooms for local non-profit groups and to promote local art and tourism opportunities.

4. Community engagement (engagement processes to understand what the community needs and wants)

Mayne Is. Reading Room completed an extensive online/paper Patron Survey in 2012 to assess the needs of the community with regards to visitation frequency, library use, awareness of library services, and use of library computers. Patrons were also asked to rate the library collection with suggestion for expanding/updating items, to rate the library facility, and to provide feedback on what could the library do to better serve the community. With 250 respondents (Island pop. 1000), including various types of patrons such as full- and part-time residents and visitors, the Survey gathered important information for the strategic planning process of the library (see attached Survey). Galiano Is. Reading Room Board members took part in on-going Community Collaboration and Local Economic Development meetings, which helped provide direction for library initiatives. The Pender Is. Library established and met with a Parent Advisory Group to plan for expanding the children and youth collections, and many suggestions were presented for children’s area design, future programming and book acquisitions.

5. Open government (for example, supporting citizens to use open data; making library data openly available; modelling transparency about library decisions)

With the primary goal of learning more about open government, the Pender Is. Library enrolled a staff member to attend the LLB Open Data Summit, Vancouver, in Sept. 2012. After the Summit, the staff member prepared and distributed a full report to the SGI Library Commission members summarizing the Conference goals, speakers, and lectures attended. Much feedback from SGI libraries was received about the possibilities of supporting patrons pursuing open data research projects, and the capacity of the libraries to provide such support. It was identified that upgrades to computers and associated technology within the libraries was needed, and this goal was met in the Pender Is. Library through the purchase of new computers.

6. Supporting early reading

Through the initiative to renovate the library facility, the Pender Is. Library has allocated more space to the Children’s Section, tripling the area dedicated to children & youth. Prior to renovation, the Pender Is. community had provided feedback on the need to enhance the Children’s section, and many funds were donated by the Pender Lions Club and community groups/individuals towards this goal. The Children’s section now has new wall shelving, new furniture, and six new mobile book carts using train and caterpillar motifs. The new Children’s area has an increased capacity for the number of children’s books and will be a priority for the Library Collection Acquisition Committee. The Children’s area awaits the development of programs and activities appropriate to the new space, allowing the library to both expand the existing Storytime Program and develop new programs. The popular summer Storytime Program for early learners was continued throughout the various facilities with resulting high attendance for children (and grandchildren), and this program remains dependant on provincial and local support. Galiano Is. Reading Room sponsored several author readings at the local elementary school and plans to expand children’s programming in their new facility in 2013. Galiano Is. Board members also decided to remove overdue fines on early reading material, and expanded and relocated their children’s section, increasing the circulation of early reader books by >25% from 2011.

The Pender Is. Library and associated Reading Rooms depend heavily on the annual Provincial grants, as other sources of funding meet only the basic operating costs of the five facilities. Fundraising continues to play a large role in supporting library expansions or large purchases equipment. Provincial grants ensure new books/audio visual items can be purchased, ILL and BC One Card programs can continue, and early reading programs can expand and continue to serve rural island communities.

Pender Island Public Library

Draft Strategic Plan – Under Revision 2012-2013

Mission Statement

To provide a welcoming environment that fosters life-long learning, literacy, and enjoyment.

Vision

To provide equal access for all members of the community to explore ideas, read books, and benefit from a wide variety of library services in a welcoming atmosphere.

Strategic Directions

The Library is identified as a Popular Materials Library and a Preschoolers Door to Learning Library.

The four strategic directions for the PIPLA are:

1. Library Building: to identify priorities in finishing the library interior, to establish a long-term maintenance plan

2. Technology: to review technology for current and future needs

3. Programs: this needs to be a top priority for the next few years

4. Finances: to articulate our needs, to prepare an equipment replacement plan, and to define the costs of new/existing Programs and Services.

Policies and Procedures

In 2012-13, a focused effort to revise the entire policy and procedure manual is underway, with the following sections updated and received Board approval: Constitution, Bylaws, Association membership, Board Chair, Board Vice-Chair, Board Secretary, Board Treasurer, Board Trustee, Board Past-Chair, Trustee Orientation, Trustee Conflict of Interest, Chief Librarian, Collection Development, Collection Management, Community Information Display Guidelines, Computer & Internet Use, Delegated Responsibilities, Facilities Management, Finance Committee, Fundraising Ream, General Complaints, Grant Writing Team, Nominating Team, Intellectual Freedom, Policy Making, Volunteer Coordination, Volunteer Training, Volunteer Management, Duty to Accommodate, Nominating Committee, Patron Behaviour, Unattended Children, Policy and Planning Committee.

Goals & Objectives for 2013/14

- to be established April 23, 2013 at a full-day workshop with the Board of Trustees and key community members

Provincial Grants Report 2013 – Pender Island Public Library 7