The Library's Contribution To The Community

Case Study in the Oshawa Public Library

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SOLS CONSULTANTS: Claire-Marie Paquette-Finlay, Peggy Malcolm, Peter Abbott

DATE COMPLETED: November 30, 1999

1. PURPOSE

"The Library’s Contribution to Your Community: a resource Manual for Libraries to Document their Social and Economic Contribution to the Local Community" was developed under the auspices of the Strategic Directions Council and the Southern Ontario Library Service by a Steering Committee representing the Ontario public library community. The basic premise of the manual is that libraries that are able to document and communicate the value of their contribution to the community are better placed to receive adequate and stable municipal funding. The Oshawa Public Library has chosen to use this resource manual to document the value of the public library and to communicate that value to municipal stakeholders.

The Library Board and staff of the Oshawa Public Library are convinced that Oshawans do want a good library system. It is the belief of the board and staff that the residents just need to be made aware of the library’s value to them - as a resource center, center of learning, entertainment and cultural center. The results of this study will help to develop a programme to raise the awareness of Oshawa residents about the value of the library system

2. BACKGROUND

The main pillar of the Oshawa library system is a large central library, the Robert McLaughlin Library. In addition to the McLaughlin library, there are two smaller neighbourhood branches: the Northview Branch in North Simcoe and the Jess Hann Branch, in the south end of Oshawa. The Oshawa Public Library used to operate a bookmobile which was withdrawn from service, in 1997, due to budget cuts.

The library has suffered in the past few years due to funding cuts. As a result of these funding cuts, in addition to the loss of the bookmobile, the book budget was reduced from $434,000 in 1991 to $200,000 in 1997. The full-time staff was reduced by four positions and the hours of operation at both branches were reduced to 40 hours a week.

The Library has recorded that the Oshawa Public Library has the lowest funding among the large libraries (those serving over 100,000 population) in Ontario. The library has turned to service clubs and organizations for additional funds. Fundraising efforts and the support of the McLaughlin Foundation, have helped in many ways. However, the Library Board and staff believe that it is now necessary to convince the residents of Oshawa about the value of the library. These residents will then be able to persuade the City of Oshawa to ensure an adequately funded library service.

3.1 Profile of the Library’s Services

The Oshawa Public Library serves a population of 139,000. While Oshawa serves as a center of commerce as well as health and social services within Durham Region, the main employer for the community is General Motors.

In 1997, the library had a membership of 66,167 registered adult members and 21,112 children. The Library serves a large multicultural community.

The main pillar of the Oshawa library system is a large central library, the Robert McLaughlin Library. The present building was opened in 1954 and houses a large adult library, audio-visual library and separate children’s library.

The Northview Branch opened in 1987, replacing a storefront branch in North Simcoe that had opened in 1968. The Jess Hann Branch, in the south end of Oshawa, opened in 1978.

The Library has a reciprocal borrowing agreement with the other public libraries in Durham Region since 1998.

The Library has an active Friends Group which annually raises thousands of dollars to buy new materials and equipment for the Library.

All three branches offer a variety of special and regular programmes for adults and children, such as author readings, workshops, travelogues, business seminars as well as Pre-school Story Time and Tales for Twos. The Multicultural Programme Series and the Adopt a Book campaign are the latest highlights of the special programming events

3.2 Focus for the Investigation

The Oshawa Public library chose to investigate the following three benefits as those most applicable to demonstrating the library’s social and personal value to the community:

• Information Services for Personal Decisions

• Multicultural Services

• Search for Employment

3.3 Community Resources

The following resources and organizations were used for this project:

• In the area of multicultural services: a focus group with leaders of selected multicultural groups in the community.

• In the area of information for personal decisions: focus groups with seniors, "young retirees," mothers of pre-school children and a teacher-librarian group.

• In the area of search for employment: key informant interviews with one Human Resources Development Canada contact person and users of the HRDC-funded workstations.

3.4 THE SCOPE OF THE INVESTIGATION

• A Library Users Survey: conducted in February 1999 and completed by 280 library users.

• Data collection by staff on circulation of material, in the areas relating to the three benefits.

• Data collection by staff on several aspects of multicultural services at the library.

• SOLS consultants held the Key informant interviews and the focus groups.

3.5 MAKING THE CASE

Key Findings:  Information for personal decisions

• The library’s provision of information for personal decision-making is very important to the community, as illustrated by the comments from the focus groups and the surveys.

• This collection is very well-used as illustrated by the high turnover rate, which is higher for materials than for the whole of the OPL collection 

 

Information Services for Personal Decisions
Information Collected	Source	Findings (1998 data)
		Items circ.	Turnover rate OPL overall = 3.46
circulation of how-to manuals	statistical sampling	1486 /yr	4.8
circulation of self-help material	statistical sampling	6,414/yr	4.9
circulation of information technology material	statistical sampling	8,648/yr	7.0
user perception of importance	community survey	66.4% use the library primarily for information on hobbies or personal interest 49.7% used the library materials to make a personal decision 50.2% think service is "very important"
community’s perception of importance	community survey	"My Grade 8 teacher told me: ‘You don’t need to know everything, you just need to know where to find it - in the library’. I always remembered that." (senior) "Materials in the library are always available to refer to again and again. I can take my time to read and learn. Information is so much easier to take in (this way) than in a lecture." (senior) "We are the privileged few; we were brought up with the tradition of valuing the library. That’s why we keep coming back." "I could not possibly afford to purchase the number of books I read in a year". (parent) "The library provides equity in the community"(teacher-librarian)

Key Findings: Multicultural Services

The multicultural services offered by the Library are valued and its users, representatives of the different ethno-cultural group, claim that the Library’s English collection contributes to the literacy of their community and helps them to integrate into Canadian society more quickly.

 

Multicultural Services
Information Collected	Source	Findings
Number of residents for whom Eng/Fr is not their mother tongue	Stats Can Census 1996	27,655
Number of immigrant	Stats Can Census 1996	44,110
Number of ethnic groups served in Oshawa	library statistics	18 groups: Chinese, Czech, Dutch, German, Hindi, Hungarian, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian Spanish, Ukrainian, Vietnamese, Arabic, Turkish, Serbian, Croatian, Japanese
Holdings of non-English/French materials	library statistics	SOLS Pool: 300 print titles 360 videos Library collection: 200 print titles 40 videos NL Multilingual collection: 2,250 print titles (adult) 350 print titles (children)
Circulation of books in languages other than English	library statistics	3,196/yr (1998)
Multicultural programs organized and/or sponsored by the library             Number of multicultural program hours	library statistics	1998: 10 programs 4 - Spanish 3 - Chinese 3 - Polish 1999: 9 programs 3 - Black culture 3 - Italian 3 - Indian subcontinent 1998: 20 hours 1999: 18 hours
Key Findings: Multicultural Services
Information required	Source	Findings
User satisfaction	survey	16% of respondents come to the library primarily to use the multicultural collection 83.4% of all respondents stated that it is important to them to have a collection in languages other than English or French 80% of all respondents support the Multicultural Programme Series
Community satisfaction	focus group	great appreciation of this service library has high profile with regards to this type of services offered in community core English collection and library programming in English are major asset for learning "about the area and how it works" "It takes a whole village to raise a child and the library is a significant part of that village."

 3.6 GENERAL SATISFACTION WITH THE LIBRARY

It is worth noting that the Library Users Survey comments elicited very valuable information about the overall opinion on Library services. Of the comments of the 79.3% who ranked the library service as being "too high or about right, eighty seven positive comments were recorded. They covered three main topics:

• 30% focused on the friendliness and helpfulness of the staff

• 23% commented that the library met their needs

• 20% were satisfied with the various services offered

Of the comments of the 14% who ranked the library service as being "too low", 137 comments were recorded. They covered the following needs for more services.

• 38% particularly focus on the need for "more" and more up-to-date selections

• 13% comment on the need for more computers and Internet access, and

• 10% relate to the hours of opening.

All comments support the Library’s claim that, if it received more financial support, it could do much more for its clientèle which is highly supportive of the library and its staff. The demand for a larger and better collection, for more computer equipment and staffing and for longer opening hours reflects these needs.

"Despite recent financial cutbacks I believe the library is still doing a great job. Unlike many others in this community, it should be valued above other diversions, such as expensive arenas. The branches need better PC equipment."

Key Findings: Search for Employment

The convenient hours of opening over and above the HRDC hours of business, evenings and weekends especially benefit students looking for summer employment

The free public access to the Internet is greatly appreciated, and shows great potential, as 61% of all respondents say they cannot access the Internet from home

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3.6 REPORT TO THE LIBRARY

A preliminary report on the results of the survey was presented to the Board, halfway through the pilot project.

A full report was made to the Library Board including all the findings, results of statistical sampling, responses to the community survey, write ups of key informant questionnaires.

3.7 COMMUNICATING THE RESULTS

The Oshawa Public Library has targeted Municipal Council and the community of Oshawa to receive the results of the study.

The high volume of comments from the Library User Survey indicates that most library users put a great value on the contribution of the library to the community. It is crucial that this message be effectively communicated to the Council and the community at large.

The Oshawa Public Library already uses the number of publicity brochures to advertise its services. It will be able to use the data resulting from this study to continue its campaign for support for better funding.

4.0 Observations by SOLS Consultants

Information from the surveys:

The interpretation of some of the statistics from the survey was difficult, due to the phrasing of the questions, especially when trying to cross tab some data in the area of multicultural services.

The numerous comments gleaned from the questionnaires made for surprisingly strong evidence in favour of the library.

General observations about the comment:

The Oshawa Public Library users are quite willing to share their suggestions and comments on the Library in generalist collections and services. This style of questionnaire elicited a large number of comments from all the pilot libraries, and especially from the Oshawa Public Library users.

The Library’s Contribution to your Community pilot project has pointed out the usefulness and relevance of the comments elicited by the survey questionnaire, when it comes to documenting the benefits of the Library to the community.

As a result, SOLS plans to develop a special database to record all individual comments in order to be able to crosstab them with other survey data. For example, we could eventually find out how what value certain sections of the collection have for respondents of a certain age.

Key informant questionnaires:

Comments elicited at the interviews did provide very useful information. As the interviews were conducted at the Internet terminals, other enthusiastic users asked if they could contribute their opinions.

4.3 Library’s Observations

Comments from the Chief Executive Officer - Jana S. Schuelke

I applied for the Oshawa Public Library to be one of SOLS case studies because our funding situation was so very grim. In 1998 our materials per capita budget was $1.88, and our per capita support was $21.70. We were the lowest funded large urban library in Ontario and one of the lowest in the country. The Oshawa Public Library Board was determined to make an indisputable case for better funding, and we felt the SOLS study documenting our Library's contribution to our community would be a great help in making a factual case for better support from our Council.

Our whole staff was involved with distributing the surveys to library users at all locations, which is undoubtedly why we had almost a 60% return rate. Our respondents also took the time to add many personal comments which make this study even more beneficial.

In the meantime, our Friends of the Library (at the recommendation of a Board Member who is also a member of Council) launched a very successful citizen support campaign for our 1999 budget, which was before we received even preliminary findings from the SOLS report. Our Friends conducted a phone-in campaign wherein each Councillor received 100 - 200 calls from his/her constituents urging support for the Oshawa Public Library's need for increased funding. As a result of this campaign, our 1999 budget was increased so that in 1999 our materials budget per capita has risen to $2.64 and our per capita support is now at $24.14.

Thus, some of the comments from the user survey conducted in February, 1999, have already been addressed. For example, we were able to increase our hours of service at our two satellite branches to their 1992 (pre Social Contract) level, and our Children's Department is now open the same hours as Adult Services. This was a change from two evenings of service to four. In addition, all branches now open at 10 a.m. and close at 9 p.m. if they have evening hours or 5 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays. Before this, we had confusing situations where at the Northview Branch, for example, we had three separate opening and closing times for five days of service. Our poor patrons never could remember when we would be opening and closing.

We raised our Fast Read loan period from 3 days to 5 days, which means that our patrons get nearly a full week to read best sellers with no charge. (There's a $1.00 a day overdue fee for these books). We do not count or charge for those days the library isn't open (Sundays during the year plus Saturday for two months in the summer). This service is only available at our Main Branch.

When the user survey was conducted last February, we only had three public internet stations in our system. Thanks to an HRDC funding grant to all of the public libraries in Durham Region, we now have ten stations and offer internet service at all branches. While we certainly could use still more stations, we are at a higher level of service now than last February.

We raised the circulation period for our nonfiction videos to one full week instead of two nights. We have a large video collection of over 6,000 items, and nearly two-thirds of the collection are nonfiction. We do have some popular videos, but we are not in competition with local video stores and keep to our role as an information provider and education centre.

While this SOLS survey wasn't available for our 1999 budget proposal, I did have it for my year 2000 budget request, and I used it extensively. We are once again requesting a sizable budget increase mostly for upgraded IT equipment and material resources. After the citizen support campaign, which more or less forced Councillors to vote for our budget increase last year, the Library was told by Council that they would require a Five Year Business Plan to be submitted with our 2000 proposal. In the past, we had such a plan for capital projects but not for our entire system. So, this was a major thing for our Board and myself to put together. I've quoted extensively from the SOLS study and even included a copy of the 16 page "Benefits Research at the Oshawa Public Library" with our submission.

For any libraries which are considering using SOLS consultants to help them with a similar study, I must highly recommend them. Don't hesitate for one minute! All three consultants - Claire-Marie Paquette-Finlay, Peggy Malcolm, and Peter Abbott - were a pleasure to deal with. They listened carefully to what we wanted done and then elicited the kind of information we needed. You will enjoy the process and end up with a wealth of invaluable ammunition.

5. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

5.1 On the study methods, how SOLS could assist your library in conducting a study "The Library’s Contribution to Your Community", contact:

Email
Telephone	416-961-1669 (press 0), 1-800-387-5765
Fax
SOLS Route/Mailing

5.2 On the Oshawa Public Library or a copy of the full report on the study:

Ian Heckford, CEO, Oshawa Public Library, (905) 579-6111 or iheckford@oshawalibrary.on.ca