annual report
2017
Left to Right
Nancy Gomerich Director of Finance, Cathy Renshaw Director of Organizational Development, Scott Hargrove CEO, Heather Scoular Director of Customer Experience, & Jeff Narver Director of Infrastructure and Resources.
The People
1. Message from Board Chair & CEO 2. Board & Staff
Chuck Stam, Board Chair
Scott Hargrove, CEO
1. Message from Board Chair & CEO What an astounding year it has been! From strategic planning to virtual reality, Fraser Valley Regional Library has launched itself into the future by focusing on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) learning. Our successes began early in the year with the launch of our tremendously popular ukulele lending collection, Uke n’ Play, allowing customers to borrow the instrument the same way they would a book. Swiftly on its heels was the addition of a lending collection of Sphero SPRK+ robots, promoting and encouraging programming literacy and creativity. The ukuleles and Sphero SPRK+ robots along with Makey Makey, KEVA Planks, green screens, and two HTV Vive virtual reality systems were brought together to form The Playground at FVRL. The Playground encompasses a growing offering of tools and experiences for our customers to learn the skills they need to lead in the economy of the future. Believing in strong, effective governance, FVRL’s Board and management concluded an extensive strategic planning process in 2017, leading to the development of a new strategic plan, “Opening Minds. Enabling Dreams.” The process included extensive consultation with staff through a combination of meetings and an online survey. In addition, for the first time in its strategic planning history, FVRL incorporated the results of an equally extensive community consultation process, beginning with a detailed environmental scan of community demographics, member municipal strategic directions and emerging trends. Fraser Valley Regional Library has continued its efforts to support our communities with strong leadership, transformative programming, and innovative services and collections. We focus on both traditional and new literacies that are key to knowledge creation and creativity as our communities increasingly engage with the new economy. The Playground at FVRL and FVRL’s new strategic plan “Opening Minds. Enabling Dreams.” are challenging the traditional perception of libraries and creating amazing opportunities for our communities.
2. Board & Staff FVRL Board 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. Chuck Stam (Chair) Wilf Vicktor (Vice-Chair) Bill Dingwall (Second Vice-Chair)
Councillor, City of Chilliwack Mayor, District of Hope Councillor, City of Pitt Meadows
Les Barkman Heather King Bill Dickey Sonja Reyerse Sylvia Pranger Gayle Martin Petrina Arnason Corisa Bell Maria Harris Jenny Stevens Laura Dupont Bill Lawrence
Councillor, City of Abbotsford Councillor, Corporation of Delta Director, Fraser Valley Regional District Councillor, Village of Harrison Hot Springs Councillor, District of Kent Councillor, City of Langley Councillor, Township of Langley Councillor, City of Maple Ridge Director, Metro Vancouver Councillor, District of Mission Councillor, City of Port Coquitlam Councillor, City of White Rock
Senior Staff Scott Hargrove Nancy Gomerich Cathy Renshaw Heather Scoular Jeff Narver
Chief Executive Officer Director of Finance Director of Organizational Development Director of Customer Experience Director of Infrastructure and Resources
The Highlights
3. Playground 4. Maker Space 5. Teen Imagine Contest
3. The Playground The Playground at FVRL encompasses a growing offering of tools and experiences for our customers to learn the skills they need to lead in the economy of the future. It is not a physical place, but an encouragement to our customers to read, learn and play wherever they are. The Playground at FVRL offers customers of all ages free access to fun and engaging STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) related learning experiences, available from all of our 25 libraries. New in the lending collection of the Playground is 200 Sphero SPRK+
robotic balls for customers to borrow, and explore drag-and-drop coding in their own homes – unique among libraries! Sphero SPRK+ brings robotics, coding and STEAM principles together. The collection also consists of a centralized programming set of 24 Sphero and tablet pairs for staff to use in programming throughout our libraries. The Playground includes many unusual tools for customers to experience through in-library programming. All our libraries now have a green screen for use in library programming. Green screens are a fun, easy-to-
use technology that provides our customers with the opportunity to transform from consumers to creators.
are equally fun and challenging to the young and old alike – an activity that everyone can participate in.
Makey Makey is an invention kit consisting of a small circuit board that allows users to turn everyday conductive objects into touchpads and keyboards. Makey Makey offers our customers – from beginner to experts – a fun, easy, and innovative way to explore STEAM learning.
Lastly, two HTC Vive virtual reality systems, each including a VR headset, high-performance gaming laptop and more than two dozen VR experiences for customers. We are focusing the first phase of virtual reality programming in our libraries towards offering customers the open opportunity to simply try VR. We look forward in future phases to linking themed experiences to existing library programming, and exploring educational experiences in a more structured way.
The Playground has 1200 KEVA Planks, precision-milled maple building Planks for practicing and exploring engineering concepts for preschoolers and architects alike. These Planks prove especially popular as an adjunct to our Lego building programs, as well as passive programming. KEVA Planks
4. Maker Space The makerspace movement is a global movement towards experimentation involving invention and creation - a place in which any group with shared interests, especially in computing or technology, can gather to work on projects while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge. The benefits of participating in this movement for engaging learners in creative, higher-order problem-solving are many and varied. There are numerous studies that document these benefits and as our economy increasingly shifts to a more technology/creative focused centre, the needs of our communities shift along with it. Hands-on workshops helped participants to individually develop technology skills through learning coding, designing circuits, and digitally creating model figures and digital structures using computer software programs.
Using common household objects, children also experimented with engineering concepts through building catapults and constructing structures they designed for strength. As well, the learning to continue on at home using open source software. The workshops provided support for building capacity through embracing the following roles for libraries as outlined in the Ministry of Education’s Inspiring Libraries, Connecting
Communities: A Vision of Public Library service in BC: • Embracing new roles for libraries • Changing communities • Changing economic markets • Technological evolution • Learning transformation We recognize that our communities and economies are rapidly changing and we are changing with them, constantly embracing new roles to
meet these evolving needs. We also recognize that youth today need a wide range of opportunities to develop the competencies required to use current and emerging technologies effectively to meet the demands of this changing world. These workshops assisted in providing that opportunity. They showcased technological innovation in a flexible learning environment where areas of learning and technology were
integrated in creative ways in order to stimulate interest and foster curiosity. They were greatly enhanced through collaborations involving members of the local community, in this case a local community group of experts, Fraser Valley Makerspaces, and the Society of BC Engineers and Geoscientists.
5. Teen Imagine Contest In 2017, FVRL coordinated the second-annual Teen Imagine Contest. The contest invited teenagers, aged 12-18 to submit creative works for the chance to win prizes. The contest was advertised throughout our system and teens were encouraged to submit their works in any of our libraries or online. Teens were invited to submit creative works in any medium they should choose, including creative writing, music, graphic design, etc. We wanted to encourage their imagination and challenge them to harness their creativity and innovation. We were responding to requests from teens in our communities to provide them with opportunities that help them achieve their goals, for example selected individuals could include their award on post-secondary or employment applications. The decision to offer the Teen Imagine Contest originated in our objective to offer opportunities to teens that flex their creative and innovation skills in the context of the growing creative economy. We hope that this opportunity can be a stepping stone on their paths into higher education and employment.
The Numbers
6. At a Glance 7. Financial Statements
Circulation Physical items loaned: 5,696,881 Items renewed online: 964,197 Holds: 1,409,430
Downloads eBooks: 322,146 Audiobooks: 108,461 Digital mags: 64,649
6. At a Glance
Reference & Resources Reference questions: 225,648 Website and catalogue visits: 3,447,007 Public access workstations sessions: 285,504
Programs Programs offered: 7,849 Program attendance: 242,491
Service Area + Cardholders Service area population: 722,593 Active cardholders: 330,528 Active cardholders as percent of population served: 45.74% New cards issued: 24,329
7. Financial Statements Revenue Local gov’t members
2017 Budget
2017 Actual
2016 Actual
24,725,379
24,725,379
23,972,713
1,421,265
1,462,370
1,424,080
Fees & Fines
537,540
601,333
569,858
Donations
150,000
127,311
131,925
20,000
59,060
33,737
26,854,184
26,975,453
26,132,313
2017 Budget
2017 Actual
2016 Actual
Salary & Benefits
18,844,413
17,775,610
17,188,377
Library Materials
1,039,000
1,034,128
1,112,589
3,011,055
3,157,882
2,911,235
115,000
98,226
103,981
3,642,156
3,635,372
3,608,712
-
-
9,143
26,651,624
25,701,218
24,934,037
202,560
1,274,235
1,198,276
Provincial grant
Interest Totals
Expenses
Operating (Schedule) Library Interlink Amortization Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets Totals Annual Surplus (Deficit)
Statement of Operation for the Year Ended December 31, 2017