Introduction

The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) serves communities from Golden to Osoyoos, and contains some of the fastest growing communities in Canada. West Kelowna, for example, was thirteenth in population growth in the 2011 federal census. With 29 branches and a robust array of online services, the ORL works with remote, rural, urban, regional, and first nations jurisdictions to promote continuous learning, family literacy, and community integration.

Fast facts about the ORL:

-The ORL serves a population of 371,688 spread out over an area of 59,600 square kilometres. The service area roughly corresponds to the service areas of four regional districts: the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen (RDOS); the Regional District of Central Okanagan (RDCO); the Regional District of North Okanagan (RDNO), and the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD).

-Selected demographic details of the four regions (blue categories are from BC Stats community profiles, grey categories are from the federal census). Please note, RDOS numbers include Penticton (not an ORL member).

BC Average / RDOS / RDCO / RDNO / CSRD
Population, 2011 / 4,400,057 / 80,742 / 179,839 / 81,237 / 50,512
Population, 2006 / 4,113,487 / 79,475 / 162,276 / 77,301 / 50,141
% change / 7.0 / 1.6 / 10.8 / 5.1 / 0.7
Population per square KM / 4.8 / 7.8 / 61.9 / 10.8 / 1.7
Median age / 41.9 / 52.0 / 44.2 / 47.2 / 48.1
Median income (2006) / $24,867 / $21,781 / $25,039 / $22,608 / $22,957
Lone parent families / 189,805
(15.3% of families) / 3,365
(13.8%) / 7,475
(16.6%) / 3,515
(17.1%) / 1,865
(13.8%)
Seniors living alone / 165,365
(25.7% of seniors in private households) / 5640
(27.3%) / 8,025
(25.0%) / 3,950
(25.3%) / 2,320
(23.5%)
Language spoken most often at home
(top non-English responses) / Panjabi: 1,975
German: 700
French: 630 / Panjabi: 1,215
German: 1,040
French: 715 / German: 445
Panjabi: 325
French: 205 / German: 265
French: 245
Panjabi: 140
% change in immigrant populations, 2001 to 2006 / 10.8% / 2.1% / 17.3% / 1.5% / 4.7%
Top 5 industries by % of labour force (2006) / Retail trade: 11.2%
Healthcare and social assistance: 9.6%
Manufacturing: 8.5%
Accommodation and food services: 8.1%
Construction: 7.5% / Retail: 12.6%
Healthcare social: 11.3%
Manufact.: 10.2%
Const.: 9.4%
Special aggregation – agriculture, food and beverage: 9.0% / Retail: 13.0%
Const.: 11.5%
Healthcare & social: 10.7%
Accomm. & food: 8.6%
Manufact.: 8.0% / Retail: 12.7%
Healthcare & social: 11.3%
Manufact.: 11.1%
Const.: 10.3%
Accomm. food: 6.5% / Const.: 11.8%
Manufact.: 11.6%
Retail: 11.0%
Special aggregation – forestry: 10.4%
Accomm. & food: 9.8%

-The ORL offers 29 full service branches in: Armstrong, Cherryville, Enderby, Falkland, Golden, Hedley, Kaleden, Kelowna (3 locations), Keremeos, Lake Country, Lumby, Naramata, North Shuswap, Okanagan Falls, Oliver, Osoyoos, Oyama, Peachland, Princeton, Revelstoke, Salmon Arm, Sicamous, Silver Creek, South Shuswap, Summerland, Vernon, and West Kelowna.

-In addition, the ORL supports three community-run book deposits in small rural communities.

-The ORL’s mission: to enrich the lives of, and empower people by providing equitable access to library resources*.

In 2012, the Province of BC provided $11M in core funding to public libraries. This funding leveraged over $210M in contributions from local and regional governments and other sources. This strategic investment by government resulted in the delivery of over 490,000 service hours in communities to 1.8M active library cardholders, over 32M books read, over 18M children’s items borrowed, and 1.3 M people attending free literacy and education based programs. It would be pretty tough to imagine that those activities wouldn’t have a major impact on literacy, parenting skills, and continuous learning in our communities. It would be pretty hard to imagine that it wouldn’t have an impact on ordinary working families. It would be pretty hard, quite frankly, to name a more strategic investment in learning by government.

Imagine a partner that came to government and said, for every $1 dollar you invest towards your strategic goals, we’re going to invest $17. Every activity we do is going to connect to your strategic priorities. We’re going to help raise literacy levels in communities, and promote a culture of literacy and learning in families. That way, when kids come to school, they’re going to be better prepared to learn. We’re going to support learners throughout the lifespan, so that when people need to re-skill or gain certifications, they’re better able to do it. We’re going to support distributed learning opportunities through a network of 243 service pointsblanketed across the province and in some of your smallest communities – in some cases, we’re going to be the only public service desk in these communities, and we’re going to help people engage with government online, fill out forms, apply for jobs, build resumes, take exams, and connect with the wider world. We’re going to help keep seniors mentally and socially active, and reduce the burden that deterioration due to loneliness, isolation, and mental inactivity places on the healthcare system. We’re going to help newcomers feel welcome in our communities, and we’re going to provide multilingual, English as an Additional Language, and citizenship supports. We’re going to do this across the province, in remote, rural, urban and first nation communities. And every year, 14M in person visits by British Columbians are going to contribute to lifelong learning and literacy, in every corner of the province. That’s what public libraries bring to the table.

As the CEO of the Okanagan Regional Library, I want to thank you, on behalf of our communities, large and small, for your support of this essential service. I also want to emphasize again the strategic nature of your investment. I know that government has many worthy agencies and services vying for support. By investing in libraries and by flowing new initiatives through libraries, you are investing in a stable partner that brings a lot to the table. Not only do we bring, as previously mentioned $17 for every $1 you invest, but we bring a stable infrastructure that can deliver – in virtually every corner of the province.

Imagine the possibilities… This is a partnership that hasn’t even started to stretch its legs!

Sincerely,

Stephanie Hall

Chief Executive Officer,

Okanagan Regional Library

Government Priorities, Goals, Programs and Services, Partnerships

Government Priority 1: Equitable access to library services

Library Goal that supports the priority:

  • Core value: Equitable Access
  • Strategic goals: improve access and convenience, improve rural service model
  • Core business: Supporting first nations people, families, at risk populations, newcomers, seniors, and people in remote, rural and urban areas.

The ORL supports literacy, learning, and community for a wide range of users - old and young, rich and poor, long-time residents and newcomers, and rural and urban. This is a core value of the library and is also reflected in the make-up of the library’s board, with first nations, regional, and local government representation from large and small communities stretching from Osoyoos to Golden participating.

The regional system ensures a basic quality of service is available throughout the region, and through the power of partnership, residents in even the smallest locations, such as Silver Creek (service population: 530), have free access to over three quarters of a million items, and to a variety of other programs and services. The ORL provides both virtual and in person service, with over 1.6M in-person visitsoccurring in 2013 and over 1M online visits. This work is ongoing and has been reported on in prior years. A few highlights in 2013 are noted here:

  • Programs - In 2013, to promote greater access and relevance, the board voted to loosen rigid restrictions on programming, and to allow communities to better reflect the demographics and interests of their populations. The result was a 12.6% increase in program attendance, from 92,326 to 103,935.
  • Collectionsand reference- The ORL has been expanding its virtual holdings to support users across the region. In 2012, electronic borrowing increased by 204%, while in 2013 it expanded a further 56%. We also continued with our personalized assistance for e-reader issues, and our 1-800 assistance line for people around the region, and with our on-demand reference service where people can ask for help with information queries, government forms, or other needs. All told, ORL staff completed an estimated 399,900 personalized reference and technology assistance sessions. Patron feedback from these sessions has been overwhelmingly positive.In addition, the ORL supported literacy and learning in the valley through a variety of collections:

Collection lending, 2013
Large Print / 62,435
Non-English / 4,336
Electronic materials / 265,444
Audiovisual materials / 672,914
Print items for adults / 1,537,686
Print items for children and teens / 953,381

Patron stories, Oyama: A mother reported that her 18 month old tells her when he needs to go to the library. He sits in one of the rocking chairs by the board books and his mom starts reading them until he decides “yes” or “no” on which books he will take out each week.

  • Organizational Review - In late 2013 and early 2014, an organizational review team comprised of ORL staff identified three priorities to work on in the coming year: develop a system wide homebound service (currently it is only happening in a few locations), create a low barrier library card for people who have trouble meeting identification requirements, and review accessibility of branches and the website and virtual offerings. The ORL is looking forward to the addition of new resources in 2014 for the print disabled with both NNELS and CELA coming online to provide accessible materials for the print disabled.
  • Wifi and computer access: The ORL provides free computer access and wifi in 29 branches across the region. In 2013, a barrier was removed to enable better access to wifi. Patrons no longer have to have an ORL barcode to use the service. Response to this change has been overwhelmingly positive, though bandwidth, seating space and charging stations have been at or beyond capacity.

Programs and/or Services that aligns with the priority:

Selected highlights of programming and services in two of our southern branches – Oliver and Keremeos:

  • Oliver branch has established a connection with the local First Nations band and supports their school and literacy programs on an on-going basis. These connections started when organizations outside the Band, such as the library, Scouts, and the health unit were invited to speak at a potlatch with a goal of encouraging integration. The library works through Head Start at the Band school/Community Centre. The library supported a Band “Children and Dads” program by offering a series of programs at the branch. The library continues to support their school programs and works through Head Start at the Band school/Community Centre.
  • Oliver branch also reaches out to the local Punjabi community. Work started by connecting with a representative at the temple and Immigrant Services. Immigrant Services set up a Homework Club which comes to the library. The library staff show parents how they can help their children with school work. In addition, they are working with Immigrant Services to translate material for Summer Reading Club. There is also a goal to encourage the mothers to come to the library as the fathers or grandfathers tend to be more present. In certain cases, branch staff observed parents and grandparents honing their own English and reading skills by watching and listening to the library programs presented to their children.
  • In Keremeos, a representative from the multi-cultural centre is available once a week in the branch to assist the community with government information, such as licenses, forms, filling out documents. It has been of particular assistance to the Punjabi community.
  • In the late spring and summer months there is an influx of transient orchard workers in the southern part of the Okanagan and they make heavy use of the library services. Often basic services are what is most needed by this group – for example, wifi, computer access, bathrooms, and free reading material. This is at a time when branches are actively involved with Summer Reading Club. In 2013, the ORL provided extra staffingin the branches most affected by a major influx of peopleto help deal with the needs and challenges of this transient worker group.

Partnerships that support the priority:

The ORL partners with a variety of stakeholders, including school districts, literacy councils, community resource providers, settlement agencies, regional districts, and many more. The ORL promotes local government initiatives in our space, visits classrooms, brings in speakers related to school curriculum, engages in joint programming and much more. To the right is a photograph of a joint program that occurred during ‘Unplug and Play’ days in Salmon Arm. The Salmon Arm branch partnered with LASS (Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society) to bring in a popular local magician who is also a strong supporter of literacy and libraries. Branch staff stopped counting attendance at 400 people.

Unplug and play – Salmon Arm

Government Priority 2: Supports for education transformation

  • Core role: Support lifelong learning
  • Core business: Supporting students through research help, summer reading initiatives, targeted programming, homeschooling support, and school partnerships; supporting younger children through babytime, toddler time, storytime and parenting programs and collections; supporting adult learners through collections, computer help, digital literacy initiatives, research help and proctoring.

Programs and/or Services that aligns with the priority:

The Ministry is likely aware of mainstay programs, such as baby time, mother goose, storytimes, and summer reading club, which has been shown to reduce summer learning loss.In 2013 attendance at summer reading club events was just under 9,000.In all, 90,000 people attended children’s public library programming in the library and in school classrooms. In addition to these, in early 2014, the ORL also hosted Okanagan Reads for Kids, which was a winter reading program that featured a local author, Julie White and featured horse-themed presenters who visited every library in the region, promoting literacy using topics of interest to both rural and urban children. The library partnered with schools to either bring in classes or bring presenters to schools in some of our smallest locations where crowds wouldn’t fit. The events were sponsored by a provincial equity grant. So far evaluations for the speakers average in the Very Good to Excellent range, with an over all rating of Excellent. 1,184 children attended the event at last count, with three branches yet to report in. 818 circulations of Julie White’s books have taken place so far, with holds on all copies still outstanding.

Along with regional programming, there are also many initiatives that are unique to local communities, for example:

  • Oliver community identified a particular need for computer literacy education for its senior and marginalized populations. A project was initiated with Literacy Now South Okanagan-Similkameen to provide one-on-one training for the customers through the volunteer work of local high school students. Having teens and seniors working side by side was a delightful bonus.

Staff stories, Oliver: Our joint Computer Training program started in November. So far all the participants have been thrilled with their new knowledge and ability. The first participant was a great-grandma who learned how to navigate her new iPhone and how to set up her e-mail so she could communicate with her grandchildren.

  • Rutland branch partners with the Kelowna Chiefs Hockey Club in the ‘Stick with Reading’ program. Every second week hockey players come to the branch to read to and interact with the children. The local Boys and Girls Club also attends the program at the library. Through the mentoring program, students are encouraged to attain specific reading goals during the season with various awards provided for reading achievements.
  • Coyote Café is a LASS (Literacy Alliance of the Shuswap Society) program, which we partner with on a regular basis. It is an after school literacy program for aboriginal studentsand is now running in 4 schools in the North Okanagan. When this program was in its first year, at Salmon Arm West elementary school, the teacher approached our children’s librarian about bringing the group in to the Library for a visit and a storytime. The connection was started and has become a regular library visit program. We are also looking at partnering with them once a week during the summer break when they run the Camp Coyote program. The children come into the library, enjoy a story, and assistance selecting books to take home, if needed. When this first started, many of the children had not been to the library or have a library card. They love coming now and this is a great partnership for us in our mutual efforts to promote children’s literacy.

Staff stories, Salmon Arm: I’ve been partnering with LASS in this way for the past 2 ½ years and have enjoyed watching these struggling readers discover the joy of reading. I’ve attended the past 2 Coyote Café year end celebrations at the schools and have been amazed to learn how this club has affected those who attend. At the first celebration 2 years ago, one teacher said that one of her students kept falling behind at the beginning of the year because of his weak reading skills. She recommended he attend Coyote Café, which he did, and by the end of the year he had caught up to where he should be, was confident when he read aloud and found reading to be enjoyable. There are many similar stories to this, but I feel the success of LASS’s program is reflected in the fact that 2 ½ years ago there was only one small group from one school. Now there are 4 clubs at 4 different elementary schools and talk of starting a Coyote Café club for the middle schoolers. It’s been a pleasure to partner with LASS in this wonderfully successful program.

Partnerships that support the priority:

As noted above, the ORL partners with a variety of stakeholders, including first nations, school districts, literacy councils, community resource providers, settlement agencies, regional districts, and many more. The ORL promotes local government initiatives in our space, visits classrooms, brings in speakers related to school curriculum, engages in joint programming and much more. To make this more concrete, here are some specific examples from our Revelstoke and Golden branches: