GVPL 2021 Annual Report

2021 ANNUAL REPORT

Message from the Board Chair and CEO

We have experienced a lot of change at GVPL over the past two years. The pandemic provided an opportunity to rethink what it means to be a public library, and 2021 was a year of building bridges and accelerating transition.

During the year, we focused on reinstating services that were paused due to COVID-19 restrictions, navigating uncharted terrain to safely restore services and programs across our system. We also set in motion our 2021-2023 Strategic Bridging Plan, a series of directives that will steer us over the next two years, supporting our evolution.

We made changes to improve patron experience when using some of our most loved digital resources. And we looked to the future, releasing our Regional Service Delivery Plan, which builds upon GVPL’s 2010 Facilities Master Plan. We resumed discussions with the City of Victoria about the redevelopment of the Central Branch. And we planned for the transition into our newest branch in Esquimalt, which opened in late March 2022.

As we look back over the last year, we feel tremen dous pride in our staff – their flexibility, resilience, and professionalism cannot go unmentioned. They have continued to adapt, meeting every challenge, and working tirelessly as we reimagined and redefined what it means to deliver responsive library services while building a more accessible and inclusive library system.

As the well-known proverb states, ‘necessity is the mother of invention’ and opportunities to grow and improve are gifts that emerge from difficult times. While 2021 was marked by challenges, it was a year with many bright spots. In the following pages, we share some of the highlights of this past year.

Andy MacKinnon, Board Chair, 2021

Maureen Sawa, Chief Executive Officer

2021 Greater Victoria Public Library, Appointees by Municipality

Central Saanich Councillor Bob Thompson

Colwood Councillor Doug Kobayashi

Esquimalt Councillor Jane Vermeulen

Highlands Councillor Karel Roessingh

Langford Dianna Seaton Councillor Matthew Sahlstrom

Metchosin Councillor Andy MacKinnon (Chair)

Oak Bay Councillor Andrew Appleton

Saanich

Annemieke Holthuis (Vice Chair)

Emmy Beaton

Matthew Boyd Joy Davis

Councillor Karen Harper

Victoria Councillor Marianne Alto Deborah Begoray Tzu-I Chung* Elysia Glover Kathy Santini Ramesh Ranjan**

View Royal Councillor Gery Lemon

The library branches of the Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) are located on the traditional, ancestral, and unceded lands of the Songhees, Esquimalt, and WSANEC Peoples, whose historical relationships with the land continue to this day.

* Served January to April 2021.

** Served September to December 2021.

Digital Literacy and

The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight on significant, pre-existing challenges related to disparities in digital access, both in terms of con nectivity and the skills required to use technology. Helping patrons get, and stay, connected continued to be a major focus of our work during 2021.

From delivering virtual presentations on our digital collections to groups like the Capital City Volunteers and Victoria Immigrant and Refugee Centre, to working with organizations such as Saanich Peninsula Literacy to introduce resources that support telehealth and employment transition services, helping to bridge the gap between information and access remains a priority.

Our involvement with the South Island Prosperity Partnership (SIPP) saw us work with the United Way of Greater Victoria (UWGV) to support the community help desk, sharing best practices. And we partnered with the CNIB BC-Yukon Division, connecting those who are blind or living with visual impairments with an opportunity to receive a free Daisy Player, funded by the Victoria Foundation.

During the year bookable and walk-in service for public computers, along with printing and photocopying services, was restored across our system. And the very popular Fastreads and Fastviews service, along with print newspapers, were reinstated at all 12 branches.

Helping patrons get, and stay, connected continued

be a major focus of our work during 2021.

A highlight of 2021 was providing patrons with improved access to digital magazines, ebooks, and e-audiobooks, through the shift from cloudLibrary and RBdigital to OverDrive. Additionally, patrons were transitioned from Lynda.com to LinkedIn Learning for Libraries, providing access to a cat alogue of over 16,000 video courses in business, computer technology, software, and creative skills. The transition to LinkedIn Learning is an upgrade, with more courses being made available, along with courses in French, German, Japanese, Spanish, Mandarin, and Portuguese.

Say hello to Mango! Mango for libraries offers over 70 world language courses expertly designed to adapt to a diverse range of learning needs, styles, and backgrounds. Through a wide variety of adaptable exercises and learning activities, the award-winning language-learning program allows patrons to learn new vocabulary and understand unfamiliar grammatical structures and pronunciations. With over 13,225 Mango sessions logged by GVPL patrons during 2021, learning a new language was a goal for many during the year!

Focused Community Building 7,623

The pandemic provided an opportunity to rethink how we serve our community and our role as community builders. The Community-Inspired Library Service model continues to guide us in discovering and implementing innova tive library services, both in-person and virtually. And our ongoing collaboration with the Welcoming City Task Force remains a guiding light in our work toward promoting access to resources that meet the unique information needs of those who are new to our community.

BC SUMMER READING CLUB PARTICIPANTS

Read and Write Reviews (RAWR) online contest for tweens and teens, and our ongoing partnership with the Story Studio Writing Society saw over 55 teens take part in Summer Writing Studio virtual workshops. Our longterm partnership with the arts and culture community continued, with the 2021 Youth Poet Laureate providing a recorded poem for GVPL’s YouTube channel during World Poetry Month.

Connecting with younger patrons continued to be a focus during 2021, and over 7,600 children partic ipated in GVPL’s BC Summer Reading Club. Over 1,500 reviews were submitted for our summer-long

In 2021 we distributed over 10,000 Take and Make craft bags and over 1,500 GVPL Books for Babies bags to new parents. We hosted outdoor StoryWalks and Family Storytimes and provided monthly take-home scavenger hunts.

We spent time building, and supporting, our online communities. Hundreds of GVPL patrons participated in the Canadian Urban Libraries Council’s (CULC) digital bilingual book club, One eRead Canada, and our virtual Indigenous Stories Book Club returned. We also connected with patrons through our social media channels, with a GVPL Kids Facebook group and digital help desk and readers’ advisory features all being launched during the year.

Our long-term partnership with the LifeCycles Project Society continued with the hosting of online

orientation sessions and seed swaps outside the main entrance of our Central Branch. Seed libraries have a myriad of benefits, allowing residents to protect and promote biodiversity in our region and the seed swaps are also a great way to introduce non-library users to GVPL.

Spotlight

As part of a collaboration between GVPL and the British Columbia Black History Awareness Society (BCBHAS), a wall graphic was installed in the Mifflin Wistar Gibbs Study Room at the sxweŋxwəŋ təŋəxw James Bay Branch in late 2021. The photo montage includes a QR code that links to the Digital Museums Canada (DMC) BCBHAS-created virtual storytelling exhibit, which features stories, videos, and images of BC’s Black pioneers. The exhibit is intended to focus attention on the contributions of Black leaders who have positively changed our province, and world.

Making a Difference

As we work to expand our organizational capacity, continuous system improvements and creating a framework that supports excellence in decision making and priority setting were at the forefront of our pandemic recovery plan.

From creating a more efficient online form to register for a new library card, to introducing our first staff Work Environment Survey (WES) to measure the health of the work environments within GVPL, we remained focused on identifying areas for improvement and implementing needed changes.

During the year, we took time to listen to, and learn from, our community, examining the findings of our 2021 Perception Survey. Most people surveyed said GVPL is important to lifelong learning for people of all ages, and 92% agree that GVPL positively contributes to the community's well-being. A strong majority of respondents said GVPL is inclusive and welcoming and that we are succeeding in playing an important role in civic engagement. These findings reinforce that we are on the right track, but we know there is room for improvement.

Through listening, we are committed to making changes that will ensure we continue to create oppor tunities for learning, support literacy and education, and help shape the ideas and perspectives that are central to the health and well-being of our community.

Spotlight

As part of ensuring we continue to provide a library service that is engaging, accessible, and responsive to the needs of our community, in 2021 we introduced our 2021-2023 Strategic Bridging Plan.

By strengthening our culture of equity, diversity, inclusivity, and accessibility; transforming our digital infrastructure; and deepening our understanding of the needs of the communities we serve, this set of directives will steer us over the next two years, supporting our evolution into a post-pandemic world.

Making Space for Everyone

Diversity is a fundamental value for public libraries and GVPL programming reflects the diverse interests of our community. Throughout the year we worked with dozens of community part ners, including Indigenous medicine advocate Sarah Underdown (Redwood), origami expert Stephan Tran, and Pacific Opera Victoria to deliver programs designed to celebrate diversity and provide oppor tunities for developing bridges of understanding.

On June 1, we began sharing daily resources from Indigenous creators via our social media channels. The posts were initiated in response to the confirmation of 215 children’s remains in unmarked graves at the site of the former Kamloops Indian Residential School by the Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc First Nation.

Recognizing that our community was seeking infor mation about Residential Schools, for 215 days we shared resources through our Facebook and Twitter accounts, with resources ranging from children’s picture books and poetry to YouTube videos and podcasts. The goal of the initiative was three-fold; education, creating space for dialogue, and celebrat ing Indigenous ancestral knowledge and creativity. The inaugural social media post was seen by over 16,000 people and the campaign inspired a similar initiative at the Bibliothèque publique de Fredericton Public Library in New Brunswick.

In late January we launched the sixth Emerging Local Authors Collection (ELAC), adding books from more than 120 local authors to GVPL’s collection. The ELAC program celebrates Greater Victoria’s writing community and supports local authors and illustrators by providing a platform to showcase their work.

From providing relief during times of extreme weather, to showcasing collections that celebrate our diverse community, our role in providing a space, physical and virtual, where people of all ages and socio-economic backgrounds can congregate and develop the skills required to thrive, academically, professionally, and socially, has never been more important.

Spotlight

Learning more about the histories, languages, cultures, and experiences of Indigenous Peoples across Canada was a priority for many patrons in 2021, with more than 24,000 items from our Indigenous Reads Collections circulated during the year. Each GVPL branch has an Indigenous Reads display which includes titles from Indigenous authors, illustrators, and knowledge keepers. These displays were established with funds from the Friends of the Greater Victoria Public Library to highlight, acknowledge, and honour the unique cultures and experiences of Indigenous communities.

Most Popular Titles of 2021

Residents of Greater Victoria are big readers and books with themes of hope, resilience, and embracing life topped our most-borrowed lists of 2021.

Adult Fiction

1. The Four Winds by Kristin Hannah

2. The Midnight Library by Matt Haig

3. The Rose Code by Kate Quinn

4. The Madness of Crowds by Louise Penny

5. State of Terror by Hillary Rodham Clinton and Louise Penny

6. The Last Thing He Told Me by Laura Dave

7. Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens

8. Five little Indians by Michelle Good

9. The Vanishing Half by Brit Bennett

10. All the Devils are Here by Louise Penny

Non Fiction

1. A Promised Land by Barack Obama

2. Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

3. Atomic Habits: Tiny Changes, Remarkable Results: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones by James Clear

4. Untamed by Glennon Doyle

5. Finding the Mother Tree: Discovering the Wisdom of the Forest by Suzanne Simard

6. Greenlights by Matthew McConaughey

7. Caste: The Origins of our Discontents by Isabel Wilkerson

8. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art by James Nestor

9. Between two Kingdoms: A Memoir of a Life Interrupted by Suleika Jaouad

10. Becoming by Michelle Obama

Teen

1. A Court of Thorns and Roses by Sarah J. Maas

2. Five Total Strangers by Natalie D. Richards

3. Firekeeper's Daughter by Angeline Boulley

4. Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

5. The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes by Suzanne Collins

6. Six of Crows by Leigh Bardugo

7. Midnight Sun by Stephenie Meyer

8. The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

9. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J. K. Rowling

10. The Book Thief by Markus Zusak

Kids

1. Fetch 22, and others in the Dog Man series by Dav Pilkey

2. Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, and others in the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling

3. Karen's Witch, and others in the Baby-sitters Little Sister graphic novel series by Katy Farina and Ann M. Martin

4. The Dark Secret, and others in the Wings of Fire graphic novel series by Barry Deutsch and Tui T. Sutherland

5. The Gerbil Ate my Homework by Lincoln Peirce

6. Wrecking Ball, and others in the Diary of a Wimpy Kid series by Jeff Kinney

7. The Lightning Thief, and others in the Percy Jackson series by Rick Riorden

8. Guts by Raina Telgemeier

9. Minecraft: Guide to Farming by Alex Wiltshire

10. Boy-Crazy Stacey, and others in The Baby-sitters Club graphic novel series by Gale Galligan and Ann M. Martin

Thank You!

This past year gave us much to be thankful for and we are grateful for the continued support and the generous donations from our community. Every gift to the library matters. Thank you!

Johanne Abbis

Judy Abbott

Gordon Alexander Lynn Ball

Annette Barclay

Cheryl Barnes

Michael Bell

Matthew Boyd

British Columbia Library Association

British Columbia Libraries Co-op Karen Burns

Roberta Burris CanadaHelps Canadian Public Relations Society Foundation

Canadian Union of Public Employees Charities Aid Foundation Canada

Chimp: Charitable Impact Foundation (Canada) Debbie Chu Courthouse Libraries BC

Donna Curtis

Nicola Davidson

Joy Davis

Craig Elder Marion Elder

Irene Fennema

Anne Gloger

Lyle Grant

Greater Victoria Down Syndrome Society

Thomas Hackney Mary Hall

Judy Hanna

Fred Heath Susan Herman

Brad Howland

Helen Hughes

IslandLink Library Federation Andrea Jull Chris King Gerald Klassen Erin Koop

Evie Loree

Roger and Judith Love Elizabeth MacPherson

Pamela Madoff

Rance Yan Ki Mok Mary Norton

Cheryl Osborn

Julia Ovenell

Provincial Employees Community Services Fund

Province of British Columbia (through the Libraries Branch, Ministry of Municipal Affairs)

Genno Pereira

Kira Reynolds Tanja Rosteck

Julia Saul Maureen Sawa Jasmyn Singh Mary Smith

Sam Thoms

Gordon Thomson

United Way of Greater Victoria Victoria Foundation

Erica Westbrook

Elsa Yan

Robert Yuen

Gifts to Honour Others:

Everlides Caballero from Lily Acosta

Anndee Devine from Marsha Birney Sharon Morphett from Diane Cliffe

Jaye Lynn Gallagher from Jennifer Gallaher

Andrea from Jennifer Gibson Dolores Leavitt from Stephen Leavitt

Russell and Elaine Crossley from Janet Machan

Maureen Crofts from Carol-Anne Moore Bruce Pearcy from Alanna Pearcy Teresa Sammut from Michelle Sammut Emily Stroppa from Mason Stroppa

Andrea Telford from Dan Telford Magda Ryan from Julia Thompson