Powell River Public Library is proposing a 1.2 per cent increase in its operating budget in the coming year, an increase below the national inflation rate.
Providing the library’s 2015 budget presentation at the City of Powell River finance committee meeting, December 11, Terry Noreault, chief librarian, said the highlight in 2014 was the passage of the library referendum after 29 years of trying.
He said during the past year the library has been working on technology changes to increase efficiency. He added that efforts are also being made to move staff members away from administrative tasks and toward working with the public.
“That is the highest value for us, answering questions and helping people use technology and helping run programs,” he said.
An old photocopier has been replaced and there have been upgrades to the technical infrastructure in the facility. The library has moved toward digital media. Noreault said it is a small part of the library’s budget but it is growing rapidly.
Noreault said access to books is still the main part of the service provided by the library but over the last 10 years that has been changing rapidly and will continue to change. But, print books are still an important part of the library’s collection.
Programming for children is an important component of the library’s function and a personal favourite for Noreault. He said on Wednesday mornings, when he sees 25-plus children coming for storytime, they are all leaving with books that have been checked out.
“Pre-school children are developing a habit of literacy,” he said. “Those books going home are read to them and that’s the most important part of literacy.”
Activity statistics in 2013, the most recent complete year of operation, show there were 6,187 library cardholders in Powell River. There were 124,532 in-library visits.
“There are almost 10,000 visits per month,” Noreault said. “A device at the door counts people when they come through. It’s a real number and it’s a large number.”
There were 179,976 physical items in circulation from the library and most of those are print books. There were 16,442 electronic items in circulation. The library recorded 13,231 public computer sessions and 3,052 interlibrary loan requests.
In terms of programming, there were 179 adult programs serving 4,469 patrons and 158 child and teen programs serving 4,035 patrons.
Plans for the coming year include preparing for the new library, continued improvements in operational efficiency, a new collective bargaining agreement and updating staff technology.
The proposed library budget for 2015 is $929,818, increasing from $919,026 in 2014. Labour cost proposed for 2015 is $710,269, up from $702,300 in 2014. This is a 1.1 per cent increase. Collections, at $109,776, is down 0.4 per cent from 2014.
In terms of revenue, the proposed city grant for 2015 is $553,913. The proposed regional district grant is $234,987. There are additional grants from the province, Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation, plus other sources. The city’s stake in 2015 will be slightly less than 60 per cent of the overall library budget.
