On September 18th, the Ministry of Heritage, Sport, Tourism and Culture Industries released the form for “One Week Survey of Public Library Use”; a survey better known as the “Typical Week Survey”. This information is collected during a week without a statutory holiday in October, November or the first part of December. The information collected […]
SOLS and OLS-North would like to congratulate the following recipients of the Kimberley Foundation’s Caring for Communities: Pandemic Flash Fund grants: Lanark Highlands PL Home Delivery Services Magnetawan FNPL Bike Bookmobile Temagami FNPL Delivering Safe & Healthy Services through E-books Township of Cavan Monaghan PL Learning Trails Tweed PL Take Home Activity Packs In early […]
As public libraries across Ontario begin to reopen, procedures are being put into place to minimize risks to staff and patrons. A big part of the reopening plans is implementing a safe way to accept library materials returned by patrons and bring them back into circulation. Throughout Ontario, many libraries are quarantining returned materials for […]
Le français suit l’anglais. Over the past few months, we have all been inundated with news, best practices, and evolving information about COVID-19, and how to protect ourselves and others. In the context of library spaces, directives and suggestions for keeping staff and patrons safe come from various sources: the provincial government, local health units, […]
Updated: September 4, 2020 | Mise à jour: 4 septembre 2020 Le français suit l’anglais. This blog is meant to be an overview of the legislation related to Emergency Orders and Declared Emergency Leave. Given the complexity of the legislation, for further clarification, please consult with your own legal advisors. I think that we […]
Le français suit l’anglais. It appears that library programs will continue to be offered in virtual formats for some time. Virtual formats bring their own challenges, especially around copyright permissions. A recent blog posted on the Association for Library Services to Children (ALSC) website, titled “Pausing to Talk about Copyright” got me thinking about virtual […]
Like every other organization in the world, public libraries are frantically trying to plan for a future that is still very uncertain. Not only do we not know when we’ll get the green light from Provincial and local officials to re-open our buildings, we don’t know what it will look like when we do open […]
I hope that this posting finds you all well as you continue to adjust to the current situation! With branches closed, many patrons have turned their focus to digital collections. For some this is nothing new, but the stats certainly show that usage has increased significantly. For some patrons, this time has allowed them to […]
André Lépine is a Skills Development Advisor, Cataloguing and Collections at Ontario Library Service–North. As Ontario’s Declaration of Emergency remains in effect and libraries remain shuttered across the province, libraries are rapidly adapting their services, programs, and collections to the virtual environment in order to continue to meet community needs. Collections in particular are well-suited […]
As Ontario’s State of Emergency continues, and its list of essential services shrunk, additional workplaces have shut down, leaving countless workers, including those in public libraries, laid off, put on temporary leave, redeployed, or working from home. Obviously, none of these is an ideal situation for those workers whose jobs are designed to provide service […]