Libraries and Literacy 2013 Provincial Library Grants Report Instructions
Provincial Library Grants Report 2013
West Vancouver Memorial Library
Introduction
West Vancouver Memorial Library is a municipal library, established by a public referendum in 1944 and officially opened on November 11, 1950. The Library’s 56,000 sq. ft. facility at 1950 Marine Drive is open 66 hours a week and virtual services at www.westvanlibrary.ca are available 24/7. Key services include information assistance, early literacy, public computing, lifelong learning, in-depth collections, educational and cultural programming, and home services. West Vancouver Memorial Library is a cornerstone of culture and learning in the community. The library’s impressive circulation numbers, high level of customer satisfaction and commitment to literacy make it a leader in community engagement year after year.
West Vancouver is a waterfront community, bounded by some of the most scenic natural surroundings in the Lower Mainland with the mountains to the north, Burrard Inlet and Howe Sound to the south and west, and the Capilano River corridor to the east. The community’s population has been stable over the last five years with an increasing number of older adults. 25% of West Vancouverites are over 65 which make many people think of it as a retirement community; however, 21% of the population is under the age of 19. The community is largely residential and has little industry other than retail.
The Library and the community are facing many of the same challenges as others: community members with radically different information consumption behaviours; the evolution and discontinuation of digital technologies that require continuous adoption and adaptation; diversification in the cultural groups that we serve; economic instability; and the explosion of information both in printed and digital formats.
The Library currently has a 2011-2015 Strategic Plan and will begin work later this year on a new one. The 2011-15 Strategic Plan and annual reports, which highlight key achievements, are available online: http://www.westvanlibrary.ca/about-us/wvml-plans-reports
Government Priorities, Goals, Programs and Services, Partnerships
1. Equitable access to library services for all British Columbians, including efforts to extend library service outside the local area; to supported communities or populations; or to under-represented groups of users within the local area (e.g. Aboriginal users)
The West Vancouver Memorial Library 2011-2015 Strategic Plan supports equitable access through two of our five Strategic Priorities, Build Community and Increase Engagement. Strategic Objectives of these priorities include 1) Foster inclusion of all people, respecting individual backgrounds, capabilities and preferences and 2) improve access to our library. While we are still in the process of fully realizing these objectives being in year three of our five year plan, we have made substantial accomplishments in equitable linguistic, cultural and geographic access for our early years’ population.
Programs and/or services that support the priority
1) Laugh and Learn Nanny Program
Many preschool aged children in West Vancouver are in the care of Pilipino caregivers, who have limited English language skills. To meet the literacy needs of both these groups, West Vancouver Memorial Library collaborated with community partners to offer a “Laugh and Learn” Program in 2013. The goals of the program were to:
· help nannies improve their English skills so they could share books, songs and rhymes with the preschool-aged children in their care during the day
· introduce nannies to the library’s collections that were easily accessible to them, such as picture books with simple vocabulary and rhythm and rhyme
· demonstrate dialogic (interactive) reading so that nannies could foster early literacy skills with the young children in their care when at home
Nannies sought permission from their employers to enroll in this program, which happened once a week in the morning. To our knowledge, this is the only program of its kind that combines education for nannies in addition to literacy benefits for preschool-aged children; nannies are typically unable to further their English language learning through formal learning opportunities during the day, because their primary responsibility must be looking after the children in their care. The innovative component of this program is that it simultaneously benefits both nanny and child, an experience that parent employers were eager to support.
The program was facilitated by an instructor trained to work with individuals who speak English as a second language, while youth department librarians provided a list of books ideal for sharing with 3-5 year olds. The library youth department also facilitated a session of the program that involved a storytime demonstration and tour for the nannies.
Outcomes of the program included:
· Increased English language reading skills for the nannies
· Increased amount of time nannies spent reading aloud to the children in their care
· Increased confidence in reading aloud for the nannies
· Increased awareness for the nannies of the library’s resources that they can use in their work as caregivers
· Increased knowledge of the key early literacy skills that support reading readiness
Even nannies who were regular visitors to the library expressed a log of enthusiasm over newly-discovered items, such as our Grow-a-Reader bags (themed bags with books and literacy guides created by librarians to recreate the storytime experience at home) and multilingual children’s collection. The nannies also became more involved in the librarian-facilitated storytimes, talking along with familiar stories that the librarian was reading aloud and re-reading them to the children after the program.
2) Storyhouse Family Drop-In
A second program, Storyhouse Family Drop-in, designed to provide equitable access to early literacy for preschool aged children addressed geographic and capacity challenges in our community. Prior to offering this program, the only option in the community within 20km was a Strongstart program at Hollyburn Elementary school where they consistently turned away 10-15 families each week since they were filled to capacity.
The program was developed with the following goals in mind:
· Develop key components essential in growing capable readers: language acquisition, social-emotional learning, and self-regulation
· provide a welcoming, social environment for families to connect and share information
· educate families about library resources and programs in addition to community resources (the program features weekly guest speakers)
This program began in September 2013 and will conclude in June 2014 (before resuming again in September 2014). As such, we are still in the process of documenting our outcomes.
Outcomes of the program included:
· Increased English language skills in preschoolers who are newcomers to Canada
· Increased ability for preschoolers to interact with other children of a similar age and development of social-emotional skills
· Increased awareness for the families of the library’s resources that support acquisition of early literacy skills
· Increased knowledge of the key early literacy skills that support reading readiness
· Increased socialization between caregivers
· Increased knowledge of community resources for caregivers
In addition, we are noticing many new families becoming regular visitors of the library as a result of this program; we see at least one new family each week. We have also noticed an increase in attendance from families who speak English as an additional language at our library storytime program that follows directly the family drop-in program.
3) Gleneagles Family Storytime
The West Vancouver Memorial Library delivered 30 early literacy outreach storytimes at the Gleneagles Community Centre, which is located 13 kilometres away from our branch in a geographically isolated part of our community. Though the population of West Vancouver is under 45,000, residents are spread out over a vast area; the hub of community resources, including the library, the West Vancouver community centre and the Ambleside Youth Centre, are located in an area that is up to a half hour drive or sixty minute transit ride for residents or caregivers working in our district.
The goals of this regular, weekly reoccurring outreach storytime program include:
· reaching families with young children who are not normally able to attend the library’s regular in-house program offerings due to distance.
· modeling best early literacy practices for parents and caregivers who attend the programs with their children
· increasing access to our library’s physical collections through a book drop-off service
The outcomes included:
· Increased language skills in preschoolers
· Increased awareness for the families of the library’s resources that support acquisition of early literacy skills
· Increased knowledge of the key early literacy skills that support reading readiness
· Increased use of our collections by patrons in geographically isolated areas
We also saw an increase in families travelling to attend in-library programs after having a positive experience in their own community. Several families who live in the neighbourhood informed staff that this program had become a core part of their family’s routine. One toddler even had her first steps walking towards one of our librarians during this outreach program.
Partnerships that support the priority
The West Vancouver Memorial Library 2011-2015 Strategic Plan also supports Library collaboration and cooperation through two of our five Strategic Priorities, Build Community and Manage Resources Wisely. Strategic Objectives of these priorities are 1) to strengthen working relationships with elected officials, municipal staff, libraries, media and community groups and 2) to collaborate with other service providers. Two of the projects we are reporting on here (Laugh and Learn Nanny program and the Storyhouse Family Drop-in) were new partnerships, while the other (Gleneagles storytime) has remained successful over several years.
1) Laugh and Learn Nanny Program
The program was offered in partnership with Hollyburn Family Services, the West Vancouver Community Centre and Capilano University. Responsibilities were divided as follows:
· Hollyburn Family Services: publicity, registration and handling finances
· Capilano University: provided facilitator
· West Vancouver Community Centre: provided space
· West Vancouver Memorial Library: provided books and book recommendations for use in the program, facilitated orientation for nannies
Since the library did not have space to offer this program on a regular basis, or the staff expertise in English language instruction, the partnerships formed allowed us to expand our service offerings to meet the needs of this population. Rather than resigning ourselves to having this gap in service, we worked with other community agencies to assemble a quality program where we all could contribute in our individual areas of strength.
2) Storyhouse Family Drop-In Program
This program was offered in partnership with the West Vancouver Child and Family HUB Committee and the West Vancouver School District. Responsibilities are divided as follows:
· West Vancouver Child and Family HUB Committee: publicity, volunteer program assistance, registration
· West Vancouver School District: program curriculum development
· West Vancouver Memorial library: input on curriculum development, handled finances, provided space, provided books
The library has partnered with the West Vancouver Child and Family HUB and the school district in the past, but never on offering a regular, reoccurring weekly program. This is a prime example of how we leveraged existing partnerships and working relationships to fill a palpable gap in our community literacy services for families.
3) Gleneagles Community Centre Storytime
This program is a longstanding, continuous partnership between the West Vancouver Memorial Library and the Gleneagles Community Centre. The library provides the staffing while the Gleneagles Community Centre provides the space; both share publicity responsibilities.
2. Library collaboration and cooperation, including working together in the development of collaborative services and shared resources among libraries and through library federations and other partner organizations (e.g. schools, arts, culture, literacy, heritage and community groups);
The West Vancouver Memorial Library 2011-2015 Strategic Plan supports Library collaboration and cooperation through two of our five Strategic Priorities, Build Community and Manage Resources Wisely. Strategic Objectives of these priorities are 1) to strengthen working relationships with elected officials, municipal staff, libraries, media and community groups and 2) to collaborate with other service providers. Over the last three years, West Vancouver Memorial Library has doubled the number of total partner organizations to a total of 67 and expanded the types to include program, education, and library partners, as well as community organizations. Benefits for the Library that have resulted from these partnerships include increased collaborative purchasing, increased contributions of goods and services and increased promotion of the Library and its services.
In 2013, West Vancouver Memorial Library collaborated on two significant projects that increased our capacity to serve and welcome newcomers: NewToBC and Welcoming Communities. The NewToBC partnership,managed by Public Library InterLINK and funded by the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training of the Government of British Columbia, brought together 10 public libraries in the Vancouver area for a pilot project. The project launched an innovative and collaborative new service model, combining a robust online presence chock full of fabulous tools and resources at newtobc.ca/ with on the ground outreach to newcomers and training for front-line Library staff. West Vancouver Memorial Library held two cycles of Library Champions, a program where settled volunteer immigrants went out into the community to connect with newcomers to make them aware of Library and settlement services. The Library Champions were very successful in reaching newcomers, particularly those with limited English skills, little experience with libraries and lack of awareness of services that are offered in addition to books.
Key outcomes of the Library Champions project included enhanced partnerships with settlement service organizations through joint project promotion and project resources; increased library use by various ethno-cultural communities; and increased awareness and understanding of library resources and services related to immigrant integration and settlement. Due to increased demand, we added opportunities for immigrants to engage, going from a single ESL Book Club to offering four weekly programs, including an ESL class in partnership with the North Shore Multicultural Society, a current events conversation circle called Let’s Talk, and a Persian Book Club. Through these programs, participants make connections with others in our community and increase their English language proficiency, both of which increase their employability. The training for front-line Library staff increased awareness and understanding of settlement and integration issues, and the demographics of our community.