Circulation
2016 AT A GLANCE
Programs
2016
Helping FVRL to connect with customers needs / wants
A NewToBC initiative in partnership with FVRL
Ukulele kits donated to FVRL
UKE ‘N PLAY
annual report
On Tour Reaches Out to Aboriginal Communities
I(DEA) CENTRE
This amazing tool has allowed FVRL to hear the voice of the customers through our staff. The over 100 ideas generated are working to reduce barriers to library service that would otherwise have gone undiscovered. One such example is a staff observation that led to an idea that our Library Card Policy was not supporting parents who were separated or divorced. Realizing that 24% of children live with parents who are divorced, separated or in joint custody– and yet only one card per family is permitted resulted in the FVRL Executive supporting the development of a family friendly policy that will remove any barriers that divorced or separated parents experience when using the public library.
Programs offered: 7,318 Program attendance: 230,802
LIBRARY CHAMPIONS
»» Increase staff comfort levels with suggesting new ideas; »» Increase perception of consistency in processing staff ideas; »» Increased number of ideas flowing through the organization; »» Increased staff perception of FVRL as an innovative employer; and »» Increased evidence that the i(dea)Centre has the potential to improve the customer experience.
Physical items loaned: 6,193,858 Items renewed online: 1,002,896 Holds: 1,455,906
Working together with NewToBC, the Library Champions project has increased access to information and resources to a minimum of 39 newcomers, whom received their first library card, and 765 individual newcomers reached one-on-one. There is reason to believe there were significantly more as we have not received all reports back yet, and not everyone reported on this indicator.
Interim observations suggest we are meeting the following intended outcomes:
Reference & Resources
Immigration is becoming increasingly vital to our various community interests. FVRL is playing an important role in realizing those interests and reducing the barriers associated with being a newcomer.
The FVRL i(dea)Centre is increasing staff capacity at FVRL. Because the system is available for all to see, it is reducing redundant conversation, and the collective impact of all staff contributing their thoughts and knowledge to each idea means better efficiency overall. It’s also improving staff comfort with speaking up with new ideas, and their perceptions of FVRL as a competent and innovative organization.
Downloads
FVRL is reaching new communities and fostering new relationships with Aboriginal peoples, increasing their access to information and resources throughout the Fraser Valley. FVRL, through LiLi, is working collaboratively with local partners, including Fraser Health and First Nation peoples, fostering lasting and sustainable relationships that mutually benefit all organizations involved. FVRL has increased memberships as a result of these new location visits. Further, FVRL is connecting with customers in all parts of the Fraser Valley through LiLi and in doing so, increasing customer engagement of those who may not otherwise connect with their public library.
The Library Champions gained an increased knowledge and awareness of the library and its resources available to all community members, including materials, databases and services to assist them with pursuing greater employment opportunities. One Champion said that he was a Web Designer in Cambodia and was working at Red Robin. He joined the Champion program to become more involved in his community, and increase his confidence in speaking with others and he achieved both, plus the awareness of the rich resources that FVRL has to offer for his career development such as Lynda.com. He was confident that he would one day be a web designer in Canada. Another Champion said that in his cultural community women and children mostly stay home and the ability to learn about the amazing services available for parents such as Tumblebooks has allowed them to stay home and introduce new literacy skills to their children and improve their own language skills in the process, giving them new found confidence that they too may pursue employment in Canada.
Prior to implementation FVRL staff has made international connections with counterparts at Sno-Isle Libraries in our neighbouring state to the south. Sno-Isle Libraries staff in Washington created a similar idea management system at their library one year before we began ours. Here at FVRL we were able to capitalize on Sno-Isle’s successes and suggestions. We hope to present our experiences together at library conferences in the coming years.
Reference questions: 247,061 Website and catalogue visits: 3,493,791 Public access workstations sessions: 285,505
Uke ‘n Play at FVRL has enabled inspiration and innovation in the library, and our Ukulele Kits are in high demand. Our evaluation has revealed the Uke ‘n Play at FVRL collection is contributing to connected communities. Customers are coming together around our ukuleles, strengthening existing relationships or building new ones, both at the library and at home. The Kits are also supporting musical literacy – our customers report they are learning something new and trying the ukulele for the first time. One in 50 ukulele customers signs up for a new library card.
Library Champions from these three communities were selected and trained to conduct outreach to local immigrants and newcomers for a 3 month period. Library Champions needed to be permanent residents, but not yet a Canadian citizen, as well as 19 years of age or older. The Champions were trained on building communication, presentation and outreach skills and on the range of programs, services and resources that are available in libraries. They then went out into their community – to their friends, groups, churches, and schools – promoting the library and its resources. The final session of the project celebrated their success as they were awarded certificates of appreciation and provided an opportunity to share their experiences.
In mid 2016 FVRL staff created an idea management system to help us hear more clearly (through our staff) what our customers want. Our i(dea) Centre encapsulates: generating, capturing, discussing and improving, organizing, evaluating, and prioritizing valuable insight or alternative thinking that would benefit library services and customer experience and otherwise not have emerged through normal processes. Through idea management we can use resources and develop services guided by our core services and areas of strategic focus for purposeful innovation. Our system is created and managed by a team of librarians, designed by our Marketing and Communications department, implemented technically by our IT department, and open for use by all FVRL staff. Upon launch we saw overwhelming use of the system for the first 4 to 5 months, and our team is still working through the backlog of ideas.
The Aboriginal Family Gatherings are significant to providing outreach as they are a place of community building through socializing, celebrating diverse cultures, sharing knowledge with one another and distributing information about community organizations. The attendance of LiLi at the Aboriginal Family Gatherings and Health Fair events allow library services to directly reach Aboriginal communities in familiar settings that are inclusive and non-intimidating. Additionally, the presence of the LiLi vehicle (FVRL branded Nissan Cube) sparks conversation and interest from the community while promoting the library’s mobile initiative. The LiLi vehicle engages people of all ages who are curious about music and video games, while igniting a curiosity about libraries and how they have adopted to technology through ‘fun’ initiatives.
The Library Champions Program is an initiative FVRL undertook in the City of Langley, Township of Langley, and the City of Abbotsford in partnership with NewToBC, funded by Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.
eBooks downloaded: 300,005 Audiobooks downloaded: 90,941 Digital magazines downloaded: 63,047
A new connection with Fraser Health Aboriginal Health Coordinator has fostered sharing of information and resources in regards to outreach with Aboriginal communities in the Fraser Valley. Since the fall of 2016, LiLi has been invited to and attended numerous Aboriginal Family Gatherings and Health Fairs in the City of Langley, Abbotsford, Port Coquitlam and Chilliwack.
In October 2016 FVRL launched Uke ‘n Play at FVRL, a lending collection of 50 Ukulele Kits. Earlier in 2016, the Coquitlam Ukulele Tiny Instrument Enthusiasts Circle (CUTIE) approached FVRL staff to offer a donation of ukuleles. Ukuleles are approachable and easy to learn, making them the perfect instrument to support musical literacy and enhanced social connections amongst our customers. FVRL embraced CUTIE’s passion and strong sense of community, agreeing to add books and make the kits available to our customers. Each Ukulele Kit contains one ukulele, one beginner ukulele book, one digital tuner, and a soft ukulele case. After creating documentation, training staff and preparing the kits, we launched the Uke ‘n Play collection to much fanfare. Five FVRL locations hosted launch parties and several continue to host monthly ukulele circle programs.
Service Area + Cardholders
FVRL has reached out to First Nations people and their communities through the outreach initiative, Library Live and On Tour (LiLi). FVRL’s Community Development Specialist has been meeting Aboriginal peoples and communities to share the value of libraries, how libraries enrich community places, build bonds with neighbours, and share knowledge.
Service area population: 706,117 Active cardholders: 297,477 Active cardholders as percent of population served: 38.68% New cards issued: 28,642
LIBRARY LIVE
2016 HIGHLIGHTS
MESSAGE FROM THE
BOARD & STAFF
CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER
FVRL BOARD
BOARD CHAIR AND
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.
A great team is needed to build a great organization. During the past year, our team has grown together, and built a strong foundation for the future of Fraser Valley Regional Library. Throughout 2016, Fraser Valley Regional Library achieved many milestones to improve the customer experience. Implementation of our integrated services has been completed. The integration consisted of combining service desks to create a consistent service throughout the library. This was a long process which took many hours and many renovations to complete. We are tremendously pleased with the results and continue to improve the customer experience.
Scott Hargrove Chief Executive Officer
In 2016, a staff idea management system, the i(dea)Centre, took shape and set the stage to improve customer experiences through ideas shared by staff. The i(dea)Centre provided staff with a platform in which to generate, capture, and discuss ideas aimed at improving the customer journey. The project met with great success straightaway, engaging all levels of staff.
John Van Laerhoven (Chair) Corisa Bell (First Vice-Chair) Gayle Martin (Second Vice-Chair) Petrina Arnason Les Barkman Bill Dickey Bill Dingwall Laura Dupont Maria Harris Heather King Megan Knight Chuck Stam Jenny Stevens Sonja Reyerse Wilf Vicktor
Mayor, District of Kent Councillor, City of Maple Ridge Councillor, City of Langley Councillor, Township of Langley Councillor, City of Abbotsford Director, Fraser Valley Regional District Councillor, City of Pitt Meadows Councillor, City of Port Coquitlam Director, Metro Vancouver Councillor, Corporation of Delta Councillor, City of White Rock Councillor, City of Chilliwack Councillor, District of Mission Councillor, Village of Harrison Hot Springs Mayor, District of Hope
SENIOR STAFF
One of our proudest moments of 2016 was the launch of our very own lending collection of 50 ukuleles, made possible with a donation from the Coquitlam Ukulele Tiny Instrument Enthusiasts Circle (CUTIE). The collection represents our first venture into the Library of Things, the modern sharing economy, and opened the door for exploration into other “thing” collections.
Scott Hargrove Nancy Gomerich Cathy Renshaw Heather Scoular Jeff Narver
These successes illustrate the commitment of FVRL’s Board, management and staff to build our reputation as innovators in the Canadian public library community. Our focus is on building strong communities that are well positioned to succeed in the new digital economy.
Mayor John Van Laerhoven Board Chair
Chief Executive Officer Director of Finance Director of Organizational Development Director of Customer Experience Director of Infrastructure and Resources
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 2016 BUDGET
2016 ACTUAL
2015 ACTUAL
Local Government Members
23,972,713
23,972,713
23,307,036
Provincial Grant
1,425,500
1,424,080
1,426,418
Fees, Fines and other Revenues
534,824
603,595
602,526
Donations
150,000
131,925
148,367
26,083,037
26,132,313
25,484,347
Salary & Benefits
18,358,989
17,188,377
17,197,104
Library Materials
960,892
1,112,589
964,925
Operating Schedule
3,045,553
2,911,235
2,775,871
Library InterLINK
120,000
103,981
105,575
Amortization
3,642,156
3,608,712
3,571,528
-
9,143
146,310
26,127,590
24,934,037
24,761,313
(44,553)
1,198,276
723,034
REVENUES
EXPENSES
Loss on disposal of tangible capital assets
ANNUAL SURPLUS (DEFICIT)