|
Item |
Comments |
|
Accreditation |
Brockville - reported that it took
library over a year to prepare for the accreditation process. The
council was very responsive to the library being accredited
because they are familiar with the concept of accreditation.
Fort Erie – feels that accredited status was a key factor in
the library’s receiving $30,000 in Ministry funding for the Kids
Quest program.
Grand Valley - Completed re-accreditation review.
Marmora “acquired” the Deloro branch with amalgamation and
board is now reconsidering how to serve that community, especially
when there are more people in another part of the municipality who
would like library service in some form. The board is exploring
contracts for service with neighbouring libraries rather than
opening more branches.
Tay Township
board evaluated their library service, using the 40 mandated
Guidelines, as part of their background work for planning.
|
|
Amalgamation/Post-Amalgamation
Issues
|
Norfolk - has caught up with Pay
Equity.
Lambton - is being restructured, several years after
amalgamation, and is regionalizing their 27 branches.
Tay Township - since amalgamation in 1994 continues to operate
three branches in three communities that are 10 miles from each
other. The Council has yet to endorse a proposal to rebuild a
branch in one of the communities. The library was successful in
running a wrap-up summer reading event in one location only by
bussing in children from the other branches.
Whitewater
– No savings have been realized from amalgamation and the library
board is having funding problems. There is a possibility that one
of the branches may have to be closed. |
|
Advocacy |
Orillia - as a result of discussions
at the last Trustee Council meeting, Board wrote to their MPP and
The Ministry to advocate on behalf of SOLS. Other libraries who
have written to MPPs are discouraged by their standard response.
Despite the type of response from MPPs, it was acknowledged that
“repetition builds recognition.
Ramara
- Board has planned a series of “good
news” presentations to Council. |
|
Boards |
Cornwall
- has a good board, and good reps from council. |
|
Budgets |
Brant County - service contract
with has been terminated.
Cornwall - is trying to establish a permanent budget
with Municipal council.
Guelph - 5% budget increase.
Owen Sound - 8% budget increase.
Waterloo - 13% budget increase was approved.
Welland – having difficulty getting shared costs on the
new library/city hall so library will hold off on submitting
budget until more data is available.
West Grey - 3% budget increase.
Woodstock -
budget passed with no cuts. |
|
Celebrations |
Brantford - has a new CEO – Rose
Vespa.
Chatham-Kent has a new CEO – Kathryn Goodhue.
Huron - larger branches are now open Sundays.
Lambton
- celebrated the official opening of the new Wyoming Branch
on Saturday, Oct. 23. |
|
Circulation |
Killaloe – automation project is
now 75% complete.
Uxbridge –
polling
booth in the library during election increased impact on
circulation. |
|
Collections |
East
Gwillimbury –
instituted voluntary charge for video insurance. |
|
Community Development |
Brantford is seeing a boom in
the community, with various new industries locating in
town.
Fort Erie – Kids Quest - innovative
program for school age children Tuesday through Thursday
after school; program includes homework help, games,
sports, crafts and social activities; high school
students can fulfill their community service hours and
seniors are invited to assist youngsters with reading and
crafts; snacks are also served. FEPL also runs
“Community Heartbeat” health programs and has an agreement
with the Greater Niagara Music Appreciation Society who
pay for many of the musical programs at the library.
Hamilton – hired a grad student to study the
results of Summer Reading Program to determine if the
program is actually achieving the results intended; there
will be a presentation at the Super Conference.
Welland
–
French Genealogy Society (Welland Chapter) will move their
collection to the new library. |
|
Demographics |
St. Catharines - faced
with an aging population in one part of the city and
enormous growth in another; in need of better
library service.
Brampton
– exponential growth in southeast corner points to
need for a new branch. |
|
Development Charges |
Mississauga –
completed its review of the Development Charges Act,
and developed a 10-year plan for facilities and
collections to reflect the projected population
growth and demographic shifts. |
|
Early Years |
Perth Union
- has been tutoring in Reading Readiness.
|
|
Facility Maintenance |
Addington Highlands -
two branches were made wheelchair- accessible
through last year’s Trillium grant; in the Flinton
branch, a ramp was added to the side of the
building, with access through a new door at the back
of the building, resulting in a second exit from the
building.
Barry’s Bay – The library board has had exterior
directional library signs made up by an Ottawa
company.
Bruce County - Safety Bylaw Officer for the
county reviewed all 18 branches and listed safety
issues and who is responsible for correcting them.
Note: buildings are owned by the municipalities and
not the county.
Haliburton County - library board is responsible
for services and collections, but the local
municipality is responsible for facilities. There
was a review of facilities as part of the library
needs assessment. The library branch is often the
only community resource, but many of them don’t meet
standards.
Hamilton – central library undergoing a review
as part of the Central Core Revitalization; library
has increased security following a stabbing outside
the library.
Killaloe – The library is housed in the
municipal building. There is a concern about safety
and staff working alone in the library. Suggestions
from other trustees included developing a policy to
always have two staff on duty in the library, asking
the community police for their ideas, and installing
a second phone line.
Lambton’s - Thedford Branch has been declared
structurally unsound due to a fire in a building
that shares a wall with the branch.
Marmora -a leak in the 7 year old addition
resulted in damage to books; continuing maintenance
is a problem, and easily put aside.
Middlesex - HQ building is being closed, and
will have to move.
Norfolk - branches are trying to catch up with
the requirements for barrier-free access.
Pembroke – The roof has been repaired.
Ramara Township – had a new facility built, but
use statistics to support the decision to keep
smaller branch open.
Renfrew – The basement meeting room has been
painted and a fan has been purchased.
Waterloo Regional
– Elmira branch will get an elevator. |
|
Facilities - New and upcoming |
Belleville
- new library has been planned kitty-corner to the
existing library. The facility will house a
Library, Galleries (the library has always had a
gallery) with parking facilities (it will be
multi-level to replace the parking lot where the
library will now be located. Some fundraising
will need to take place, but will be done through
professional fundraising rather than relying just
on the Friends group.
Brantford
has received approval to redevelop the third floor
for an additional 12,000 sq.ft. of space.
Potential cost is $4M.
Burlington
– of its 6 branches, 2 are undergoing major
building projects and consuming lots of resources;
Central branch had a 6 week shutdown in the summer
with another coming in the spring; grand
re-opening planned for summer 2005; Capital
campaign goal of $1, 234, 568 is 60% there; there
is also a major project in modernizing a community
centre and adding a new $2.2 million library that
will open in May 2005.
East Gwillimbury –
planning for a new branch.
Grimsby
– opened new library in the spring; increased
usage continues.
Guelph - Opened a branch last year in a joint
use community centre and has new branches
scheduled for 2005 and 2007. A new central library
is scheduled for 2008.
Haldimand –
opening the new Caledonia branch in September has
been all-consuming; board will shift attention to
the Hagersville branch; in future, all libraries
will be “disabled-friendly.”
Huron County
-
Bayfield Branch slated for improvement.
Milton –
is in need of a new library but town is suggesting
they build a branch before addressing a new
central library; town also needs a better Town
Hall.
Mississauga –
2004 saw MPL re-open 4 renovated branches and add
2 new branches.
Oakville –
Glen Abbey branch to close for renovation for 8
months - split vote decision.
Orillia
- planning for a new facility and would like to
remain in the downtown core. The Council is also
undertaking a multi-use recreation facility. The
Library Board is making presentations to
contracting municipalities on the issue of a new
facility.
Ottawa -
31,000 square foot South Keys branch is scheduled
to open fall 2005.
Perth Union
- new facility plans have fallen through. They
have been approached about an option to purchase
another site.
Petawawa
–
The newly renovated Petawawa P.L. held its
unofficial opening on Oct. 24, 2004 and opened to
the public on Nov. 2004. The facility size
increased from 6,000 to 12, 000 square feet,
serving a population of 15,000.
Pickering –
planning for development in the Seaton area.
Port Dover
- discussing a new facility (Norfolk). Capital
funds budgeted for 2008, but the Library Board is
looking to move it up.
Richmond Hill –
2
new facilities; expanded children’s area; also
combined project with school has new check out
system that provides faster and better tracking;
Grade 9 students come to the Public Library for
research orientation.
Springwater Township -
smallest of three branches is very close to an
elementary school and well used; needs to expand
this branch but various restrictions on how to
expand.
Tyendinaga Township
- library is being renovated. The library was
housed in the back of the old Town Hall. That
part has been demolished and a new addition to the
historic town hall was built – the library will
cover the entire building. Expected completion by
end of October. In the meantime, patrons have
been invited to use the neighbouring Deseronto
library.
Waterloo Regional
– new Lynwood branch is seeing increased
traffic and public internet stations are
well-used; staff will add one more computer; new
Ayr branch in North Dumfries was welcomed
by residents; circulation increased by 50% in the
first 2 months; hard work by branch staff and
Friends of the Library are credited with the
success of the new branch.
Welland –
construction of new library and City Hall is going
well and anticipating occupancy in March 2005l
library will move after March break childrens’
programs are completed; library address will be
50 Boardwalk – a special request to
council since entrance to library will be on the
canal side.
West Grey - Possible move to an old school to
replace 92 year old current library.
Whitby –
new library has received a nomination for the
Mowat award. |
|
Federation |
Many libraries had not decided, or were
indifferent, to join the Federation when the
Trustee Council meetings were held in October.
Now, more than 120 libraries have decided to join.
Some concerns were:
·
Costs and cost efficiencies
·
membership representation (eg. whose
voice is the one voice)
·
money to join for their size of
library
·
future direction of SOLS (because
they like the services)
·
not interested in turf wars or
politics but just wanted a “body” that would give
them the services they want/need
·
future of OLBA, as some libraries
talked about limited funds to belong to any
organizations; their money was directed to the
Federation, what would happen to OLBA?
·
concern that Federation will result
in duplication of services.
·
there is no labour voice.
·
too many unanswered questions.
Some felt that survey work should
come from the Federation. |
|
First Nations Libraries |
Six Nations
– has a reciprocal borrowing agreement with
the surrounding county libraries; feel this
is a good partnership, as students from
around the area use the historical
collection at Six Nations library.
|
|
Friends |
Champlain
Township
- interested in starting a friends group.
North Grenville and Ottawa both offered
assistance re their successful groups.
Chatham-Kent
- Friends Groups at 2 branches – Eriau and
Ridgetown.
Georgian Bay Township
- Friends
group is supporting the building of a new
Library in McTier.
Grand Valley -
Establishing
Friends group and creating a wish list for
fundraising; Friends group is collecting
Canadian Tire money. Canadian Tire has
agreed to the use of their logo in this
campaign and will also augment the CT money
collected with a discount on whatever is
purchased.
Guelph -
Establishing
a Friends group for fundraising.
Haliburton
- local
paper carried a three page article on the
Friends of the County library; Friends have
responded positively to the recent needs
assessment and are actively advocating for
better libraries in the county.
Mississauga –
FOL group continues to be a visible and
tangible support for library services and
projects each year.
Norfolk
- has a Friends group in one location, and
is hoping to develop them for the other 4.
North Grenville
- Friends had fundraiser at Rideau Woodlands
Ramble. FOL have been assisting greatly
with raising the profile of the library in
the community.
Quinte West
- Friends group recently celebrated
“contributing over $50,000 to the library”. |
|
Funding Development |
Barry’s
Bay
– Library
board needed to raise 75% of $60,000 to
fund an elevator for the disabled and a
fully accessible washroom (25% came from
the Trillium grant). The Board raised
funds through a sponsorship program with
several levels of donors. Donors who gave
$500 or over received a name plate.
Another activity was the sale of Christmas
cards with images donated by local artists
and photographers.
Gravenhurst
- hosted an antiques road show and invited
the MPP (as it was known that he had an
interest in antiques).
Haldimand –
moving to
the new Caleldonia branch brought the
realization that current holdings looked
bare in the beautiful, larger space, so
staff purchased some additional books at a
book warehouse to help to fill the
shelves. One of the purchases was a book
of Scottish Folk songs. An elderly patron
found the book while browsing one
afternoon and sat to read. It wasn’t long
before she was humming and singing some of
her favourite tunes. Soon she was
surrounded by children who settled in to
enjoy the impromptu concert. The lady
told her daughter about her wonderful find
at the library and how she had enjoyed
it. The daughter came into the library
the next day and donated $500 to the
library!
Head, Clara and Maria
– The sale
of a calendar with historical photos from
the area has been a successful fundraiser.
Killaloe
– A
musical revue will be held in the public
school in June 2005 as a joint fundraising
project with the Rainbow Valley Health
Centre.
Niagara-On-The-Lake
– classical golf tournament will kick off
the library’s Planned Giving program; half
of the proceeds will go to the development
program and half to a camp program for
children; library raises money for future
additions or for items that can’t be
funded with regular funding.
Pembroke
– A
“murder mystery” event held at the
library proved to be a successful
fundraiser. “Food for fines” has also
been a well-received program in which
patrons bring in non-perishable food items
in lieu of fines on overdue books.
Stirling
has, once again, undertaken a $5000
community fundraising effort among
individuals and businesses. For a $40
donation, the donor will receive a cloth
library bag with the name of the library
on it.
Welland –
Fundraising committee attempting to raise
$500,000+ for furnishings for the new
library; $65,000 pledged to date.
Whitby –
received $100,000 from Rotary for new
building.
Whitewater
– A
“Trivia Night” fundraiser was held. |
|
Governance |
Admaston-Bromley
– The
library board is having problems
recruiting new members.
Mississauga –
now
operating fully under Policy
Governance®.
Port Colborne
– became a “ward” of the city years ago;
board is paying $10,000 a year to retire
a loan; has no capital money but have
been working through a number of issues;
recently developed a Board Code of
Conduct using Regina’s as a model
and will tackle governance
policies next; they are hoping to
explore Policy Governance by the end of
the term; board is also looking for
public library surveys to determine who
is using the library and why; asked if
any boards had experience in sending
surveys with Hydro bills or holding
focus groups with a facilitator;
currently there is a “Have Your Say
Right Now” Station in the library where
patrons can tell a great library story.
Orillia
- Board members receive briefing reports
before meetings that give background
information, policy implications and
options for action; notes help to manage
decision making at the meetings.
Pembroke
– The
library board has been reviewing its
unattended children policy as a result
of an incident at the library.
Welland –
completed legislative requirements under
the Municipal Act for Library
Procurement. |
|
Grants |
Admaston-Bromley
– The
reduction of the federal Summer Career
Placements wage subsidy to 50% has
created hardship for the library and it
has been difficult to run summer
children’s programming. The library
board is using the $10,000 Trillium
grant for accessible washrooms.
Fort Erie
– received Ministry grant and private
donations, as well as funding from
Niagara Credit Union and Sears to
support Kids Quest program.
Head, Clara and Maria
– The
Trillium grant was used to renovate the
library.
Lambton
- received Trillium grants for special
collections, including books in the
Ojibway language, and books on CD and
DVD.
North Grenville
- received a Trillium Grant for $11,000
to upgrade children’s sections in two
libraries.
Waterloo Regional
– received a CAP grant to fund 2 CAP
youth workers; one will focus on
marketing the library and researching
government and small business web
resources; the second person will join
the staff in the winter to train staff
and public on web resources researched
in the fall. |
|
Guidelines |
West Perth
- Using Guidelines to help make case for
larger facility. |
|
Internet |
Admaston-Bromley
– The
Internet has caused less use of the
library by children.
Brampton
asking for input on what security
measures other libraries use and how
they control internet use in their
libraries.
Fort Erie
– uses Reservation Software which also
provides management with useful data
about Internet usage.
Haldimand –
uses Internet screens but no filtering.
Lincoln
– discussed filtering but felt it would
limit access to important information.
Niagara-On-The-Lake
– open carousel set-up allows staff to
observe Internet usage and IT staff
check hard drive cookies regularly;
new Dynix system allows access from
home too; library will be adding
express terminals.
North Grenville
- launched their website in April 2004
www.ngpl.ca
Oakville –
11-year-old prankster at central
branch accessed porn sites on the
computer. These were subsequently found
by a 6 year-old, whose mother complained
to a municipal councilor. While the
board was dealing with the issue, the
councilor went to national TV, but did
not tell the board. Board found out
just as a news segment was about to be
broadcast. Although there was
disagreement, the Board decided to leave
the status quo with more surveillance
and plan to equip 60% of computers with
filtering and screens. Filtered
computers are all in the children’s
area. No one is entirely happy but there
is a choice between filtered and
non-filtered access. A test period
extends to January 2005.
Welland –
patron threatened to sue the library
because he wasn’t given enough time on
the computers at the library. |
|
Interesting Ideas |
Admaston- Bromley
– A
“Patron of the Year” award is
presented annually during Public
Library Week. This began fourteen
years ago with a bequest from a former
patron.
Burlington
- while Central branch was closed in
the summer, Burlington Mall offered to
host the Summer Reading program.
Haldimand –
the
new Caledonia branch is on the
opposite side of the Grand river from
the old library site. Since few
seniors live on the “new” side of the
river, the library supports seniors
with a van that picks up seniors and
brings them to the library every two
weeks.
Ottawa -
“Every Kid a Card Campaign”
sponsored by Staples and Pizza Pizza.
4722 kids signed up, 2083 were new
registrations. This would be a good
program for any library.
Pembroke
- George Hodgkinson is Chair of
TV Ontario’s Advisory Council
Alumni, not the Marketing Alumni, as
stated in previous Notes. To book
Dudley the Dragon or Elliot the Moose,
please contact Angela Woollam,
Regional Councillor, Eastern Ontario
Advisory Council, TV Ontario at (613)
732-4425. The all-candidates meeting
for the federal election was held last
November in the library. A children’s
programme was given by library staff
at the Farmer’s Market during the
summer.
Stirling-Rawdon -
Some
of the money from last year’s Trillium
grant has gone into a Heritage
Genealogy Centre in the library. This
has proven to be very popular in the
community and there have been many
out-of-town visitors. |
|
Marketing |
Waterloo Regional
– library system is promoting the
migration to the new SIRSI on-line
catalogue with a bookmark
outlining the new features as well
as service interruptions; in
addition, a guide for the new
catalogue is being produced and
magnets have been ordered to
highlight the new program
identifier, the library’s new
name, website and online
catalogue; “Food for Fines”
allows patrons to donate food to
the food bank in lieu of paying
fines; 1 item is equal to $0.50. |
|
Municipal/Library
Relationship |
Two libraries expressed concern
about council not understanding
the relationship between the
Library Board and themselves.
They wondered if we were going to
do the Publication “Municipal
Councillors Public Library
Handbook” again.
Several suggested that a good way
to deal with council is to meet at
least 3 times – 1 money but 2
additional times (eg. thank you,
good news). Also suggested were
“talking points” around libraries,
eg. more people use libraries than
arenas and that libraries score
highly on surveys (eg. order is
usually police, fire, garbage and
libraries).
Also suggested that the library
board always have a representative
at every meeting of the municipal
council.
Kawartha Lakes –
municipal service centres in
branches are resulting in
increased circulation.
North Grenville
- has been lobbying during
municipal election for more
library support and as a result
received over $8000 additional
from municipality for children’s
materials. |
|
New Issues |
Champlain Township
- looking for ways to increase
Francophone readership.
North Grenville
- looking for research on library
service models, since municipality
is in a crunch for funding for the
municipal infrastructure overall.
Faced with question of keeping
branches open in inadequate
facilities.
Niagara-On-The-Lake
– Tourism and the Library - reports
that tourists using the library
often donate to the library.
This could be a possible topic for
research that FOPL could undertake. |
|
OLBA Update |
OLBA clarified its position on the
Federation and provided numbers on
libraries that have indicated that
they will join and reminded trustees
that nominations are open for CEO
and Trustee of the Year; reminded
trustees about the upcoming Super
Conference in February 2005. These
numbers are updated regularly on
OLSLIB listserv. |
|
One Book, One
Community |
Chatham Kent
-
initiated a One Book One
Municipality program, reading the
novel “Rush Home Road” by Lori
Lansens.
Hamilton
– 50,000 people read Crow Lake
in the “One City One Book” program.
Waterloo -
Participated in Word on the Street
and One Book One Community.
Waterloo Region
– read Lives of the Saints;
350 attended an author reading at
Elmira District Secondary School. |
|
Ontario Public
Library Week |
Note that First Nations Library
Week is in February 2005.
Caledon
– decided on Love Your
Library Month with several
activities including local artists
displaying work and local
celebrities playing “Scrabble with
the Stars.” |
|
Partnerships |
Bonnechere
–
Literacy Plus is partnering with
the library to provide tutor
training sessions. Tutors will
meet with students at the
library. Literacy Plus has been
providing a successful author
programme called “Literary
Tuesdays”, in which a different
author visits every Tuesday for
the month of July. Literacy Plus
plans to partner with the library
to change this program into an
Authors Festivals program and
extend it to children and
teenagers.
Haliburton County
- “Health for Life” program
donated books to the library. The
library also received a donation
of historical papers which will be
catalogued by the library.
Hamilton
– partnership with Hamilton Tiger
Cats gave 10,000 readers tickets
to TiCats game.
Niagara-On-The-Lake
– partnering with Chamber of
Commerce for wireless access
between downtown and the library.
Ottawa
- 'Step up and be counted'
Pedometer project working with
other service providers in the
city on a joint project to promote
walking and good health. Public
Health department is lead, since
they obtained a grant for the
program.
Ottawa -
partnering with TPL, Ministry of
Culture and Industry Canada on a
Virtual Reference Library French
interface.
Tyendinaga
- During renovation of the
library, patrons are able to use
the Deseronto library. The pool
materials that are usually at
Tyendinaga are being held at
Deseronto. |
|
Pay Equity |
Georgian Bay Township
- is compensating staff back to
1992, as a result of a Pay
Equity Review.
Muskoka Lakes
Township - library recently
completed a pay equity
settlement. As a result of
opening a new facility in Port
Carling, the library has staff
working full time. The library
is adopting the salary grid of
the municipality and matching
benefits.
Ramara
- pro-rates benefits for
part-time staff.
Welland –
Operating grant and pay equity
approved by Ministry of Culture.
NOTE:
Libraries may contact the Pay
Equity commission in order to
ensure that they are in
compliance with the Act with
respect to part time and full
time staff. |
|
Programming |
Head, Clara and Maria
– The library board has been
trying to encourage patrons to
visit the library on evenings
and Saturdays with paper tole
and craft programming and a
bridge night. “Cliff Hangers,”
a book club has been started
(the library is located in
Stonecliffe).
Ottawa -
Homework help staff going to
local high schools to teach how
to use subscription databases
that OPL subscribes to. Goal is
to promote better research
skills.
Prince Edward
- have renovated the Picton
Branch and now have a distinct
area called “The Teen Room”
housing the YA collection,
additional Internet computers,
board games, etc. A staff
person is now the YA
Coordinator. Picton is an old
Carnegie library and they used
the old technical services/CEO
area in the basement for the
Teen Room. Picton has an
elevator now at the back of the
library, with a new entrance.
This has allowed them to expand
the services to seniors – with a
grant, they have hired a seniors
coordinator to jumpstart the
program. |
|
Services |
Hanover -
Conducting a survey of
library services.
Huron County -
5 town libraries are now
open on Sundays. |
|
Staffing
Issues |
Burlington
– seeking to replace key
management personnel lost
over the summer to
Kitchener PL.
Clarington –
searching for new CEO.
Gravenhurst
- has a new part-time CEO.
Haliburton
– holding staff
training/recognition day
at Wigamog Inn.
Mississauga –
successfully negotiated a
1 year contract covering
its 500 CUPE employees.
Niagara-On-The-Lake
– CEO retiring; library
has received 30
applications for the
position.
Oxford County is in transition; CEO has left. The Board is looking at some structural
options.
Ramara -
CEO completed a
self-evaluation based on a
method used by the
Township. The Board then
reviewed and commented on
the evaluation. The CEO
is actively involved in
networking with other
organizations and groups
in the townships which
help the library to build
service.
Springwater
- undertaking a staff
evaluation process. The
evaluation of the CEO has
been completed by the
Board. The evaluation
focused on achieving what
has been outlined in the
strategic plan.
Uxbridge –
card sent to staff for
recognition of good
customer service.
West Grey -
Hired a full time
Children’s librarian.
Whitchurch-Stouffville –
CEO retiring. |
|
Strategic Planning |
East Gwillimbury –
started work on strategic
plan.
Haliburton
- has completed the
writing of a strategic
plan based on a needs
assessment. The greatest
challenge is the condition
of the branch library
buildings.
Kingston-Frontenac
- commissioned Jim
Morgenstern to work on a
service planning report.
The challenge for the
Board is to figure out how
to sort out the branches.
There are a number of very
small branches in the old
Frontenac County area, but
which seem to be very
important parts of their
communities. They may be
exploring using their
branches as depots, rather
than as full-service
branches.
Lincoln –
did survey in conjunction
with municipality.
Marmora
- was asked by the Council
to produce a 10 year plan
– one of the areas being
considered is to rethink
the use of non-fiction
materials – they are
considering changing from
their print information
resources to focus more on
electronic, leaving only
some recreational reading
non-fiction materials.
Mississauga –
conducted its first
telephone survey of users
and non-users in
conjunction with the
City’s Recreation and
Parks department.
North Grenville
- half way through their
Strategic Planning
process, with new Vision
and Mission Statements.
Oakville –
indicated they had been
part of the Recreation
Survey when the city was
doing a Master Plan.
Orillia
- has written a strategic
plan and is now preparing
an annual business plan.
Quinte West
- has been exploring ways
to serve the outlying
areas of their
municipality. There is a
new facility at Trenton,
and the Frankford branch
has seen increased
activity. A branch that
was located on the Trenton
Base was closed when the
building was no longer
available. Two other
branches were closed
shortly after
amalgamation. To sort
this out, the Board is
planning to survey the
community. One suggestion
was the return to a “books
by mail” program where
patrons request books from
their homes using the new
Web-based catalogue and
then having them delivered
to their community, or
perhaps to their homes.
Renfrew
– The library board is
trying to establish a
process for developing a
long term strategic plan.
The board is starting with
a
strengths/weaknesses/opportunities/threats
exercise.
Uxbridge –
beginning work on
Strategic plan.
Waterloo -
Doing strategic planning.
West Perth
- Doing planning with
SOLS.
Whitchurch-Stouffville –
contemplating work on
strategic plan and
exploring consultants. |
|
Summer Reading Program |
Waterloo Regional
– 1,086 children from
all branches
participated in the TD
Canada Trust Summer
Reading Program. |
|
Technology |
Brampton
– asking about Internet
use at other libraries.
Muskoka
Lakes
- has partnered with
Bracebridge to
jointly purchase servers
for their integrated
library system. The
servers are housed at
the Bracebridge
library and Muskoka
Lakes accesses the
servers through wireless
connections. Two other
libraries in Muskoka
District (Gravenhurst
and Huntsville) have
applied for grants in
order to purchase
additional servers and
expand the partnership.
Ottawa -
SMART library lending
pilot project with
reciprocal borrowing
between Ottawa
University, Carleton
University and OPL.
Ramara
- in the process of
installing Mandarin
integrated library
system.
St. Catharines
– upgrading system
software; also
consortium of utilities
in Niagara region is
laying fibre-optic cable
to be shared among
institutions.
West Grey -
All four libraries now
linked electronically. |
|
Volunteers |
Grand Valley -
Volunteer Action
Online website is
being hosted at the
library. |
|
Agenda Change |
TC#3:
has requested that the
tour of the library be
omitted to allow more
time for roundtable
with a section devoted
to Qs and As amongst
themselves.
Future Trustee Council
meetings will allow
for a tour immediately
before or after the
meeting, but will not
be part of the formal
agenda. The former
tour time (30 minutes)
will be added to the
roundtable time. |
|
Combined Training |
TC#1 -
find the agenda
already highly
charged, and found
it difficult to
envision a
training session.
TC#2
– willing to try a
training session
combined with a TC
meeting; will try
a Saturday meeting
in April 2005 to
accommodate this.
TC#3:
Did not wish to
combine Meeting
with training.
TC#4
- The group was
not interested in
a training session
following the next
TC meeting. It
was felt that this
was too much for
one day. They
were interested in
a trustee training
session on a
separate occasion.
TC#5 –
Yes, group is
interested in a
training session
combined with next
meeting.
TCl#6
- Interested in a
Board workshop in
the afternoon
(1-4).
TC#7 -
The group was
receptive to the
full-day Saturday
session.
TC#8 -
Those in
attendance agreed
to have a day long
meeting which
includes board
development
training.
However, only 5
libraries were
represented. |
|
Election of
Officers |
TC#1 -
Chair is Vince
Marchesano
(Norfolk); Vice
Chair- Stephanie
Murray (Lambton
County).
TC#2 –
Chair – Bonnie
Hauser (Haldimand
County); NO Vice
chair elected.
TC3 -
Chair: John
Corrigan (LE
Shore); Vice
chair: Doug
Cummings (Owen
Sound).
TC#4
-
Chair - Ann Dorion,
(Gravenhurst);
Vice Chair - Cathy
Dowd (Orillia).
TC#5 –
Chair
–
Brenda Carrigan
(Clarington);
Vice-Chair - Jane
Hilton (Whitby).
TC#6 –
Chair
– Jim Neill
(Kingston-Frontenac);
Vice chair - Bob
Woadden (Trent
Hills).
TC#7
- Patricia Waters-Holst
(Petawawa) was
elected Chair and
George Hodgkinson
(Pembroke) was
elected Vice
Chair.
TC#8
- Chair Lynne
Baxter (North
Grenville); no
Vice-chair
elected, due to
low attendance. |
|
Dates for Spring
2005 meetings
|
Trustee Council
1 - St. Thomas
area |
Saturday, April
23rd, 2005 |
Oxford County -
Ingersoll branch |
|
Escarpment Trustee
Council - Lincoln
area |
Saturday, April
23rd, 2005 |
Niagara-on-the-Lake |
|
Trustee Council 3
- Hanover area |
Monday, April
25th, 2005 |
Hanover |
|
Trustee Council 4
- Gravenhurst area |
Tuesday, May 3rd,
2005, 5:30
light dinner, 6:00
meeting start |
Barrie - to be
confirmed |
|
Trustee Council
5 - Oshawa area |
Saturday, April
30th, 2005 |
Markham - Angus
Glen branch - to
be confirmed |
|
Trustee Council
6 - Napanee area |
Saturday, April
23rd, 2005 |
Quinte West or
Belleville - to be
confirmed |
|
Trustee Council 7
- Petawawa area |
Saturday, April
30th, 2005 |
Renfrew - to be
confirmed |
|
Trustee Council 8
-Ottawa area |
Saturday, April
30th, 2005 |
Brockville or a
western OPL branch
- to be confirmed |
