FVRL 2011 Annual Report

AGASSIZ LIBRARY ALDERGROVE LIBRARY BOSTON BAR LIBRARY BROOKSWOOD LIBRARY CHILLIWACK LIBRARY CITY OF LANGLEY LIBRARY CLEARBROOK LIBRARY FORT LANGLEY LIBRARY GEORGE MACKIE LIBRARY HOPE LIBRARY LADNER PIONEER LIBRARY MAPLE RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY MISSION LIBRARY MOUNT LEHMAN LIBRARY MSA CENTENNIAL LIBRARY

annual report MURIEL ARNASON LIBRARY MURRAYVILLE LIBRARY PITT MEADOWS PUBLIC LIBRARY TERRY FOX LIBRARY TSAWWASSEN LIBRARY WALNUT GROVE LIBRARY WHITE ROCK LIBRARY YALE LIBRARY YARROW LIBRARY

WHITE ROCK LIBRARY Photo by Albert Normandin

MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR & CEO

Building a Better Library System Fraser Valley Regional Library (FVRL) is a network of 24 libraries serving 15 communities across the Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland.

Each location provides a group gathering place, an oasis of learning and a venue for community activities. FVRL recognizes the important role that libraries play in people’s lives. In 2011, we experienced both change and growth as we worked to meet the evolving needs of our customers and communities.

New Technologies Technological innovation is one area where FVRL continues to improve service to our customers. In 2011, we started replacing barcodes with Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tags. This system will make it easier for customers to check out and return library materials. FVRL also strategized new ways to communicate to the public through electronic media. We grew our social media presence and started the transition to digital displays in our libraries. The new displays will keep customers informed about library happenings and minimize paper-based promotions.

Donor Relations In 2011, FVRL embarked upon a new donor relations strategy. This program aims to build relationships with current and potential donors, and will enhance system-wide fundraising and events. Adding online giving through CanadaHelps provides customers with a simple and convenient way to give back to the library.

FVRL received a historic donation of art from Mona Allister by her late husband, nationally acclaimed Canadian artist William Allister. This generous gift included 11 paintings from the artist’s International Collection. The paintings will hang in FVRL libraries, in fulfillment of the artist’s wish that the public enjoy these creative works that brought him so much pleasure.

Advocacy and Leadership The year 2011 saw increasing economic pressures facing the provincial government. FVRL board members responded by working with their local councils to defend the library. The councils passed a resolution impressing upon the province the tremendous value received by investing resources in the library. Board members also sought government support for improving technology and Internet bandwidth for less populated regions of the province.

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MESSAGE FROM THE BOARD CHAIR & CEO This was also the year that two FVRL board members were honoured for local and regional leadership. Mayor Peter Fassbender of the City of Langley and Councillor Grant Ward of the Township of Langley received the BC Library Trustees Association’s distinguished Super Trustee Award. Mayor Fassbender also received the esteemed Nancy Bennett Award. This honour recognizes the mayor’s role in influencing the provincial government to continue funding collaborative services of the BC public library community.

Building Communities In 2011, we continued to build stronger communities in partnership with local agencies, school districts and businesses. FVRL entered into an agreement with Abbotsford School District #34 and the City of Abbotsford to operate a joint school and public library at Abbotsford Collegiate. The new facility is scheduled to open in November 2012.

The Future Fraser Valley Regional Library strives to meet the needs of residents in all the communities we serve. The library is a vital community resource for literacy, recreation and informed decision making. We look forward to the years ahead as our libraries continue to be places where great ideas happen and where people connect with the information that will transform their lives.

PETER FASSBENDER Mayor of the City of Langley and 2011 FVRL Chair

ROB O’BRENNAN FVRL Chief Executive Officer

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HISTORY

A Proud Legacy The idea of bringing the library to the rural population in BC began with a 1927 province-wide survey conducted by the Provincial Public Library Commission. The survey’s key finding was that large administrative library districts should be created to serve rural communities that could not afford to provide library service on their own. These districts would rely on cooperation and resource-sharing between municipalities and school districts.

Based on this recommendation, the Commission sought funding to carry out an initial trial project. The Carnegie Corporation of New York awarded a $100,000 grant to establish and maintain a rural library project for five years. The library’s first director, Dr. Helen Gordon Stewart, went about organizing the district, selecting books, hiring staff and purchasing a truck suitable for use as a book van.

The Fraser Valley Book Van project covered an area of approximately 2,600 square kilometres and contained 24 separate governing bodies.

Operating in conjunction with local libraries located in the larger towns throughout the Valley, the Book Van made its first public appearance in July of 1930. Stopping at grocery stores, schoolhouses and gas stations, the van visited rural residents from Hope to Ladner with books displayed along its outside shelves.

When the Carnegie funds were exhausted, Fraser Valley residents were asked to vote whether they wished to support the library through local taxes. Twenty of the original 24 areas voted “yes.” The resources of the Carnegie rural library project were turned over to the new Library Board of Management on September 28, 1934, at a ceremony in Chilliwack.

BACKGROUND

Who We Are FVRL is the largest public library system in British Columbia. We serve over 680,000 people through 24 community libraries.

We are a hub for community connections and culture. With a mission “to connect people to the world of information and ideas,” we play a prominent role in communities throughout the Fraser Valley.

FVRL’s customer base includes all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds. To our diverse customers, we offer free • access to popular and relevant materials through a “floating collection” of over 1.3 million items; • information and referral services delivered by knowledgeable staff; • programming that reflects community priorities and interests, including some presented in collaboration with community partners; and • 24/7 online services, including access to eBooks and other online resources.

FVRL is governed by a board of directors and financially supported by our member municipalities. Our board members are elected officials of our member municipalities. We are funded by our member municipalities and through a Government of BC operating grant.

FVRL has created unique cost-saving partnerships with its member municipalities.

Operating expenses are kept low through shared centralized purchasing, administrative and programming services. Staffing, collections, information technology (IT) and other library service costs are shared between member municipalities and apportioned through a member-created funding formula. For example, cost savings are realized by having a centrally based IT department providing stable and secure IT infrastructure for the 24 libraries and administrative centre. IT, like all departments, is constantly seeking opportunities and solutions to enhance IT services to both customers and staff.

BACKGROUND

FVRL’s buildings, with the exception of the Administrative Centre, are planned, owned and maintained by the municipalities they reside in. Each of our libraries has its own local flair — reflecting the unique characteristics of the communities they serve. Operating and services agreements between FVRL and its member municipalities outline who is responsible for each of the various aspects of operating the libraries.

FVRL maintains a highly trained, friendly and dedicated staff. We are focused on providing excellent customer service. We develop our staff by offering various career development initiatives and education opportunities, including support for staff attending programs such as Library Technician and Masters of Library Information Sciences.

Our Mission To connect people to the world of information and ideas.

Our Vision To be an innovative organization that is recognized as a vital community destination and resource for literacy, recreation, and informed decision-making.

Our Values • • • • •

community development universal access respect for diversity respect for staff collaboration and partnerships • innovation and risk-taking

THE SYSTEM

The Strength of the System The FVRL system is a partnership between government, library staff and the public. It is a framework that allows municipalities to share resources and offer services in a way that is efficient and cost effective. The FVRL system celebrates the special character of each library in each community. At the same time, each is part of a wider network that links our customers with information and resources that are both local and global in scope.

In this way, we are fulfilling our mandate — to connect people to the world of information and ideas.

FVRL Staff FVRL employs about 380 dedicated staff members. These include the highlyskilled and helpful people you see at your library every day — librarians, technicians, circulation staff and student pages. The library also employs administrative staff to manage the organization’s daily operations. FVRL fosters staff by encouraging innovation, collaboration and diversity.

The FVRL Administrative Centre The Administrative Centre is the main hub of FVRL’s day-to-day operations. Located centrally in Abbotsford, the “AC” houses the system’s administrative offices, information technology, shipping and outreach services.

THE SYSTEM FVRL Local Governments • • • • • • • •

City of Abbotsford City of Chilliwack Corporation of Delta Fraser Valley Regional District Village of Harrison Hot Springs District of Hope District of Kent City of Langley

• Township of Langley • District of Maple Ridge • Metro Vancouver (Barnston Island) • District of Mission • City of Pitt Meadows • City of Port Coquitlam • City of White Rock

The 2011 FVRL Board FVRL is governed by a board of directors. Board members are elected officials of its member municipalities.

• Coun. Jordan Bateman (Langley Township) • Director Bill Dickey (FVRD) • Mayor Peter Fassbender (Langley City) • Coun. Helen Fathers (White Rock) • Coun. Simon Gibson (Abbotsford) • Coun. Terry Gidda (Mission) • Coun. Ken Huttema (Chilliwack) • Coun. Linda King (Maple Ridge)

• Director Gayle Martin (Metro Vancouver) • Coun. Bob Perry (Harrison Hot Springs) • Coun. Anne Peterson (Delta) • Coun. Ron Smith (Hope) • Coun. John Van Laerhoven (Kent) • Coun. Deb Walters (Pitt Meadows) • Coun. Michael Wright (Port Coquitlam)

The FVRL Brand The FVRL identity symbolizes the diversity of our library branches, as well as the unity of the system as a whole. The logo’s modular design reflects the library’s evolving role in the community as we move further into the Digital Age. Interchangeable, brightly coloured blocks create limitless combinations and possibilities. Drawing on systems such as semaphores, Braille and many others, the modular blocks reflect the modern library’s role as a conduit of information — not just in print but also in electronic form.

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THE SYSTEM

ABBOTSFORD A. Administrative Centre 1. Clearbrook Library 2. Mount Lehman Library 3. MSA Centennial Library BOSTON BAR 4. Boston Bar Library CHILLIWACK 5. Chilliwack Library 6. Yarrow Library DELTA 7. George Mackie Library 8. Ladner Pioneer Library 9. Tsawwassen Library

HOPE 10. Hope Library KENT AND HARRISON HOT SPRINGS 11. Agassiz Library LANGLEY CITY 12. City of Langley Library LANGLEY TOWNSHIP 13. Aldergrove Library 14. Brookswood Library 15. Fort Langley Library 16. Muriel Arnason Library 17. Murrayville Library 18. Walnut Grove Library

PORT COQUITLAM

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M

21

8 9

19 18

7 DELTA

MAPLE RIDGE

T PIT OWS D EA

15 LANGLEY

LANGLEY CITY WHITE ROCK

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16 TOWNSHIP 12 17 14 13

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THE SYSTEM 4 MAPLE RIDGE 19. Maple Ridge Public Library

BOSTON BAR

MISSION 20. Mission Library PITT MEADOWS 21. Pitt Meadows Public Library PORT COQUITLAM 22. Terry Fox Library

YALE

WHITE ROCK 23. White Rock Library

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YALE 24. Yale Library

HOPE HARRISON HOT SPRINGS

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DISTRICT OF KENT

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MISSION

5

20

ABBOTSFORD

1 3 A

CHILLIWACK

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THE SYSTEM CITY OF

ABBOTSFORD Population: 136.123 • Clearbrook Library • MSA Centennial Library • Mount Lehman Library TOWNSHIP OF

LANGLEY

Population: 103,793 • Aldergrove Library • Brookswood Library • Fort Langley Library • Muriel Arnason Library • Murrayville Library • Walnut Grove Library DISTRICT OF

MAPLE RIDGE CORPORATION

OF DELTA Population: 100,541 • George Mackie Library • Ladner Pioneer Library • Tsawwassen Library

Population: 75,051 • Maple Ridge Public Library CITY OF

CHILLIWACK Population: 78,783 • Chilliwack Library • Yarrow Library CITY OF PORT

COQUITLAM 12

Population: 56,451 • Terry Fox Library

THE SYSTEM DISTRICT OF

CITY OF

Population: 36,684 • Mission Library

Population: 19,102 • White Rock Library

WHITE ROCK

MISSION

CITY OF

LANGLEY Population: 25,526 • City of Langley Library CITY OF

PITT MEADOWS Population: 18,1611 • Pitt Meadows Public Library DISTRICT OF KENT SERVING THE VILLAGE OF HARRISON

HOT SPRINGS Population: • 6,103 (Kent) • 1,594 (Harrison Hot Springs) • Agassiz Library

DISTRICT OF

HOPE

Population: 6,269 • Hope Library fraser valley regional district:

YALE

BOSTON BAR

Population: 186 • Yale Library

Population: 860 • Boston Bar Library

13 All population figures are estimates based on recently reported statistics.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW

2011 Achievements Fall Program Guide September – December 2011

 Celebrate Diwali  Read to Your Child  Online Resources and eBooks Plus events and programs at 24 fvrl locations!

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homework help FVRL Fall 2011 Program Guide

www.fvrl.bc.ca

New Program Guide FVRL’s first program guide was published in September. The free guide will come out three times per year and highlight the library’s many programs and services. The guide is available at all FVRL libraries and other locations throughout the community. An online version can be found at www.fvrl.ca.

Find It at FVRL FVRL introduced the Find It campaign in September’s Fall Program Guide. The overarching theme will have a sub-theme that changes with every guide, such as Homework Help, Your Next Project, Summer Fun, and more. The theme allows FVRL to strategically plan and market library programs, events and services.

William Allister Artwork Donation A total of 11 paintings, including the entire International Collection painted by the acclaimed Canadian artist William Allister, were donated to FVRL by his widow Mona Allister. These exceptional paintings, valued at approximately $100,000, will move to their permanent homes in FVRL’s various branches in late 2012.

read for life

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Read for Life In March, the Read for Life campaign began to raise public awareness about the importance of adult literacy. FVRL produced a short film about adult literacy, added materials to the adult learning collection and teamed up with local literacy organizations. Bus and radio ads were used to help remove the stigma associated with low literacy skills and to invite adult learners to the library for help with reading and writing.

THE YEAR IN REVIEW New Catalogue A new socially minded catalogue powered by BiblioCommons was launched in April. This new catalogue offers customers a more interactive online library experience. Some of the impressive features include the ability to contribute ratings and reviews, create and share favourites lists and get personalized recommendations.

Summer Reading Clubs The kids, teens and adult Summer Reading Clubs had record enrollment with 14,444 participants — a six per cent increase over the previous year.

This fun program offers clubs for all age groups and promotes the love of reading, along with exciting summer entertainment and prizes.

All Aboard for Kindergarten All Aboard for Kindergarten celebrated its fiveyear anniversary with a 30 per cent increase in enrollment of kindergartners over the previous year. This innovative program is delivered in partnership with nine Fraser Valley school districts and supports kindergartners’ pre-reading skills, encourages family reading and increases awareness of the public library.

Reading Link Challenge (RLC) Reading Link Challenge turned 10! This everpopular program grew by two participating school districts for a total of 15 school districts in British Columbia and Washington State. RLC was designed by FVRL for students in Grades 4 and 5, and is delivered through partnerships with nine other library systems and two BC universities. It celebrates the “sport” of reading by promoting literacy, teamwork and camaraderie.

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FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

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MAPLE RIDGE PUBLIC LIBRARY Photo by Albert Normandin

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS

Statement of Operations and Accumulated Surplus Year ending December 31, 2011, with comparative figures for 2010:

revenue Member assessments Fine revenue Other library-based revenue Federal government grants Provincial government grants Other donations and grants Return on investments

expenditures Salaries and benefits Library materials Operating expenses Library Interlink Amortization of tangible capital assets Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets

2011 budget

2011 actual

2010 actual

19,804,098 595,230 382,998 9,285 1,447,672 95,106 38,000

19,761,553 569,254 509,370 9,285 1,489,840 — 43,738

18,533,970 554,111 389,425 9,500 1,375,778 116,719 24,677

22,372,389

22,383,040

21,004,180

15,562,600 403,446 2,760,609 135,000

15,477,019 762,140 2,806,103 129,972

14,655,592 637,814 2,645,896 126,563

3,046,459

3,046,459

3,033,590

—

—

368,239

21,908,114

22,221,693

21,467,694

annual surplus (deficit) accumulated surplus, beginning of year

464,275

161,347

(463,514)

10,393,388

10,393,388

10,856,902

accumulated surplus, end of year

10,857,663

10,554,735

10,393,388

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DONORS

Our Thanks!

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Abby CAP Network — Abbotsford Community Services Agassiz-Harrison Lions Club Agassiz Library Society — Friends of the Library Mona Allister Eleanor Annis Councillor Jordan Bateman Krystyna Bielecka Maria Christow Terry Davies Mary Anne Day Delta Friends of the Library Delta Low Vision Group Mrs. Gurcharan Dhillon Daljit Didhu Dr. Lloyd & Kay Chapman Charitable Foundation Vilma D’Souza Mr. S. Dal Edworthy Envision Financial — Yarrow Branch Excel Career Institute First West Credit Union — Langley First West Credit Union — Yarrow Fraser Valley Indo Canadian Business Association Friends of the Abbotsford Libraries Friends of the Chilliwack Library

Friends of the Terry Fox Library Councilor Terry Gidda Balbir Gill Raymond Goddard Ilene Grant Edna Graves Vern Hansler Ernie Harder Harrison Hot Springs Preschool Jo-Anne Harrison Adelaide Heppner Mr. R. A. Holroyd HSM Mobile Truck Repair Joy Izan Ardis Janzen Mary Patricia Kelly Khalsa Diwan Society of Abbotsford Councilor Linda King Sophie Klassen Elinor Knight Mary Krause Arlene Kropp Pat L’Orange Marcy Lui Lois MacKenzie Malwa Auto Repair Maple Ridge Better Breathers Club Maple Ridge City Council Beta Sigma Phi Barbara Mason Beverly McLaughlin

Mission Friends of the Library Marsi Neufeld Councilor R. A. Perry Mike and Vicki Ray Remax Realty — Abbotsford Shelley Reid Edward Richardson Joette S. Rooney Rotary Club of Haney Mr. & Mrs. H. Earl Rowe Helen Schoenbach Ricky Skene Annette Strom Eric A. Strom Ken and Kathryn Swalwell Karin Thomas United Way of the Fraser Valley Lynn Vandevelde Richard Von Kleist Linda Watson Edith Weaver Mary-Lee Webster Lara West Barbara White White Rock Philosopher’s Café Jill Wilchek Jean Wilkinson Shirley Wilson WJ Mouat Secondary School Councilor Michael Wright Ken Wuschke

TERRY FOX LIBRARY, PORT COQUITLAM Photo by Albert Normandin

Fraser Valley Regional Library Administrative Centre 34589 DeLair Road Abbotsford, British Columbia v2s 5yi Telephone: 604-859-7141 Toll free (within bc): 1-888-668-4141