Library Trends. Parts IV, V and VI Del with Special Problems Of

DOCUMENT RESUME

ED 063 959 LI 003 715

AUTHOR Bowron, Albert TITLE A Partnership for Development:Public Libraries in Greater vancouver. INSTITUTION British Columbia Library Development Commission, Vancouver. Committee on Library Development. PUB DATE 71 NOTE 99p.;(0 References)

EDRS PRICE MF-$0.65 HC-$3.29 DESCRIPTORS Foreign Countries; Library Collections; *Library Cooperation; *Library Planning; *Library Services; *Public Librvzies; School Libraries IDENTIFIERS Canada; *Library Development

ABSTRACT Deliberations of the Five Year Plan Committee in 1970 uncoverg!d a need for a separate study on theorganization of public libraries in the greater Vancouver area. Theresults of such a study, conducted in 1971, are contained in this report.Part I dwells on the details of the rapid growth of the Vancouver areain the hope that those responsible for librarydevelooment will better understand the problems involved and will recognize the needfor a system approach to public libraries as the only way toimprove local service. Part a description of theVancouver area political structure, is important for library development because of thekey role of the Regional District form of government. Part IIIanalyzes some aspects of library service and relates it tolocal and national, social and library trends. Parts IV, V and VI del withspecial problems of the region while Part VII outlines a developmentplan designed to mesh with a similar plan for the rest of BritishColumbia being worked out by the Five Year Plan Committee. A list of 20recommendations pertinent to each part of the report is presented.(Author/SJ) U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION C7 THIS DOCUMENT HAS SEEN MPRO- DUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM L" THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATIONORIG (7% INATING IT POINTS OF VIEW OR OPIN 'IONS STATED PO NOT NECESSARILY ON\ REPRESENT OFFrCIAL OFFICE OF ECU- CATION POSITION OR POLICY %g)

A PARTNERSHIP FOR DEVELOPMENT

PUBLIC LIBRARIES IN GREATERVANCOUVER

1971

Albert Bowron Information, Media ti LibraryPlanners 164 MacPherson Avenue Toronto 5 Ontario Mr. R.D. Ferguson, Chairman, Library Development Commission, Province of British Columbia, Victoria, B.C.

Dear Mr. Ferguson,

We submit herewith a report "A Partnership ForDevelop- ment: Public Libraries in Greater Vancouver"as authorized by letter of March 9, 1971 andaccording to the agreement between the Commission andAlbert Bowron/ Information, 'ledia and Library Planners, signed,May 7, 1971.

It was indeed a pleasure to workon this project for the Commission and with the Director, Mr.R.L. Davison. We hope the evidence and conclusions willassi./t. the Commission to improve library serviceto the people of Greater Vancouver and will contributeto future library development policy for the Province.

Yours yzy truly, C A.Bowron

Nov. 26, 1971 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page

Letter of Transmittal

Introduction 1 PART I: A PROFILE OF THEREGION 3

1. Canada, B.C. andthe Region 3 2. The Distributionof Population 6 Table A: GVRD Population1966-1981 7 3. The Ethnic Population 8 Table B: GVRD PopulationDistribution by Ethnic Group - 1961 9 4. Trends in Development 10 17 5. The Regional Pattern 19 Table C: CommercialFloorspace in the GVRD Table D: Summary ofRegional Growth in the Next 30 years 21

PART II: THE GREATERVANCOLVER REGIONALDISTRICT CONCEPT 22 Map: Public Librariesin the Greater Vancouver Regional District 28

PART III: LIBRARYSERVICE IN THE GREATERVANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT 29

1. Goals of LibraryService 29 30 2. Public LibrarieJSince the VainsteinReport Table E: Population,Bcokstock and Expenditure 1963-1970 32 Table F: Expendituresand Income forPublic Libraries in the GVRD 1970 34 for Information 35 3. Changing Needs 38 4. The BookCollections Table G: Collectionsand Circulation forPublic Libraries in the GVRD -1970 39 40 Table H* Bookstockcompared with MinimumStandards Table I: PeriodicalHoldings Compared with Minimum Standards 41 of Current Relevancyof the S. An Indication 43 Collection of Checklist Tit]esHeld by GVRD Table J: Summary 45 Libraries Table K: GVRDLibraries' Holdings ofChecklist Relevant Books 48

3 6. The Use of Non-Print Media 49 7. Sharing Rescurces and Cooperation 52 Table L: Vancouver Public Library Interlibrary Loans - 1970 (including photocopies) 53

PART IV: THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THE SCHOOL LIBRARY 58

1. Goals and Functions Compared 59 2. Cooperation and Coordination 62 3. The Church Report and School Library Development 63 4. The Centennial Eigh School and Community Library, Coquitlam 66

PART V: THE FEASIBILITY OF TECHNICAL SERVICESIN THE GVRD 68

Table M: Statistics Basedon 157 Titles Dupli- cated in Four Libraries 72 PART VI. THE FRASER VALLEY REGIONAL LIBRARY AND THE GVRD 74

PART VII: A PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OFPUBLIC 76 LIBRARIES IN THE GVRD

1. Pre-conditions for Library SystemDevelopment 76 2. Integration or Federation 77 3. The Objectives ofa Library Federation 78 4. Attaining the Objectives 80 5. The Greater Vancouver Library SystemBoard 81 6. Regional Functions of the LibrarySystem Board 83 7. Financing the System 85 8. Areas for Further Study 87 9. Service Patterns of the Library System of 89 Greater Vancouver

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS 90

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 94 1

INTRODUCTION

The need to study publiclibrary organization in the Greater Vancouver area aroselate in 1970 out of the deliberationsof the Five YearPlan Committee which was formed to advise the LibraryDevelopment Commission on the future of publiclibraries in British Columbia. The Committee felt thatthe area and its publiclibraries presented problems ofdevelopment that weredifferent than those in the rest ofthe Province and thatrequired separate consideration. The Commission agreedwith this point-of-view and the LowerMainland Public Libraries Coordinating Committee, whenasked for their opinion endorsed the idea of a separatestudy.

After being authorized tobegin such a study inMarch of 1971 terms of raference wereworked out and agreed toby May 1971. Our work began with avisit to the area on May 2nd and attendance atthe British ColumbiaCentennial Citizens' Conference onLibraries held in Victoria on May 3rd, 1971.

During subsequent visits,interviews, research andanalysis a great amountof data was collected onall aspects of library service from whichthe important problemsemerged. In our view the rapidgrowth of Greater Vancouverin recent years hasresulted in uneven publiclibrary development and has forcedthe newer publiclibraries to concentrate on theprovision of basic localservices to the exclusion of regionalcoordination and cooperationand the provision of badlyneeded reference resc Irces, non- print materials and aninformation network. Part I of the report dwells onthe details of thisrapid growth in the hope that nose responsiblefor library developmentwill better understand thesedevelopments and recognizethe need for a system approach to publiclibraries as the only way to improve localservice. Part II is important for library developmentbecause of th key role of the Regional District formof government. Part III analyses of library serviceand relates it to local some aspects Parts IV, V and and national, socialand library trends. VI deal with specialproblems of theregion and Part VII outlines a developmentplan designed tomesh with a similar plan for the restof the Provinceof British Columbia being worked outby the Five YearPlan Commit*ee. 2

The report s a whole does not attempt to provide the answers to a! questions. Some are identified for future study old others could not be answered satis- factorily with4, the constraints of time placedon this study.

Nor can our report be regarded as a blueprint ofsteps to be taken, one by one, leading to the construction of the perfect library system. In two or three years time economic conditions, technical developments andmany other factors may appear which would alter the conclusions we have reached. There is a danger in regarding any report, no matter how comprehensive, as more thana guide to the future worked out on the basis of the existing facts and opinions available duringone short span of time.

In gathering the evidence forour conclusions we received exemplary cooperation fromeveryone. Mistakes in logic and statistics and any misinformation contained in this report are entirelyouv respum:ibility.

The first step after receiving thisreport is a thorough discussion by everyone concerned. Wu! hope it will be a useful contribution to anew plan for library development in the Province of British Columbia. 3

PART I

A PROFILE OF THEREGION

1. Canada, B.C.and the Region

For many years, beforethe formation of theG.V.R.D. as aMetro-government concept,"The Lower Mainland" was thedesignation for thepopulated south-western area of BritishColumbia. This area is indeed an identifiable geographical unitcomprising the relatively flat, wide valley ofthe Fraser as this greatriver emerges from itsmountain canyon, theupland alluvial Burrard Peninsula, the richdelta lands at the mouthof the river and the mountainslopes to the north and east. Economically, however, thelower Mainland hasdeveloped into two main sub-regions. One, the eastern-mostfrom Hope to White Rock andPitt Meadows, is largelyagri- cultural, the towns andvillages being mainlyfarm centres with relatedservice industries. The other, to the west, from BoundaryBay to BowenIsland, is urban and suburban in character,oriented to the Pacifictrade of Vancouver and NewWestminster and with amuch higher proportion of skilledand specialized workersemployed in transportation,and with financialinstitutions and service industriesgeared to the localurban market or producing for export. The western halfof "The Lower Mainland" has developedsince the second world warinto the third largest urban areain Canada and as a conse- large urban areas quenceexhibits problems similar to elsewhere on thecontinent, namely probler.sof land use, transportation, education,social organization,public administration, etc. The separation of"The Lower Mainland" into twosub-regions has beenrecognized by Government in thecreation of the Greater the Provincial unit with the Vancouver RegionalDistrict as a political capability of coordinating orsupplying district-wide central servicesbeyond the means of any onejurisdiction. The other, more eastern,part of "TheLower Mainland" Fraser-Cheam now liesin the CentralFraser Valley, the or theDewdney-Alouette RegionalDistricts. 4

This study is restricted by itsterms of reference to the Greater Vancouver Regional District andto the municipalities and areas within it. However, published- figures, trends and predictions oftenare based on "The Lower Mainland", "Metropolitan Vancouver"or "Greater Vancouver" rather than the relativelynew designation "Greater Vam-ouver Regional District." The parameters of each are different and for thisreason the profile to follow does not pretendto statistical accuracy but is an attempt to sketch in the backgroundon which a useful development plan for librariescan be imposed.

On July 20, 1871 the Colony of BritishColumbia with a population of 37,000 became the sixthprovince of Canada. In 1885 the first transcontinentalrailway was completed to Port Moody. By 1900 the populationwas 170,000 climbing to 450,000 by 1915. The present population is 2,137,000 and it is predicted thatthere will be over 3,000,000 people in the provinceby 1980, an annual growth rate of about 3%. Since 1960, British Columbia has recorded the highest populationgrowth rate in Canada and, according to the EconomicCouncil of Canada, has "sustained the most widely basedeconomic expansion of all regions."

The provincialarea is 366,000 square miles. The major natural resources are softwood timber,minerals and natural gas. There is a potential waterpower resource of 3.2 million KWor half of the Canadian total potential. Of the landarea only 2% is arable and only 1% is in municipalities, which, however, contain 80%of the population. Although recently the greatest relative growth of population has taken place in thecentral and northern areas of the province, 70% of the people live in "The Lower Mainland" and Vancouver Islandareas. Population growth in "The Lower Mainland" has been rapid,from 250,000 persons in 1921 to 1,000,000 by1966. Prospects for the year 2000 are for 2.4 millionor ten times the 1921 figure. The next 15 years will likelysee a 70% increase in the population--growth thatwill have major implications for the Region, particularly for housing, transportation and municipal servicing, all factors which directly influence the provision of library services. Existing libraries will have to expand services just as rapidly to keepup. In addition, competition for municipal funds willgrow stronger and changing community organization and needs will force libra_y boards and administrators to examine andre- examine their communities and to adopt aggressive and flexibl policies. 5

"The Lower Mainland,"housing about 54% of the provincial population,has three basic economicfunctions; it is the hub of B.C.'ssecondary industries; it is the provincial focusfor tertiary or serviceactivity; and it is the major portfor Western Canada. Looking to the future, the rapidpopulation increase in theprovince should give rise to anexpanding domestic marketwhich in turn would permitthe establishment ofspecialized secondary industries utilizingthe new and improvedskills of an upgraded labourforce. The continued industriali- zation of Pacific rim countriessuch as Japan and the future trade with Chinawill greatly increase port activities in GreaterVancouver as it will inthe whole geographical basin sharedwith the Seattle-Tacoma- Portland complex.

The Canadian birth ratehas dropped substantiallysince 1960, mainly because manycouples have decided not tohave children or to have fewerchildren than has been the custom in the past, orbecause more women haveentered the labour force. This reduced birth rateis expected to continue through 1980. However, in spite ofthis, for 20 years B.C. hashad the highest populationgrowth rate and the lowest 'oirth rate. This has been possibleonly because of massivein-migration which, since 1921,has accounted for 60% of thepopulation increase. Generally speaking, in times of boom,people have migratedfrom everywhere to the resourceindustries outside "The Lower Mainland." In times of recessionpeople have migrated from the rest of B.C.and elsewhere to theurban areas looking for jobs. This major significanceof in-migration adds considerable uncertaintyto both, forecasting population growth in "The LowerMainland." Neither is it easy to predict populationand such characteristicsfor the future as age grouping ordistribution.

The G.V.R.D. is presentlyabsorbing about 88.5%of the population growth of "TheLower Mainland." With the continuing improvementof housing and utilitystandards and with the drawing powerof a wide range ofsocial, cultural and retailfacilities, "Metro" apartment construction and a declinein farm population,this pattern is likely to be of developmentfavouring the urban areas 6

2. The Distribution of Population

The population figures and forecasts in TableI have been supplied by the Greater. Vancouver Regional District Planning Department witha note of caution that distribution of population particularly is greatlyinfluenced by municipal, regional and provincial policiesfor transit and transportation servicing, zoning andre- development. Additional figures as noted have been ob- tained from the Municipal Statistics, 1969, and directly from officials in the individual municipalities. Because of the importance of the in-migration factor in population growth and unresolved regional policiesper- taining to zoning, transit and redevelopment, population predictions beyond 1981 have not been attempted for each municipality. In total the number of persons in the Region is certain to increase greatly butthe proportional distribution by municipality is uncertain. Table A: G.V.R.D.Population 1966-1981

Municipality 1966 1969 1971 1981 or area Census est.* est.**

Cities

New Westminster 38,013 42,700 44,500 55,000

North Vancouver 26,851 30,800 33,000 37,400

Port Coquitlam 11,121 16,000 23,000 22,500

Port Moody 7,021 10,200 11,500 16,000

Vancouver 410,375 430,200 435,000 480,000

White Rock 7,787 8,800 10,000 11,400

Districts

Burnaby 112,036 123,100 133,000 180,000

Coquitlam 40,916 50,000 55,000 70,000

Delta 20,664 33,000 50,000 54,000

Fraser Mills 164 164 # #

North Vancouver 28,124 55,000 58,500 84,000

Richmond 50,460 58,800 67,500 108,400

Surrey 81,826 91,100 98,700 145,000

West Vancouver 31,987 36,000 38,500 51,000

Areas Endowment lands 2,979 3,000 5,300 17,300

Buntzen 669 750 800 1,200 Bowen Island 218 250

Lions Bay 227 250

Barnston Island 98 100 100 100

Indian Reserves 1,317 k_API 1,500 1,700 1,135,000 Total 192,384 791T61T 1,06L900 given *Estimated by municipalities orinterpolated from growth rates **Forecasts in "PopulationTrends,1921-1986." LMRPB, 1968. #Included in Coquitlam figures. 11 8

3. The Ethnic Population

Recent population statistics of ethnicorigin and distribution by communityare difficult to come by. Perhaps this is because thereare no large concentrations of immigrants or foreign-born people inthe area. In any case we were unable to find any studies of ethnicgroups that were of use to us. However, knowledge ofpersons who cannot use public libraries fully because ofcultural or language barriers is most important whenbuilding services to assist such people to adjust toa new country and to preserve their own customs and language. We recommend that libraries research the distributionand need's of the ethnic popu ation to insure t at service totneselroups is not

The 1971 census, when published,will reveal the dimensions of the researchnecessary and should rece!ve early attention by the libraries in theRegional District. The most recent reliable figures of ethnicorigin we could obtain were from the 1961census as follows: Census metropolitan area Total British TableIsles B: Fren6i. G.V.R.D. Population Distribution by Gefaian Italian Nether-lands Polish Ethnic Groups, 1961 Rus-sian navianScandi- Ukrai- nian peanOtherEuro- Asiatic and not Otherstated G.V.R.D. VancouverBurnaby 790,165100,157384,522 491,084230,234 65,188 12,11330,507 3,430 26,56151,056 5,417 12,94118,300 1,816 350 23,946 9,3113,271 812 12,861 1,5637,117 430 4,8409,3241,138 418 45,14018,782 1,9476,510 18,712 9,2472,663 646 40,61322,624 4,6001,318 19,91525,519 1,154 248 18,326 6,6923,263 761 NewDeltaCoquitlaaFraser Westminster Mills 14,59729,05333,654 165 16,18420,624 9,050 81 4,2401,633 597 24 1,7541,679 964 5 697108 3 1,132 913 146542 4 129165536 - 2,4181,175 24 303937267 3 1,738 838810 17 285139558 4 1,2251,032 146 04I,.1.1 PortNorthPort Moody VancouverCoquitlam Dis.38,971Cty.23,656 4,7898,111 16,19329,713 4,4753,087 1,030 434736293 1,7271,113 285631 400692105 71 927127283592 126290199 66 227 2776 1,4372,131 249556 165364 93 1,195 340351 163 5122 695609100876 WestUniversitySurreyRichmond Vancouver Endow- ment Area 70,83843,32325,454 3,272 40,63026,05321,002 2,710 3,5721,624 462 53 3,6225,940 884148 340165557 15 3,6232,271 451 72 1,290 167795 43 1,157 403 9735 6,4232,002 900122 2,2911,477 107 29 3,7002,076 178617 1,9 223706 44 308156900 UnorganizedWhite Rock 6,4532020 , 4,8461,359 164 92 114209 1327 113 47 3152 4623 171287 4769 120 90 1512 506 14 t.0 111111.16. 10

Even though there has beena grc;at change since 1961 in numbers and distribution of ethnic population,there are, as far as we can ascertain,no significant concentrations of any non-English speakinggroup in any of the G.V.R.D. municipalities. The 1961 Census did record howevera level of 47% of mother-tongue retentionamong the non-British, non-French population in B.C. This is a higher level than Ontario but lower than the Prairies. The minorities most important for public libraries toserve as a group at the moment are probably the Chinese, EastIndian and the growing Italian population. The native population of the area (living on and off the Reserves) is a specialcase and is mentioned elsewhere. The French-Canadian population scattered over the region or concentrated in the old settlements of Maillardville or Fraser Mills is fairly stable and has probablygrown mostly by natural increase. Only 2% of the population reported thatthey were bi- lingual in the official languages. A library service in other languages, considering the scattered distribution of the ethnic population,can, in our view, be provided most efficiently and economically bya regional approach. It is difficult for any one library authorityto provide and maintain an adequate collection of books,periodicals, films etc.fe'r a relatively smallgroup of local people who wish to be served ina language other than English but considered as a function to be provided cooperativelyby all libraries such service becomes efficient and economi- cal.

4. Trends in Development

Some trends in development should be noted and for this purpose we have adopted the sub-area divisions of the G.V.R.D. Planning Departmentas follows:

Burrard Peninsula: Vancouver, Burnaby, New Westmaster, Coquitlam (including Fraser Mills), Port Coquitlam, Port Moody.

North Shore: West Vancouver, North Vancouver City, North Vancouver District.

South Shore: Richmond, Delta, Surrey (including Sarnston Island), White Rock. The Burrard Peninsula

While the Burrard Peninsula population has continued to increase numerically, it has been declining since 1931as a proportion of the G.V.R.D. total. However, mainly because of the increase in apartment development in Vancouver 11 and New Westminster andthe increase in housing densities in Burnaby and Coquitlam, the rateof proportional decline will slow down in the future.

The City of Vancouver,particularly the downtown core, will, if present trendscontinue, dominate the entireregion culturally and financially. The downtown area also will become an executivecity with high density housingin "the West End." Such developments ns Project200, a $300 million complex of offices, apartments,restaurants etc., the redevelopment of the False Creek area, anemphasis on public rapid transit, a planned thirdtunnel or bridge crossing of Burrard Inlet, the addition of 500,000 squarefeet of office space and 5,000dwelling units per year willincrease the core area as anattraction for commuters andresidents interested in big city living. New office construction will be channelled west of Burrard andretail development east of Burrard and along Robson, urbanpark development will continue; institutions such as the MacMillanPlanetarium and Museum, The Vancouver Art Gallery, thePacific Coliseum, both mainland universities, the central buildingof the Vancouver Public Library, 14 public pools, 10community centres and manyother attractions give a dominant position tothe peninsula and a focus necessary to the socialunity of the entire Region.

Of course such massivedevelopment and redevelopmentcould result in conjestion and subsequentdeterioration of the Downtown area if it is not strictlycontrolled on a Regional level. Regional planning has begun andpublic libraries as social attractions and generatorsof educational activity can play a part in the planning process. Library development should be an ingredient of allcommunity and Regional planning concepts along withschools, parks, churches, etc. Burnaby is developing rapidly as aresidential area with a variety of housing units. There are a number of large industries such as B.C. Telephone,MacMillan-Bloedel and Kelley-Douglas and a growing numberof secondary and small enterprises in the not yetfully developed industrial areas. The large shopping centressuch as Lougheed Mall,Brentwood, Middlegate and Kingsway arecompetitive with the big department stores downtown. Kingsway is the focus of commercial activity in Burnaby.

Cosuitlam is adding 900 dwellingunits per year, mostly single family units, but townhouses and apartments arein- creasing. Commercial developmentsince 1967 has concentrated on shopping centressuch as Maillardville,Caribou, Burquiltam Plaza, Austin andEastgate, which is to begreatly expanded. 12

Port Co9uitlam has more industrial developmentsuch as C.P. Rail, the Esso Foundry anda number of smaller enterprises, but residential development in the Mary Hillarea has doubled in 10 years. The population growth rate has been 18.5% from 1960-1970. The Northside Shopping Centre and a new one in Mary Hill will providea retail centre.

Port Moody, an older community witha refinery, a bulk terminal and other important industries, is undergoing considerable change. The old downtownarea may be partly displaced by a large town centre developmentat the head of Burrard Inlet in 5 to 7years and the north side of the inlet is slated for residentialdevelopment beginning in 1972. Port Moody has developedmore slowly but the "Burrard Inlet Regional Town Study"indicates a more rapid pace of residential as against industrial development in the future.

Recently the possibility of political amalgamationbetween Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody hasbeen discussed. Although such a move isno more than speculation at this time, it would makesense from a library service point of view. The size, development, geography andeconomy of the area could, if unified, provide good conditions foran efficient library unit.

New Westminster has 2,200persons working in primary and 4-,000 in smaller manufacturingand warehousing industries. Douglas College is developing its maincamps in the City. The trend in housing is toward higherdensity. Woodward's department store is the main retailcentre with another, London Square, planned for the Kingswayacross from Woodward's. The City has a long history of independent growth and tends to be fairly self-sufficient. It has two city centres, the oldernear the river and a newer developing centre uptown at Sixth Street and SixthAvenue. In addition the City is becominga secondary retail and service centre for Burnaby and Surrey. The old loyalties to "the Royal City" are breaking downas its economic future becomes integrated with the future of the wholearea. In general the intense development of the Burrard Peninsula has brough problems to thearea. The controversy of freeways vs. public transit is as yet unresolved. This question, as it affects long distance commuter traffic and the future of the downtowncore area, is being discussed by the planners and the G.V.R.D. Board, withpressure for an early decision. Concern for the quality of the environment, the urban landscape and pollution of the shoreline

16 13

higher and the lakes ismanifested inconfrontations over slum clearance,renewal and restoration housing densities, False of older andhistoric areas(Gastown, Chinatown, urban sophisticationis developing Creek, etc.), and a new Such which tends to dividethe population bylife styles. problems are common tomost large NorthAmerican cities and represent achallenge to communityorganizations, educational authoritiesand services such aspublic libraries.

The North Shore

the Development of theNorth Shore beganin earnest with opening of the LionsGate Bridge in1938, and has been furthered by the newSecond Narrowsbridge. Since 1938, at about 4,000 population growthhas run consistently The figure wouldbe higher were it not persons per year. The for the presenttraffic problem onLions Gate Bridge. spectacular views, asouthern exposure,and an unusual land values and landscape have generallyresulted in high band of older, higher-priced homes,although there is a homes behind theindustrial wate:-frontof less expensive is only the inner harbour. The eastern endof the sub-area Redevelopment of central areasto sparsely developed. moderate rate. apartment densitiesis taking place at a been a slackeningin developmentbut Recently there has of a new another growth jumpis expected onthe completion A levellingof the NorthShore's share harbour crossing. about 13% is likely as of the "Metro"population total at developed areas becomefilled in. the most easily in Apartments willlikely becomeincreasingly important relation to bothmajor shopping areasand transportation facilities. is said to havethe highest percapita West Vancouver it is an income of anycommunity in Canada. In any case, apartments with mostcommercial area ofexpensive homes and restricted to MarineDrive west fromthe Lions development attracted Gate bridge. The Upper LevelHighway has retail growth tothe slopes ofthe residential and some Horseshoe mountains and asfar as the FerryTerminal at of this municipalityis expected to Bay. Future expansion levels. take place in awestward directionand at higher shopping centreis Park Royal, Presently the largest centres serving the wholeNorth Shore,with other smaller Horseshoe Bay. Apartment at Ambleside,Dundarave and of development has tendedto develop nearthe ocean west

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Ambleside. The dominant character ofWest Vancouveras a residential and retail suburb ofdowntown VaLcouver will undoubtedly continue formany years especially after another bridgeor a tunnel across the harbour is completed.

North Vancouver City,a much older community than West Vancouver, is also residentialin character but is less affluent and hasa higher density. In addition, industry and port facilities havealways been a part of thecommunity, making itmore self-sufficient with an identifiable downtown area of itsown. Only two new shoppingcentres in the Upper Lonsdale andMarine Drive areas have beenbuilt outside the centralcore. Although most residentscommute to Vancouver across the two bridges,there are still many people employed locally in lumberand wood productsenter- prises, ship building and repairfacilities, rail-barge transfer and fabricatingindustries.

The District of NorthVancouver which borders thecity on the north, west andeast, is growing rapidly but thereare large areas as yet undeveloped. New housing is largely single-family units builton the uplands north of the City. There is no retailor commercial centre at the moment except Lonsdale Avenue and theEdgemont, Lynn Valley and Dollar shoppingcentres. A large centre is planned for the Dollarton Highwaywest of the Indian Reserve. North Vancouver City and Districtare set in a spectacular wooded landscape with threelarge parks, Capilano Canyon, Lynn Canyon and Mount SeymourProvincial Park, a-id have great potential fora variety of residential developments. The communitieson Indian Arm to the east havea resort character that is boundto attract new residents in the near future and the recreational facilitiesof the whole area are a regional asset unsurpassed anywherein Canada. Evcn though the amalgamationof the two North Vancouvers is not a popular idea withthe politicians of thearea, greater library efficiency wouldresult from the elimination of the overlapping of servicethat is inevitable under present circumstances.

The South Shore

This sub-area at the mouth ofthe several channels of the Fraser and south to the United Statesborder has a growing popalation that historically has beenfocused on the North Suxrey-Delta upland, witha large commuter population 15 related to FraserRiver industrial areas. Smaller settle- Clover- ments atBrighouse, Steveston,Ladner, White Rock, dale and Port Kells werefocused more on localactivities and less on theBurrard Peninsula. With the construction of the new Oak Streetbridge however, theMassey tunnel and the huge Port Mannbridge, the nature ofthe South Shore has been changeddrastically. Most of its social and economic ties are nowwith Vancouver and theBurrard Peninsula.

In the late'50sdevelopment was spectacular,running at 10,000 persons per year. Services, however, did notkeep up withdevelopment and from '61-'66the pace of grcwth dropped to 5,000 per year. The growth rate hasincreased again but the provisionof essential services,schools, parks etc. is now morecontrolled for sounderand more orderly development. Richmond, with 41,500 acres,easyaccessibility to Vancouver and flattopographyiattracted newsuburban development earlier than otherSouth Shore areas. The Richmond Planning Department reportsthat half the workingpopulation remains in Richmond and isoccupied in the manywood products industries, fish processingplants, ship building,printing and petroleum enterprises. Farming is still animportant The Sea IslandAirport and its maintenancebase occupation. trend also employ manyRichmond residents. The development is half residentialand half commercial. The Richmond Square shopping complexis one of the largestin the Region. The Brighouse areais the present centreof retail and industrial growth inRichmond. municipality on the The District of Surrey,the largest Soufh Shore, -has an areaof 89,000 acres. It is less rural than Delta or Richmondand is attractingthousands of to singlefamily housing whichis the domin- young families directed ant type underdevelopment. Growth is being along the King GeorgeHighway and Scott Street,with industrial sites locatedbetween these twoarteries along the rail lines andalong the Fraserriver opposite New In general the paceof residentialdevelop- Westminster. and ment is dependent onthe installationof sewer lines There are manyshopping centreswith no other services. Whalley is the definite central areadiscernible as yet. in Guilford, largest retail centrewith other major centres Cloverdale and Newton. Surrey PlaceShopping Plaza is Most of the under constructionfor completion in1972. population is employedlocally or in NewWestminster; shopping is mostlylocal but Vancouveris the entertainment magnet attractingSurrey residents.

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The City of White Rock,surrounded by Surrey butinde- pendent and older thanmost of Surrey, hasno industry and is developing residentialsuburbs around the old commercial centreon Semiahmoo Bay. The old business district is weakeningas larger shopping centres such as Hilltop within the municipality andothers outside its boundaries attractcustomers. The future development of White Rock is probablylinked closely to Surrey and is strongly affected by theaccessibility of Vancouver via the Deas Island Throughway.

The Municipality ofDelta is located at the mouthof the 7Fitser s southarm - named because much of the 82,500 acres have been reclaimed by dyking. Delta farms, still numerous, benefit from the rich siltdeposited by the river in pastages. Until the Deas Island Throughwayand the Massey tunnelwere completed the area was largely rural with Ladneras the principal centre. Now, however, residential building isbooming as commutersto Vancouver are attracted to the new sub-divisions. Ladner is still the municipal seat and isgrowing rapidly butso is the North Deltaarea east of Scott Road and theTsawassen- Beach Grove community in thesouth. Most Delta residents commute to the Peninsula for workand entertainment but shop locally or in the bigplazas in other South Shore municipalities. Shopping and commercialcentres have expanded in Ladner and havebeen developed in Tsawassen, along Scott Road, and in NorthDelta. Industry is located along the river in NorthDelta, on Annacis Island and north of Sunshine Heights. The largest project that will effect the greatest changeon the municipality is the superport being developed at RobertsBank north of the Tsawassen Ferry Terminal. 4,990 acres of land will be added to the foreshore forport facilities and another 4,000 acres on the mainland willbe allocated as an industrial corridor servicingthe new off-shore port.

The Endowment Lands, Buntzen,Bow3n Island, Lions Bay and Barnston Island willprobably be incorporated into neighbouring municipalities in time. Their future growth is dependent upon improved communications,services and a change in their statusas unorganized areas. In the case of Bowen Island, Lions Bay,Buntzen and other parts of "Electoral Area B", the ruggedtopography and the diffi- culties of development and provisionof utilities account for a slower growth rate thanthe rest of the Region. The University Endowment Landswill register the greatest population growth asmore land is cleared for settlement and greater density is permitted.

20 17

The Indian Reserves,administered by the FederalGovernment, will finl it mostdifficult if not impossibleto share in the general urbanizationand prosperity unlessthe native people themselves areable to attain moreindependence and control of their ownaffairs and can negotiatewith their neighbours for improvedservices.

5. The Reg,ional Pattern

The Region is, at present,dominated by the specialized commercial, retail andentertainment activities ofthe City of Vancouver. Even though naturalfeatures allow an urban existence in a variety ofbeautiful surroundings, onwooded slopes overlooking thecity, the sea or distantislands, the population of the Regionis dependent on theeconomic health of the core area, theCity of Vancouver,particularly the Central Business District. The North Shore and theSouth Shore sub-areas areessential- ly commuter suburbs, mostof whose workingpopulation travels to the CBD or tothe industrial areasof False Creek, along the north arm ofthe Fraser or along theshores of Vancouver Harbour or BurrardInlet. A study of traffic volumes as plotted bythe G.V.R.D. PlanningDepartment indicates five main corridorsof daily two-way commuter traffic: the Deas IslandThroughway-Oak StreetBridge- Granville route, the KingGeorge Highway-ScottStreet- Pattullo Bridge-Kingswayroute, theTrans-Canada Highway (Highway 401)-Hastings route,the Upper LevelHighway- Second Narrows Bridge routeand the Upper LevelHighway- Preliminary plans for Marine Drive-Lions GateBridge route. rapid transit andadditional freewayconstruction are based on the continuedrush-hour concentrationof traffic to and from the core of the Cityand will intensify useof the five corridors described, but aneffort will be made todecentral- mile area of ize the congestionbuilding up on the 3-square by carrying vehicularand transit the downtown peninsula and passengers eastof Main Street,south of False Creek into the existing oremerging sub-centresof New Westminster, West and NorthVancouver, Burnaby,Coquitlam, North Surrey, Brighouse, Ladner andWhite Rock. The exact form this fixed but it is transportation systemwill take is not yet certain there will be moreemphasis on rapid transit, extension express busesand commuter railservices than on an have seen of the existingfreeways. All proposals we indicate that the futuretransit network willnot only move

21 18

people more efficiently for longerdistances, but it will move people according to a new pattern that willstrengthen the sub-centres. Higher densities of housing willcluster near important transit intersections,some office and support services will follow thenew transit lines to the sub-centres and secondary industrywill move to lesscon- gested areas away from the traditionalsites around False Creek, Burrard inlet and thebanks of the Fraser River.

According to the G.V.R.D.Planning Department, the Greater Vancouver total commercial floorspace is 35,875,943 square feet of which 24,980,465square feet are located in the City of Vancouver and 14,925,247in the downtownarea. In contrast, the total for Surrey and WhiteRock is 1,972,023 square feet, for New Westminster is 2,105,671,for Burnaby 1,951,859. However, overall regional planning,the development of amore balanced transit system and a continua- tion toward decentralizationwill cause not only the growth of the expanding sub-centreswithin the City of Vancouver such as Kitsilano, Cambie.Mount Pleasant and Sunset but also Lougheed Mall and Kingswayin Burnaby, Downtown and Uptown New Westminster, ParkRoyal in West Vancouver, Upper Lonsdale in North VancouverCity, Marine Drive in North Vancouver District, Brighouse,Ladner, Whalley Town Centre, Guildford and White Rock.

Because public libraries havebeen and will continue to be more closely linked to retail and commercialactivity than to !3.idustria1 and purelyresidential use of land, the present and future development ofcommercial centres is of great importance in librarysystem planning. While it is true that the existence ofusers with special needs, such as ethnic groups or industrial workers havean influence on library location and servicepatterns, overriding consideration should be givento the areas of greatest concentration of individuals andfamilies, the points at which people concentrate inthe everyday rhythm of urban life. This implies a combinationof commercial, institu- tional and transportationcentres. Special needs can usually be met by sub-branchesor by attaching special services to the largest librariesclosest to the need. In our opinion the siting of many library branches hasnot been planned witha knowledge of how the community is growing or where centresare developing. Special services to meet special needs must ariseout of community surveys and studies of users andnon-users. This kind of research is badly needed by the librariesof the G.V.R.D.

22 19

Table C: CommercialFloorspace in the G.V.R.D.*

Vancouver Downtown Peninsula 14,925t247

Vancouver Total 24,980,465

Burnaby 1,951,859

New Westminster 2,105,671

Coquitlam 333,535

Port Coquitlam 307,777

Port Moody 86,087

Burrard Peninsula Total 29,765,394

West Vancouver 915,343 North Vancouver City 989,000

North Vancouver District 626,303

North Shore Total 2,530,646

Richmond 1,136,721

Delta 470,259

Surrey 1,703,423

White Rock 268,600

South Shore Total 3,579,003

G.V.R.D. Total 35,875,943**

* Figures supplied by theG.V.R.D. Planning Dept.include floorspace for all commercial usesexcept outdoor recreation and are adjusted asfar as possible toadded commercial space up to 1969. **An additional allowanceestimated at 5% of the total should be made to compensatefor the omissions ofminor commercial areas to arrive at a'corrected' grand total (G.V.R.D.) 2 0

The exact shape of Regional developmentwithin the next 30 years is difficult and risky to predict but the following set of figures is included to illustrate thegeneral dimensions of 30 years' growthas seen by the Regional planners. These figures do not providetargets for development but are reasonably reliable indicators ofwhat to expect. 21

years* Table D: Summaryof Regional Growthin the Next 30 1970 2000 2,000,000 Population 1,000,000 620,000(31%) Vancouver 430,000(43%) 315,000 units 650,000 units Dwellings 55% % of multiple 36% 840,000 jobs Employment 375,000 jobs 170,000 (20%) Downtown 93,000 (25%) 110 mil. sq. ft. Commercial Space 38 mil. sq. ft. 40 mil. " Offices 12.5 mil." f If 16 " CBD offices 7.8 " (62%) (40%) 4,600 acres Local parks 2,300 acres 8.800 acres Com. parks 4,200 acres 34,000 acres Reg. parks 3,000 acres 660 Elementary schools 324 240 High schools 120 14,700 Hospital beds 7,100

Transport 4,500 miles Paved roads 2,560 miles 47 miles 60 miles Freeways 41 miles Rapid transit nil

Commuter trips 61,000-88,000 Downtown 39,000 29,000-56,000 Public transitdowntown 15,700

taken from "ProjectAlpha," G.V.R.D. * Growth figures Transport Is NotJust Planning Department,1971 and "Urban a FastTrain," G.V.R.D.,1970. .2

PART II

THE GREATER VANCOUVER REGIWT DISTRICTCONCEPT

Since 1967 the Greater Vancou , Rcfna1 District, established by the ProvincialGment, has existedas a federation of 14 neighbouring butautonomous municipalities and 3 unorganizedareas. This large and complex urban or urban-oriented regionis now regardedas an economic, cultural and geographicunit for thepurposes of regional planning. Politicians and administratols, following policies layed down bythe provincialgovernment, ale organizing region-wide services and ineffect creating a second level of municipal government inthe area.

A trend toward regionalorganization and planning is evident in many parts of Canada,particularly in large metropolitan areas. This trend reflectsa political and public administrativeresponse to the quickening pace of change, to the complexity of socialstructure and to the need for controlover certain aspects of the physical environment. The old patchwork of largelyaccidental and historical political jurisdictionsis no longer effective in meeting these challenges. The problems of metropolitan life urgently require coordination,cooperation and effective interaction between peopleif they are to be prevented from growingworse.

In an interview published in 1968,the Honorable Dan Campbell, Minister of Municipal Affairs,was asked, "What is the regional concept?" The Minister replied, "It is a device for combining functions. It is not a political amalgamation. It is functional amalgamation in whicha board is establ'.shedto undertake services and administer them jointly."

In general the regional district isan alternative to metro government designed to suit the unique situationof British Columbia where only one-halfof one percent of the total area lies within municipal boundariesbut roughly 80% of the population lives withinthese municipalities. An additional problem arises in regardto unorganized areas which now contain not onlya scattered population 23 unrepresented in municipalgovernment butalso many im- governments once portant industries. Regional cEstrict formed will be able to assessand tax theseindustries and also give thepeople living inunorganized areas representation ondistrict boards andcommittees.

The main purposesof the 29 RegionalDistricts established in B.C. are asfollows: 1) All people inthe region, whetherin a municipality or in anunorganized area, canbe represented throughappointed or elected representatives on theboard of a Regional District and have a sayin the functionsit performs.

2) To provide,after a decision ofthe member municipality or arearepresentatives, services to some or allmember municipalitiesthat would be beneficial,difficult or expensive for any onemunicipality to provide.

3) To provideservices to smallisolated groups of people that wereprovided, if at all,by the ProvincialGovernment (sometimesthrough animprovement district).

4) To facilitatesharing a serviceby spreading its cost equitably overthe whole region.

5) Any RegionalDistrict may beauthorized to borrow on itscredit for regionalprojects as well as anymunicipal projectwithin the It is one ofthe major purposes District. that a large of the PegionalDistrict concept part ofmunic3pal financingin B.C. be carried out by the29 RegionalDistrict authorities ratherthan by a greatnumber of smaller borrowers. it is being Unlike metropolitan orregional government as the B.C. RegionalDistricts have developed in Ontario, that of not beengiven any statutoryfunction except building and maintaininghospitals, and none possesses taxing authority.

27 24

Although in theory each districtmay decide which functions to assume and when, the Provincial Governmenthas the option of stepping in and makinga decision if after study it decides thata service can more efficiently or more cheaply be providedon the district level. For instance, the Minister has stated publicly that theGreater Vancouver area should organize transportation, waste disposal and regional park acquisitionon a regional basis, and that the Greater Vancouver Water District and theGreater Vancouver Sewerage and Drainage District, bothsingle-purpose boards, should be responsibilities of theRegional District BLard. If decisionson assuming these functions are delayed too long, presumably the Provincial authoritywould make these statutory functions of the G.V.R.D.

As far back as 1968 the Minister ofMunicipal Affairs saw the following activitiesas responsibilities of the two metropolitan regions of Vancouver and Victoria.* 1) The supply of water.

2) The disposal of waste materials.

3) The control of air pollutants.

4) The transportation framework forthe metro region which would include major traffic arteries other than Provincial freewaysand some tie-in with transit so that the whole is properly co-ordinated.

5) Responsibility for the provisionof public hospitals and ambulatory services.

6) Public housing and the assembly ofland where required for housing and other publicpurposes. 7) Regional parks.

8) Libraries and other cultural facilitiesrelated to a metro region.

* From a letter to Mr.E.G. Adams, Chairman of the Regional District of Fraser-Burrard, dated May7, 1968. Later in a press release the Minister again mentioned"an overall regional library service"as activity "of rather general benefit to the citizens ofa region regardless of where they live."

28 25

9) Metro or regional land useplanning.

10) Public health services.

11) Debenture sale anddebt management and a data processing center. ihe Minister also stated onthe same occasion, I would not want it tobe inferred that there could not be otherjoint activities but the ones mentioned arein my view a necessary part of the metroregion. I should also add- that I do not think the metroregion must enter all these fields at onetime. In my view the first and primaryconsideration is the structure necessary to carry outthese functions with the powers being addedfrom time to time as the metro regionaldistrict becomes equipped for the task. Both metro regions havewithin their boundaries some rather sparselypopulated areas-- areas which cannotbe expected for someindefi- nite period to undertakethe responsibilityof local government. Nevertheless these areas look to the metro centreand form a part of it. It is my view thereforethat without departing too far from its metrocharacter the Board may have to assume someminimum local responsibilities for these areas at their expenseof course.*

By the end of 1970the G.V.R.D., afederation of 6 cities, 8 distiictmunicipalities and 3provincially administered districts, had exercisedits statutory powers inconstruc- ting, enlarging andequipping hospitals andhospital services for the wholedistrict. In addition, regional planning, municipalfinancing, pollution controland public housing have been assumed asfunctions of the District assumed by Board. No other functionshad been completely the end of 1970. A number of problemsand services of regionalimportance, however, have receivedattention or are underconsideration as newfunctions.

* Ibid (press release) 26

1) Transportation (expected to bea regional responsibility in late 1971).

2) Solid waste disposal (under considerationas a regional function).

3) Labour negotiations may be undertPkenon behalf of member municipalities.

,) The concept ofa Regional Juvenile Remand- Detention Home has been endorsed and is under consideration.

5) Studies for establishinga building code in the region have been initiated.

6) The functions of the Greater VancouverSewerage and Drainage District and the Greater Vancouver Water District are now carried out by the G.V.R.D. effective July 1st, 1971.

7) The Vancouver-Fraser Parks District will probably be amalgamated with the G.V.R.D. in 1971.

The Regional Board is madeup of members appointed by municipal councils or members electedat large by the popWation of the unorganizedareas. The voting strength of each municipality is accordingto population and the number of directors representing each municipality isone- fifth of the number of votes allotted. The Chairman is elected by and from the members of the Board.

The G.V.R.D. representat5.on by municipality andarea is as follows: Total No. of Votes per Area Population Votes Directors Director

Burnaby 125,000 6 2 3 Coquitlam 50,000 3 1 3 Delta 33,000 2 1 2 Fraser Mills 200 1 1 1 New Westminster 40,000 2 1 2 North VancouverCity 30,800 2 1 2 North VancouverDistrict 56,900 3 1 3 Port Coquitlam 16,000 1 1 1 Port Moody 10,200 1 1 1 Richmond 58,300 3 1 3 Surrey 92,100 5 1 5

continued

30 27

Total No. of Votes per Director Area Population Votes Directors 440,000 21 5 5 for the Vancouver mayor 4 for the alderman West Vancouver 36,000 2 1 2 White Rock 8,800 1 1 1 U.B.C. Endowment Lands 3,000 1 1 1 Ioco-Buntzen 800 1 1 1 Bowen Island 300 1 1 1 Totals 56 22

We have given detailsof the presentdevelopment and future plans of the G.V.R.D.and the ProvincialGovernment attitude toward regional governmentin order to indicatethe growing importance of this new levelof municipal authorityand its potential for coordinationand development in theregion. Provincial interest inlibraries as a possibleregional function, indicated by theirspecific mention in theMinister's suggest list of regionalactivities, cannot beignored in any libraries in the GreaterVancouver plans for a system of have Regional District. The concept ofregional government we described appears to bedesigned to resolve theperennial problems of library systems,such as cost sharing,coordination of resources, theorganizing of joint servicesand duplication of effort, and atthe szme timeaccommodate independence of action at thecommunity level and theidentifica- tion and satisfactionof individual needs. `01111Mla ions .111.111111 IIIIIIIMIMInet 0 es 1110 MIME. Q. ioco. buntaen :vest vancouvor north v cou district 111.111m 011IMIIM 11 W1111-

1 a 1 1 n 1 burnaby A 11-- 1:011411domm . A MAINor HEADQUARTERS LIIIMARIES vancouvr I * FRASERBRANCHES VALLEY REGIONAL 1 ..- Ak \ . X* ITUNICIPAL SCHOOL VOLUNTEERBRANCHES in UBRARIES the G.V.R.D. LIBRA4 1I IL \ N Bookmobile stops not sho4n) 1 1 surrey \ e....40..4 re-----ix / ....,...,, delta REGIONALinPUBLIC the GREATER \DISTRICT \ \ 6BRAR I.. VAlito VER 29

PART III

LIBRARY SERVICE IN THEGREATER VANCOUVER REGIONAL DISTRICT

1. Goals of LibraryService

The vast physical andeconomic developments aswell as the trend towardregionalization have manyimplications for public library service. One of the mostimportant results arising from thesedevelopments is thegrowing inter- dependence of the economy, wayof life and publicand private facilities ofthe Region. Idcntification with in the local municipalityis weakening. A person living New Westminster orNorth Vancouver,working in Delta or Coquitiam, seekingentertainment in downtownVancouver and attending night schoolin Burnaby, wouldfind it difficult to understand themunicipal exclusivenessof public library service when information orservices are needed. It is obvious that libraries,if they are to servetheir public, should no longer restricttheir services in any wayto those who work, go toschool or live in anyparticular boards community. It is recommendedthat public library acce t as oneof the firstresponsibilities of any system in a metropolitanenvironment the of public i raries community provision of-serviceunrestricted by municipal or boundaries. more attention However, it is vitalthat public libraries pay and regions arechanging physicallyand to how communities consequently socially. It is necessary toadapt services and organizations to the newforms the communitiesmight be assuming. sociologists who arepredicting the endof There are urban The individual the "spatial community"before the year2000. spatially-defined may befreed from the constraintsof the In its place willbe an "aggregate"of city as we know it. low level of local residence groupscharacterized by a very integration. Thomas Childers ofDrexel University's Library Sciencediscusses the urban Graduate School of Much aggregate and itsimplications forpublic libraries. does not yet applyto GreaterVancouver of what Childers says trends are there or otherCanadian urbanaggregations but the

33 30

which may makeour cities "resemble a pyramid less,a plate of scrambledeggs more."*

According to Childersone of the most evident implications of a breakdown in the identifiablecommunities and the attachment of individualsto localities is that the public library will find itmore and more difficult to serve everyone. "Within the aggregate, the tremendousvariety of needs of a heterogeneous constituency shouldbecome even more visible. It should thus becomeeven more apparent than heretofore that the traditionalgoal of'Service to All' is not a realistic one. Possibly, library administrators will realize that the goals of the librarymust be revised."

In summary, public library goalsmust be redefined and made more specific. The traditional goal of totalservice to everyone has never been realized and has less chance of being realized in the future. We must decide what is most needed and whatcan be su lied so that the .abetween pu ic israry goa s an actua service can e c ose Libraries must establish agencies inthe growing sub-centres, decide whatare the library service needs of downtown Vancouver in the future, mustcater more to people in multiple high-density dwellings,must offer special service to the new industrial areas, mustexpect more mobility of people travellingover longer distances via a new transportation plan, must organizea variety of special services to meet the changing needs ofa pluralistic society with weak community loyalties. Above all library administrators and boards must become better informedabout present trends and future plans in theirarea and in the region so that library service can, with other community servicesnot only satisfy their clientele, but in addition, assist inthe development of a satisfying and stimulating urbansetting, both local and regional.

2. Public Libraries Since the VainsteinReport

There are 6 public library organizations, 1 public library association, 1 school library serving the general public and 13 branches ofa regional library within the boundaries of the G.V.R.D. The services, staff, size and support differ greatly with little relationshipto the size of the community. There is little formal cooperationamong the public libraries in this urbanarea, eithe: between themselves or with other types of libraries within Greater Vancouver. There is at the moment no systems approach to service and even though inter-library committees have *Childers Thomas. "Community and Library: Some Possible Futures." Library Journal, September 15, 1971,pages 2727-2730. 34 31 operated at times over many years. A climate in favourof sharing resources hasbeen slow to develop. As a conse- tended quence,differences between thelibrary units have to widen as rapidgrowth has forced aconcentration of energy and resourceson localefforts to keep upwith demands, leaving littletime to lay thegroundwork for effective cooperation. This state of affairs is,of course, not unique toGreater Vancouver. Among the metro areasof Canada only Metro- politan Toronto, Halifaxand Ottawa havedeveloped workable regional approaches tolibrary service. In each of these cases the process wasassisted by provinciallibrary legislation and in the casesof Metro Toronto andOttawa strong regional governmentmade "cooperation"inevitable.

In the past, thepublic libraries of"Greater Vancouver" and "the Lower Mainland"have striven to expandtheir physical plant, collections,services and staff tokeep up with thegeneral expansion ofthe area. Total population has increasedabout 42% since 1963when Rose Vainstein collected library datafor the Public LibrariesResearch Study which resultedin the "VainsteinReport".* The following table comparesthe populationgrowth of sone growth of bookstock of the individualmunicipalities with the and total expenditurefrom 1963 to 1970.

*"public Libraries inBritish Columbia" byRose Vainstein, Public Libraries'Research Study, BritishColumbia. Victoria, 1966.

35 32

Table E: Population, Bookstock andExpenditures, 1963-1970*

Popu- Books Book- Books Total lation Per Cap. stock Per Cap. Exp. Library Increase 1963 Increase 1970 Increase

Burnaby 29% 1.9 22% 1.6 170%

Coquitlam No public service 0.6

N. Vanc. City 30% 0.9 157% 1.9 337%

N. Vanc. District Establish 1964 1.37

New Westminster 28% 2.0 35% 1.94 115%

Port Moody 126% 0.7 181% 1.0 385%

Vancouver 15% 1.1 34% 1.4 90%

West Vancouver 45% 2.2 60% 2.5 115%

F.V.R.L. 17% 0.7 82% 1.1 168%

*Calculations made from PublicLibrary Research Study data on file at the Library Development CommissionH.Q., Victoria and from "Public LibrariesStatistics, 1970," L.D.C., 1971. The percentagesare approximate and only valid for comparativepurposes.

It can be seen from this tablethat total library expenditures (and incomes) increased greatlybut bookstocks increased at a much slower pace.

There is one main conclusionto be inferred from these statistics. Even though the people of each of the G.V.R.D. communities undoubtedlynow have access to more and better library buildings,more staff (with higher salaries) and better equipment, the bookstockavailable has on a per capita basis, increased only fractionallyor not at all since 1963 (the additional bookstock availablenow in Coquitlam and West Vancouver District has not improvedthe total per capita) while total expenditure increases have soared. Again this is not unique to thearea. Libraries all over Canada have experienced the results of increasingcosts and a reduction in the value of the dollar spenton books during the last eight years. The G.V.R.D. situation is, however,unusual in that population increases have been phenomenal in many localities andsome of 33 the librariesinvolved began theirefforts to improve their libraries from a verymodest level of service orhave come intoexistence since 1963. Since 1963 Port Moodyhas increased its openhours from 8 1/2 to 25 1/2 perweek and the VancouverPublic is now open 72 1/2hours per weekincluding 4 hours on Sunday against 68 1/2 hoursin 1963; but Burnaby(59 hours), Fraser Valley (10-62hours), New Westminster(63 hours), North Vancouver City(47 1/2 hours) and WestVancouver (52 hoLrs) have notincreased their open hourssince the Vainstein survey. None except Vancouveris open on Sunday. The Coquitlam CentennialCommunity Library is open65 hours per week butis closed onSaturdays and the branchesof North Vancouver District are openfrom 24 to SO hours per week. Circulation figures,although unreliable becausethere is no standard definition of "acirculation", give a broadindica- tion of public useand staff work load. In the G.V.R.D. the average circulation percapita in 1970 was 8.3,ranging from a low of 4.3 in PortMoody to a high of 17.3in West Vancouver. In 1963 the average parcapita circulation was also 8.3, ranging from alow in Port Moody of1.5 to a high in West Vancouver of17.4. Since 1963 Vancouver,Port Moody, North Vancouver Cityand Fraser Valleyincreased circulation on a per capitabasis while in Burnabyand New Westminster the per capita ratedropped.

Since the VainsteinReport, provincial grantshave risen from 27 to 28 cents percapita for New Westminster,from City, from 9 6 to 21 cents percapita for North Vancouver to 18 cents percapita for the FraserValley Regional Library and from 12 to 25 centsfor Vancouver, theyhave declined since 1963 for PortMoody (from 21 to 10cents), West Vancouver (from 21 to13 cents) andBurnaby (from 26 to23 Provincial grants overthe province rosefrom cents). during the period, or on a percapita $220,000 to $500,000 of basis from 13 cents to21 cents. However the libraries Valley system) re- the G.V.R.D. (includingthe whole Fraser ceived only $226,315from the Province or5% of their total expenditures of $4,561,300in 1970. This is a long wayfrom the minimum of 25%recommended by Miss Vainsteinin 1966. Table F: Expenditure and Income for Public Libraries in the G.V.R.D. 1970 Library Served 1969 Pop. (compiled from "Public Library Statistics, Local Tax Cap.Per GrantProv. Cap.Per 1970, L.C.D., 1971) Total Exp. Cap.Per Coquitlam*Burnaby 125,000 50,000 100,000.00460,591.00 1.823.68 30,398.00 1_ . 23 not514,701.00 known 4.12 NorthNew Westminster Van. City 30,80040,000 215,533.0096,102.00 3.125.39 11,804.006,214.00 . 2128 118,851.00260,424.00 3.866.51 PortNorth Moody**Van. Dist. 10,200560853 181,843.0011,000.00 1.083.20 11,393.001,000.00 . . 1020 197,356.0011,700.00 1.153.47 VancouverWest Vancouver 450,000 2,538,133.003C,000 180,950.00 5.035.64 111,632.00 4,680.00 . 1325 2,787,855.00 185,630.00 5.166.19 r. RegionalFraser ValleyLibrary 283,897 399,181.00 1.41 49,194.00 . 18 484,752.00 1.71 ** Public Library* Financed Association. by the Schoolno Prov. District grant. plus a local grant ($100,000 in 1970) no budget available, 35

We have analysedthese statistics toindicate that individual public librariesin the area havestriven to increase their servicesbut generallyspeaking have not been able to do soin the face ofrising costs, an in- flationary economy and arapidly risingpopulation. Competition for publicfunds at themunicipal level becomes fierce in any area ofrapid expansionand public libraries tend to face a lowcivic priority inthe race to expand as galleries and othersu,..11 culturalinstitu- do museums, art funds tions whose boardsdo not have the powerto raise criticize all boards through taxation. However, one can for a failure to gettogether and find a and senior staff in an way to meetthe challenge. Library parochialism such as GreaterVancouver has done a urban agglomeration As in disservice to everyone overtht; last eight years. demands most libraryjurisdictions, therehave been strong provincial funds toaugment operating for increased and it is budgets. But more moneyalone is not the answer of any provincialgrant system tomake up not the function appropriations of local the differencebetween the tax councils and theincomes needed to carryout library programmes. Commission hasrecognized the The Library Development the appli- necessity forlibraries to developin consort by quantitative standardsand by the following cation of its of April, statement of policy:"On and afterthe first day public library 1971, any municipalpublic library or association whosemunicipality, electoral area orschoo . position to become partof a larger unit district is in a be in- of service anddoes not join thelarger unit shall eligible for ProvincialAid under thePublic Libraries provincial supportfor Act." In our view thisstatement of organizations is agolden oppertunityfor regional library and the communities ofthe G.V.R.D. todevise, propose library serviceunit best suited tothe develop the kind of those area andoffers the possibilityof centralizing would benefit allequally, leaving responsibilities which to serve for local applicationenough independent power community differences.

3. Changing Needsfor Information

being warned in Public libraryboards and librarians are studies, surveysand articlesthat their view many reports, service which of the publiclibrary as anindependent public 36 operates in municipal isolation as the last bastion of middle-class individualism is already dangerously outmoded.

The knowledge and information provided by librariesemanates from everywhere; it belongs to everyone. The people of the smallest and the largest communities must haveaccess to it all. If public libraries wish to receive andpass on knowledge and information to their local public, theymust also agree to return as much as they receive. The largest library needs the smallest to function efficiently.

Nor can the public library survive simplyas a repository of more and more materials. It must be seen as the centre of a widening circle of associations. Each library should be an open door to the re.iources of every other library, information centre and cultural institution. "Libraries in the future must be measured less by what theypossess than by how readily they can obtain the things they donot possess."

In the past, the public library has beenvery efficient at supplying information by organizing a relatively small collection of books and using them for referenceor lending them for individual use. In the past the public's information needs were less complex and sophisticated. There was less mobility, less leisure time, less need for retraining. Commonications were slower. There was a greater time lag from eventor discovery toawareness and change. With the development of all thenow familiar apparatus of modern communications suchas TV, computers and satellites, the time lag has disappeared. The population "explosion" has preceded the information "implosion"or the instant awareness of events, facts and discoveries by all but a few isolated individuals or societies.

The public library movement has been talking foryears about its potential as an information andresource centre but few libraries have sought to develop this potential by studying needs continually and by updatingresources and methods of moving information. Our attempts to find out who are our present or potential users have not influenced our method or changed our stock of information very much.

* "Widening the Circle; Libraries for Tomorrow." Interim Report of the Governor's Task Force to Study Library Service in Maine, 1971, p.1.

40 3 7

When we stepaside and take adetached view library in thelate 1960's, of the public the what do we observe? Essentially here is same agencypassing out the sameold wares at the sameold stand as twentyyears earlier. The presentanalysis suggeststhat libraries discernible adaptations; have made scarcely any which to theircommunities and tothe changes twenty yearshave wrought inthem, to the differences in needsand interestsof library patrons whichthe passage of twoimportant decades hasinfluenced, andhave instituted virtually no variationto enticethose who did not then,and still do not, usethe public libraries of theircommunities.* the pointfurther it mustbe obvious Without labouring information have changed as that public useof and need for have thetechniques for movinginformation. needs whichdistinguish eachcommunity, Besides the local American there are a fewkinds of informationevery North to requirefor everydayliving. It city dweller seems should receive is the materialto servicethese needs that in the acquisitionprogrammeof every urban high priority study, "InformationNeeds public library. In an excellent by Henry Voos,published byRutgers in Urban Areas", get some helpin isolating University Pressin 1969, we can be emphasizedtoday. the moreimportant subjects to including food, A. Consumergoods and services apparel and otheritems which musthe purchased (comparativeprice and quality, social agencies, sources,credit, labelling, government programmesetc.). and availa- B. Housing andtransportation (cost bility, educationfacilities,transportation costs andavailability,zoning, development plans, by-lawsetc.). train- opportunitiesavailable for Educational social ing, retraining toprovide upward informal mobility (clubs,citizens' groups, and formal coursesetc.)

Library Use," "FactorsInfluencing Public * Bundy, M.L. (1967). Wilson LibraryBulletin, 42:381-2

41 3 8

D. Medical information(availability of doctors, hospitals, clinics and drugs, birthcontrol and the recognition of symptoms).

These important informationgroups could,of course, be expanded much further andothers added to meet localre- quirements of the Vancouver Region. Also it is essential that there bea regular review of the data being used, in order to maintain its reliabilityand that suchan information service be integratedwith a referral serviceto direct inquiries to specializedcollections wherever located as well as to resources maintained centrally. In the case of smaller libraries and branches,such a public information centre might operatealmost entirely on a referral basis. In the G.V.R.D. a heirarchy of informationcentres based on the Vancouver PublicLibrary and the New West- minister Public Library should beorganized with local centres operating in the othermunicipalities.

In summary it is recommendedthat public libraries develop community information servicesseparately Trom traditional reference services and d-eveloT bothin response to community ------d''Tfnees.D:ETaF7ETETEITFF7YE-es providedshould not duplicate those organized bx othercommunity organizations but should be coordinated witlthem and ihould stress referal techniques.

4. The Book Collections

Although our terms of reference donot include an evaluation of the collections of the publiclibraries of the Region, we did try to establish the strengths and emphases ofthese collections in a generalway in order to indicate the rich- ness of resources available, the need for sharing andco- operative collection building and theimportance of the holdings of the Vancouver Public Libraryand all public libraries, university, college andspecial libraries in the Region.

Even a superficial survey of the libraryresources of the G.V.R.D. indicatesan urgent need for taking stock. Once all staffs are aware of what and how muchis available and where the gaps and soft spotsare, a programme of cooperative accession can be planned. Up to now, U.B.C. , V.P.L. and to a lesser but growingextent SF.U. have provided in- depth resources to students and the general publicin the Greater Vancouverarea and within the Province. Along with U. Vic. these institutions have representedBritish Columbia in the growing national network. However, there is little coordination in this effort and the fullextent of the resourcesavailable is not known. (For a fuller discussion of inter-librarylending see "SharingResources and Cooperation")

There are 1,523,000volumes available to thepeople in the Metro region throughtheir public libraries(the total stock of the FraserValley Regional Libraryis included because it is availablethrough branches within the G.V.R.D.). However, there isconsiderable duplication of titles in this total. In the study conductedby Dr. Ron Hagler in 1968 of 1967imprints added to B.C,public libraries between January1, 1967 and April 3,1968, it was shown that amongthe 1967 titles added tolibraries in the G.V.R.D. there was49% duplication (only22% were held by V.P.L. only). In a sampling of titlesadded to one subject division and onebranch of V.P.L. fromMarch 1, 1971 to July 31, 1971,it was found that 62% weredupli- cated in Burnaby, 60% inNew Westminster, 40% inNorth Vancouver City and 42%in North VancouverDistrict.

43 Table G: Collections Populationand Served O.) Volumes CirculationVolumes for PublicAdded Libraries Volumes per Films in the G.V.R.D.dicalPerio- Total Cir. 1970 BurnabyLibrary 1970 (est.) 130,000 214,348 1970 1970(3) 2,836 Capita 1.6 Records 26 16mm. _ Titles 165 lationCircu- Capita 8.0per NorthCoquitlam Vancouver (2) Cty 30,000 55,000 57,00932,982 16,388 7,324 1.90.6 315 _ 140275 1,041,721 273,044123,916 9.02.3 PortNewNorth WestminsterMoody Vancouver Jis 57,673 10,00042,800 10,12383,03876,842 1,3004,1756,915 1.01.941.37 3,256 _ _ 209 1296 445,584530,48843,335 4.39.79.2 FraserWestVancouver Vancouver Valley 283,897450,000 36,000 314,730646,167 89,619 16,63621,518 712 1.12.51.4 1,485 72_ 950 _ 3,298 160 78 1,999,2554,017,475 630,461 17.5 7.08.9 Notes:(1) Population served 1,095,370 supplied by the library. 1,522,857 77,804 1.4- 5,154 950 4,433 9,105,279 8.3 (3)(2) Volumes The Coquitlam added is Centennial the which(A-V began material as such in late 1969. may only be used in the library) net gain after discarding Community Library is The circulation figure a school etc.library servicing the excludes periodical and general public A-V loans 40

The total bookstockavailable represents 1.4volumes per capita (including thepopulation of the FraserValley). Taken individually, thelibraries concerned have a per capita stock ranging from0.6 in Coquitlam to2.5 in West Vancouver. Comparing the holdingsof individual libraries with the minimum standardsrecommended by the Canadian Library Association, 1969,the experience formulae as interpreted by Wheeler andGoldhor in "PracticalAdminis- tration of Public Libraries,"in 1962 and the L.D.C. Quantitative Standards, 1968,it can be seen thatthere are erratic variations in theprovision of bookstock.

Table H: Bookstock Comparedwith Minimum Standards 1970 Vols. Per C.L.A. Wheeler 4 Library capita Std.* Goldhor L.D.C.**

Burnaby 1.6 1.75-2 1.75-2

Coquitlam 0.6 1.5-2 2.5-2.75 N. Vanc. City 1.9 2.75-3 2

N. Vanc. Dist. 1.37 1.5-2 2.5-2.75

New Westminster 1.94 2.5-2.75 2 Port Moody 1.0 2.75-3 2

Vancouver 1.4 1.25-1.5 1.25-1.5 West Vancouver 2.5 2.5-2.75 2

F.V.R. 1.1 1.25-1.5 1.25-1.5

* For libraries serving over50,000 population. ** For libraries serving upto 50,000population.

Only Vancouver andWest Vancouver meetthe standards appli- cable and north VancouverCity, New Westminsterand Port Moody fall below theminimum standards setby the Library Development Commissionfor communitiesunder 50,000 population. value of librarycollections by size Of course judging the standard, is only meaningfulif one assumes ahigh selection adequate an awarenessof the needs ofthe population, an

45 41

budget over a number ofyears and a willingness to search out controversial and unusual material. To evaluate any of the collections covered in thisstudy would requirea subject check of recent andpast accessions with particular emphasis on duplication ofimportant standard andcurrent circulation material, andon the duplication of reference resources. A check of the proportion ofnon-fiction to fiction of reference tocirculating,science to humanitiesetc. would be required to completeany evaluation.*

Since no coordination of accessionshas been attempted since 1967, we canassume that one half of all titles purchased by any ,)le libraryare also purchased by at leastone other librar n the Region and this includes all specialized titles purchased by V.P.L. forits subject divisions. (Duplication ofmore popular titles would be much higher). When one links this duplicationwith the low standard of volumes per capita, the inescapableconclusion is thatco- ordination of book selection inany subject field would reduce the high cost ot dupllcationand enable book budgets to be spent more wiselyon a wider Regional selection. At the moment each library isattempting to providea complete collection on itsown.-- a ho eless task considering the spec rum o c oice avai a e an t e variety o sources;

In regard to periodical titles,again one can compare holdings with the minimum standardsadopted by the C.I.A. in 1967 and by the A.L.A. in 1966. We find that only Coquitlam and Vancouversurpassthe minimum standard for populations over 50,000.

Table I: Periodical Holdings Comparedwith Minimum Standards

Periodical C.L.A. A.L.A. Library Titles Std. 1966*

Burnaby 165 300-500 520 Coquitlam 275 200-400 220 N. Vanc. City 140 - 120 N. Vanc. District 96 200-400 230 New Westminster 209 - 171 Port Moody 12 - 40 Vancouver 3,298 1,000+ 1,800 West Vancouver 78 - 144 F.V.R. 160 1,000+ 1,135

*It is ourunderstandingthat V.P.L. is consideringa survey of its collections. It would be oUr hope thatsuch a survey could include,at least in a ge :,:,1way, some evaluation of the co11ection-5ot other public),...'aries and at leastan assessment of the strengths oft ,e principle special and college libraries in the Region. **At leastone currently published periodicaltitle for each 259 people. 46 42

has an adequatenumber of titlesbut all New Westminster far fewer periodical other libraries appearto subscribe to In our experiencemuch of the titles thanrecommended. infor- value of publiclibrary service interms of current and contemporaryculture depends onthe mation, opinions government, provision ofperiodicals. Special libraries, libraries generallyregard university and college materials as the periodicals, serialsand other similar of currentinformation. Periodicals most important sources information are just asimportant in publiclibraries if the important as thearchival role. It is role is considered as be greatly ourrecommendation thatperiodical holdings increased in all G.V.R.D.public libraries,that, consider- of subscriptionrenewals, periodical in$ the annual expense length of resources beshared and that apolicy covering the time back files arestored be worked outjointly. the book collection ona percapita basis is The use made of circulations per high for the wholeregion. The standard by Wheeler andGoldhor are exceededby capita recommended and West North VancouverDistrict, NewWestminster, Vancouver Burnaby and theFraser Valley equalthe Vancouver, whereas City and PortMoody standard and Coquitlam,North Vancouver standard is usefulin measuring are below. Although such a work load and is areflection of comparativeperformance, good indicationof a library's circulation use is not a basis does vary worth. However circulation on aper capita the surveyedlibraries from ahigh of 17 rather widely among Coquitlam perhaps re- in West Vancouver to alow of 2.3 in accessibility and resources flecting thedifferences in Report, AppendixC. reportedthat available. The Vainstein library use survey 9.2% of the total usersresponding to a outisde themunicipality whoselibrary they "said they lived Although this were usingwhen answeringthe questionnaire". figure it was moreimportant for the pur- is an interesting non-resident usebeing poses ofthis study toascertain the Public Library. With the assistance made of the Vancouver short user Andelman, SystonsAnalyst of V.P.L. a of Mr. Mel 11-15th , the main branch wasconducted from June survey of tabulated at the 1971. Place of residenceof users was check of a sampleof membershipcards, circulation desk by a of each of the at thetelephone exchangeand at the desk subject divisions.

A Summary ofResults ai_)1_1msrs: non-residents ofVancouver, 34% 21% of bookborrowers were of Vancouver, enquiries werefrom non-residents of all telephone of Vancouver. 23% of subjectdivision use wasby non-residents

47 43

Non residents used theBusiness Divisionmore than the others (36% of theusers were non residents) and,as couldbe ex- pectedfusers came from allG.V.R.D.Communities with North Vancouver residents leadingfollowed by Burnaby,West Vancouver, New Westminster andRichmond. Considering the largedistances, the travelling timerequired and populationdifference between Vancouver and the othercommunities this isa high percentage of non-residentuse. It seems the main library ofV.P.L. is attractingusers from every corner of theRegional District to its specializedcollections and servingas the major resource centre.

5. An Indication ofCurrent Relevancy of theCollections

We have indicatedthat there isvery considerable duplication of current acquisitionsand that coordinationcannot take effect withouta system approach to libraryservice. Also, it is important thatthese collections shouldoffer a wide choice of material, andreflect many points of viewin order to pres . an up-to-date view of the modernworld. We believe ti c a public library, if it isto escape its lingering reputatiGn asa place where one goes "togot a good book to read.", must not over-emphasize middle-of-the-roadbooks, the middle class point ofview or only themost widely accepted cultural values. The public librarymust also make available through the materialprovided, radical ideas,avant-garde and creative works, fads,new customs and books and periodicals that are not generally available on the news-stands. Sinceri- ty of purpose should bethe chief criterion forselection. Such materialmay prove to be ephemeral butit must be available at the righttime if the library isto reflect its environment.

In an effort totest the relevancy of the generalbook and periodicals collectionswe used a periodical list anda book list as describedbelow. All collectionswere checked in July, 1971, and "on order"titles were not included. The lists usedare included in the study documentsavailable. A list of currentperiodicals List A.* (195 titles)

The titles listed dealwith issues of the day,urban problems, the social, technical andscientific fields, the arts, the humanities and such importantproblems as race relations,war and peace, human rights,welfare, drugs, ecology, birth

* Composed by Mrs.Susan Klement, a libry researchworker with a special interestin little magazines andperiodicals. 44

of the control etc. The list was checkedwith the holdings Cedarbrae District Liorary ofthe Scarborough PublicLibrary to measure itsrelevance to a largesuburban branch*and finally reviewed by ProfessorMarshall of the Universityof Toronto School of LibraryScience.

A Checklist for theSeventies - List B.** (287titles)

The purpose of thisbibliography of relevantbooks is similar to that of theperiodical list with theaddition of works that are of particularinterest to young people. Neither of the above listsis definitive in any way nor are the individual titlesnecessarily recommended by us. They constitute a sampling ofavailable material which,when checked against the holdingsof libraries of varioussizes, can produceworthwhile conclusions as tothe comparative value of these libraries ascommunity resource centres.

* Cedarbrae subscribes to135 of the titleslisted.

** Selected by Mrs.Anne Leibl, assistantfor research and admpistration to theChief Librarian ofthe University of Toronto and astudent of theunderground press of 1970, Canada. See Canadian LibraryJournal, Jan.-Feb., and The LibraryJournal, March 1,1971. 45

Table J:

Summary of Checklist Titles Held by G.V.R.D. Libraries

List A List B 195 % of 287 % of Library Titles Total Titles Total

Burnaby 104 53 213 74

Coquitlam 94 48 155 54

North Vanc. City 41 21 147 51

North Vanc. Dist. 43 22 127 44

New Westminster 85 44 134 47

Port Moody 11 5.6 36 13

Vancouver 163 84 237 83

West Vancouver 38 19 118 41

F.V.R.L. 55 28 194 68

Cedarbrae 135 68

Comments on Holdings of Titles on List A

When the holdings of the 9 libraries were consolidated on one list, it was found that;

9titles were held by 9 libraries 8 7 ft ft ft II It 10 II t1 fl If7 II 12 II II tl "6 II 21 II ff ft ft5 It II It /I 23 II "4 24 II II fl II3 It 26 I/ If It II2 11 40 II ft ft "1 library 24 11 If ft ftnone

Of the Canadian titles,5 were hold by none. Of the United States titles, 15 were held by none. Of the United Kingdom titles, 1 was held by none.

50 46

All the titles duplicatedby 9, 8,7 or 6 libraries are popular mass circulationmagazines that are easilyavailable at news stands orfree from the government and moreof the titles held by 1,2 or 3 libraries are mostexpensive, quite specialized and heavy on informationand opinion (e.g., The Gramophone, I.F. Stone's Weekly,Journal of Canadian Studies, Modern Age, ProgressiveArchitecture) . In our opinion these results should be reversed sothat users can expect tofinl journals which are expensiveand/or specialized in most local libraries. Of the 24 sample periodicaltitles that were not availablein any publiclibrary in the G.V.R,D. wefeel that the following titles should be representedin at least 1 or 2libraries: Black Liberation News(Canadian), Changing Education, ETTiTicst Emotionally DisturbedChildren (Canadian), Futures, Jewish Press, Om halosMi-EITEETTeWreTter, UNESCO Qiiii7T-FiTy, Velvet Fist (Cana Ian and The East VillageOther. Coquitlam had the best collectionin terms of varietyand minority opinion consideringits size and of the titlesheld by only 2 libraries most wereheld by Burnaby and Vancouver. Comments on Holdin s ofTitles on List B

The bias of this bibliographyis toward recent worksthat have been or are trend-settersparticularly among thoseunder thirty who may be creative,practical, political,aesthetic and aware of the issues ofthe day.

There was less duplicationof titles in List B; only22 titles were held by all 9,only 30 by 8 and 37by 7 libraries. The median number ot' t;tlesdupli_oted is S; the subject categories in which theheatc-si dupflcation occurred were Economics and Business,FcLion, the Arts arilSocial Science. The categories leastduplicated ere Literatureand Technical. There were some surprisingomissio-,Isitc,r, all O all but one library. Kent and Cooper. Simple Printmaking. Davidson. Using the CuisenaireRods. Warhol. A novel. Chayefsky. The Latent Heterosexual. Herbert. Fortune and-Men'sTyes. Amina Shah. Arabian airy Tales. van Italie. America Hurrah. Vishnudevananda. Complete Book of Yo,ga. Divoky. How Old Will You Bein 1014? Farber. The Student as Nigger. 47

Mosca. The Rulins Class. Lingo. Syllabus of Survival. Fitch and Walsh. Agenda .6r a City. Krappe. The Science of Folklore. The Perfuna Garden of the Sheikh Nefzaoui. Chase. ie ui e to 'is e an Use ild Plants of North America. Knott. Handbook for Vegetable Growers.

Our impression is that all libraries are competent in maintaining collections of books relevant to thecontemporary scene, but less competenc in their provision of periodicals.

It is recommended that a system approach toresource build- in: emphasize the need for relevant collections of material not easi y aval a e because o source or price and place less emphasis on popular books and perio icas.

St. Table K: G.V.R.D. Libraries' Holdings of Totals Arts Econ.Bps. & Educ. Fic ChecklistLang. & BComm. - Relevant Books Lit. Relig.Phil. & Sci.Pol. Sci. Sci.Soc. Tech. TotalBurnaby Titles Held213 2317 1011 1517 26 1 12 1218 2114 4427 2117 7759 1522 NorthCoquitlam Van. Dist. 155127 97 87 67 2215 2 88 10 8 1130 1314 3839 11 97 NorthNew WestminsterVan. City 17134 36 10 9 87S 86- 152. 4 112 17 10 1 2018 5 1313 4 144434 18 Cort VancouverPort Moody 118237 22 7 10 7 IS 8 2616 2- 13 7 17 9 1639 1215 6228 18 8 WestF.V.R.L. Vancouver 194 11 11 10 25 2 8 14 28 14 56 15 - TitlesTitles held held by by more9 libraries 22 - 4 2 _ - 1 4 3 68 8 18 Titles held by 1than library 1 library only 245 26 20 3 11 - 14 2 28 - 12 4 17 2 37 3 18 2 6 4 Titles not held by any library 16 1 3 2 2 4 1 3 49

6. The Use of Non-Print Media

Libraries must pay less attention to the package in which information is wrapped and more to the content. The borrowing and reference use of books will always remain important but of equal importance is the use of other packages of information such as 16mm and 8mm films, recordings of various kinds, pictures, television programmes, discwsions, exhibits, etc.

It is in the provision of the newer media that the libraries of the G.V.R.D. are sadly lack-, only New Westminster has a collection of phonograph rc,,zo-clis for home use free of charge. Their expenditure on ,ecordings in 1970 was $1,600.00. West Vancouver has a collection of 1,500 discs for use in the library only but spends $300.00 per year to maintain the collection, not enough to prevent its deteriora- tion. 11,.. r,c,--)pie of Coquitlam have access to a good collection of A-V materials in the Coquitlam High School and community library, but only for reference purposes, and F.V.R.L. has a small collection of language records loaned from its headquarters on request. Burnaby has applied for an L.D.C. grant of $9,000.00 for an inititl collection of recordings and V.P.L. will spend about $1000.00 for an initial collection of 10008mm films for the Kerrisdale Branch in 1971.;

In regard to 16mm films the picture is bleak indeed. Out- side of Coquitlam's reference collection in the High School, and 50 films mostly in the Fine Arts and Music Division of Vancouver Public Library, only the Fraser Valley Regional with 314 reels can offer a reasonable selection of educational films for individual and public use. Most libraries make use of films in connection with lihrary extension programmes but they are obta:i_ned from other sources when needed.

Apart from the few examples cited, the libraries of the G.V.R.D. have concentrated on building collections of print materials. In some cases this is the choice of the librarian and the board, in others non-book material has been neglected due to the exigency of meeting traditional demands with limited funds. In the race to keep up there has been little opportunity to assess public need for non-print materials or to experiment with such materials.

The use oe non-print media by public libraries involves a concept of the institution as an information and resource centre in which the emphasis is on content rather than form. SO

;..he arguments for the use of a variety of materialsin libraries are well known. It is obvious to us that the effects of restricting resources to books, periodicals, documents and other forms of print will restrict the effectiveness of the library in today's urban milieu. Sociological and educational theory aside, one need only point to the success of such examples as theLondon Public Library and Art Museum, the library systems ofMetropolitan Toronto, the Edmonton Public Library, the ReginaPublic Library and many others to underline the growing importance of films, recordings (tapes, cassettes anddiscs), art reproductions, television and the facilities for their use both in the building and at home. For instance, in 1970 the public libraries in Metropolitan Toronto loaned82,777 16 mm films to the public in addition to the large numberof show- ings and previews held in the libraries themselves. The total film collection available via the teletypenetwork is about 8,000 reels. Increasing use is being made of reel to reel and cassette tapes, video recordings andETV and in some cases 20% to 30% of thelibrary materials budget is being; spent on non-print media. In the G.V.R.D. other institutions have beenfilling the gap in the provisionof A-V services to the public, services that in most urban areas are supplied throughthe public library systems. Capilano College, Simon Fraser UniversityCommunications Centre, the British Columbia Instituteof Technology and the University of British Columbia allprovide a limited service to the general public. In 1972 Capilano College intends to encourage public use of itsMedia Centre which houses a small but excellent A-Vcollection. The University of British Columbia, with 1,300 filmsin the Extension Department and 16,000 recordings inthe north wing of the university library, offers a comprehensivelending service to the public for a yearlyfee. Simon Fraser circulates to students 1,400 tapes of lectures eachmonth, has produced 108 special purpose films and operatesextensive A-V facilities for the University. This institution seems willing and anxious to work with thepublic libraries toward wider community access. The regional office of the National Film Board, although notprimarily in the film lending business, distributes from 500 to600 reels of 16mm film per week. Their busiest week has seen828 cans of film leave the office for useall over British Columbia. The NFB office estimates that 80%of all loans are to schools, colleges and universitieswith only 20% going to community groups. NFB centres in other partsof the Canada lend roughly 55% to educational institutionsand 45% to community groups. This unusually high school useis probably due to a lack of films in high schoolsand the light promotionof

55 51 community film use by many public libraries in the province, Generally speaking, the Lower Mainland is lagging behind the rest of the province in film promotion and use except for the Fraser Valley Regional Library (particularly the Whalley Branch).

Other private and public organizations offer public A-V services to fill general or special needs. The YM and YWCA's Metro Media Centre makes great use of film and other media for its social activities, the Vancouver Film Council has supplied a public film service for many years and the A-V Services of the Provincial Department of Education are available to the public.

The British Columbia Institute of Technology Information Resource Centre has a collection of 99 master tapes, 73 lecture/study tapes, 103 film loops and 550 16 mm films primarily for student and faculty use but its quite willing to extend use of these materials to the community through public libraries. In addition the Centre has at its disposal a fully equipped TV production studio which public libraries could use for recording or :roducing educational programmes.

As one can see, A-V service in Greater Vancouver is frag- mented. All agencies operate independently. There is, for instance, no "one stop" source for 16mm film needs. This is a pity for such service lends itself to centralization because of high unit costs and problems of previewing, collection maintenance and the public need for selection assistance.

One of the first priorities of the public libraries of the Region should be recognize the unique contribution which can be made to library resources by non-print materials. Boards, in allocating funds for this purpose, are not neglecting books but supplying additional educational opportunities to children, youth and adults. Books always will fulfill a special purpose but films and recordings in all forms also have a special purpose. No public resource centre is complete without access to a range of print and non-print media. It is recommended that collections of non-print resource, be organized in each public library in the region, that a central collection coordinate& with the local ones act as a regional audio-visual centre for the maintenance, ueviewing and selection of these resources as well as an audio-visual IriTT0Y5ilion centre for libraries and the public and that a union list orall A-V materials with locations-be issued by this centre. 52

The Equipment such as projectors, playersand recorders can be decentralized and located ineach library for convenient public use. Maintenance of the equipment isbest arranged commercially by contract. (For the administration and financing of the A-V Centre seeDevelopment Plan, Part VII).

7. Sharing Resources and Cooperation

Inter-library lending of materialbetween the public libraries of the G.V.R.D. is notheavy. For instance. Burnaby borrowed 100 items in 1970but lent none. New Westminster borrowed 98 mostly fromVancouver and lent 17 books. West Vancouver borrowed 25 andlent 37 items. The libraries in the Fraser Valley systemborrowed 75 books. North Vancouver District borrowed29 and lent 6 and North Vancouver City borrowed 58 and lent13. The Vancouver Public Library does more inter-lending ofmaterial than all the other public libraries combined. In 1970 1,424 books, photocopies and microfilm reels werelent to other libraries and 234 items were borrowed. About one half of all loans were sent to institutionsoutside B.C. and over half of allitems borrowed came from institutionsoutside the province. With- in the Regional District, V.P.L.lent only 540 items to all institutions and borrowed 54. Within the District the two universities accounted for most ofthe interloan traffic with V.P.L. The National Library and theMetropolitan Toronto Central Library were the bestinterloan customers inside or cutside the District in1970. None of the public libraries has a Telex unit and noneis a member of the Pacific Northwest Bibliographic Centre. 53

Table L: Vancouver Public Library,Interlibrary Loans1970 (including photocopies)

OUT IN G.V.R.D. Public Libraries

Burnaby 66 3

Coquitlam (District 3

Fraser Valley 42

North Vancouver City 43

North liancouver Dist. 19

West Vancouver 17

New Westminster 64

Pprt Moody 2 Total 256 3 Academic Libraries

UBC 80 43

SFU 121 1 -44 Capilano 1

BCIT 7

Total 209 44 Special Libraries

Government 36 6

Private 39 1

Total 75 7 Other British Columbia

U. Vic. 16 4

Van. Is. Reg. 64

Vic. P.L. 11 3 Other 88 / Vancouver Public Library

Interlibrary Loans 1970 (including photocopies) (contd.)

OUT IN

Other Canada 597 153

Pacific Northwest (U.S.) 71 12

Other Foreign 35 8

Grand Total 1,422 234

In contrast, the University of BritishColumbia lent 20,761 items to other institutions duringthe year 1969-70 year and borrowed 4,060. The chief borrowing customer was Simon Fraser University and then the B.C.Medical Library Service. Only 128 items were lent to B.C. publicand regional libraries and 43 of these went to V.P.L.

It can be seen that inter-library lendingbetween public libraries in B.C. and within the G.V.R.D. is notwell developed. Even the Vancouver Public Library's inter- library lending and borrowing work load is lessthan 6 items per day. The sharing of resources in this largeurban area is,in our opinion,most important since most people even withgreatly improved transportation facilities, will expect toobtaih special material through their local library.In any case no one library can ever expect tosatisfy all demands. The availability of an efficient well-promotedfree inter-library lending service would be of immense value toscholars, teachers, businessmen, all specialists and tothose whose interests transcend the popular and theordinary, in a sophisticated urban society this is just about everyone. In our visits to thelibraries of the District we were toldthat there was little demand for interloanservices but hardly anywhere were such services actively promoted. On the con- trary, some libraries discouragedthe public from requesting material not readily found. Of the nine public libraries investigated only the Coquitlam CentennialCommunity library and the Fraser Valley Regionaloffered an unrestricted free

59 55 interloan service to its users. All others restricted the service to non-fiction, foreign and specialized material or materials for "ser.:ous study." Two libraries, Burnaby and North Vancouver City, recover mailing charges from the borrower and West Vancouver charges a 50 cent fee per item for the interloan service.

It is most important that the library user with a specific request be given extra attention including unrestricted interloan service. A dependency on the collection at hand even in the largest library creates frustration and turns people away from the public library as a source of anything but popular reading. In our opinion the practice of changing cannot be justified for any reason least of all as a source of income for the library.

In talking to U,B.C., S.F.U., B.0 I.T. and other non- public libraries, we were told over and over that there would be no restriction to lending to a public library should the request be made. Some material might be restricted to use in the receiving library only but all were quite willing to trust an established library with their resources.

In setting up an interloan network the first step is to hold talks between the concerned libraries to reduce barriers, establish policies and work vut efficient handling methods. Some libraries like U.B,C. and V.P.L. will bear the main burden for many years but in the long run, with a cooperative acquisitions plan, other library collections such as S.F.U., New Westminster Public, the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Burnaby Public and Vancouver City College will grow in size and specialization and will assume the responsibilities of a lending rather than a borrowing institution.

Any successful interloan scheme between urban libraries re- quires an efficient method of finding out what is available. The organization of a bibliographic certre with a nnion catalogue is the conventional method, but thc development of a closed-circuit teleprinter network whereby each library requests material or information from the others directly via teletype can by-pass the need for an expensive union catalogue. Such a system is capable of handling a large volume of transactions every day and if it becomes over- loaded further mechanization can be considered (for instance if coupled to a computerized exchange each message can be routed to the library most likely to satisfy the request). The simple device of a teleprinter together with the use of a daily delivery vehicle between all members of the network would make efficient use of the combined library resources of the 5 6

G.V.R.D. and would eliminatethe slow mail delivery of request forms and filledorders.

It is recommended that talksbetween the university, college and yublic librariesbe-held-as soon as possible and that an inter-librar lendin olic be a...roved fh---5-A will be linked wich the existin:Te ex an se iver s stem 4t present operate in GreaterVancouver t e universities. It is a so recommen e t at t e_pu ic be encourageccil to use the schemethrough a vigorous Ilromotioncamyaign an tEe abolition of all restrictionsand charges. This recommendation need not awaitthe formation of a library system to beimplemented.

It 'would be logical if allpublic libraries funnelledtheir unf411ed requests throughthe Vancouver Public Library, zh would act as the resourcelibrary for such requests Id would pass on allunfilled requests Ida a teleprinter to U.B.C., whichin turn, has a cooparativeinterloan set up with S.F.U.and U. Vic. If the universities cannot satisfy the public library request,then V.P.L. should forward it to the NationalLibrary in Ottawa for processing through the Nationul UnionCatalogue. The Vainstein report and all surveyssince 1927 have em- phasized the need for cooperationand the sharing of resourcesparticularly in the urban areasof B.C. Unfor- 'unately, little has beenaccomplished among the public libraries of the G.V.R.D. up to1970, although there are signs that attitudes arechanging.

The 3 public libraries onthe North Shore have made amodest beginning on a shared acquisitionsprogramme. Before the end of 1971 the librarymembership cards of each willbe accepted in the 3 libraries(this will also includethe public service offered by CapilanoCollege). North Vancouver Dis- trict and North VancouverCity share large-printbooks and a laminator and are buyingforms together; and allthree are seeking to standardize routinesand systems as much as possible.

In addition there seemsto be an informalagreement that material or informationwhich cannot be found locallybe re- ferred to the other NorthShore libraries firstbefore an interloan request is sent toVancouver or elsewhere. Between New Westminster andBurnaby there is someinformal cooperation and Port Moody hasturned to Burnaby forproessional advice on occasion. However, there hasbeen only a modest

61 57 improvement in practical sharing and working together since the publication of the Vainstein report. Even the energetic efforts of a field worker of the Library Development Com- mission with an office in the Greater Vancouver area have not advanced cooperation very far.

In our view the most promising development to date has been the formation of the Lower Malnland Public Libraries Coordinatin Committee, composed of board and administrative representatives of all public libraries and a representative of the School of Librarianship, with advice and secretarial assistance from the local field office of the Library Development Commission. In reading the Committee minutes to date it is surprising how many projects have been iniated in less than a year and how much information has been ex- changed. Book discarding policies, Library Week, the Citizens' Conference, public relations, personnel policies, a union list of periodicals, government documents, a common procedural manual ar. some of the subjects considered for coordination and standardization by the Committee. Although most projects researched and reported on have not yet affected library service in the area, we feel that this Committee will, afzer a period of time, develop a gool atmosphere of cooperation and devise ways and means of improving library service in the G.V.R.D.

There is no shortage of "3ystem-wide" projects for the Committee to study and initiate. Before the important and hard problems, such as the exchange of reference information, centralized technical services, equalizing per capita costs, speedy inter-library lending, cooperative film service and the coordination of library planning, are tackled, t_le Com- mittee can begin with some easier projects, such as a common library card for the C.V.R.D., standard open hours, common registration procedures, frec use of all libraries by all residents of the District, a common policy in regard to visitor or transient use, the elimination of restrictions on loans permitted and a standard loan period, a common overdue charge schedule and a standard overdue routine, a common policy re periodicals and hack files, etc. It is obvious that the former group of projects cannot be financed or administered by the Committee. These will require authority and staff as suggested later in the report, but the latter group of activities can be realized by Committee action once an atmosphere of cooperation is present.

Gka 58

PART IV

THE PUBLIC LIBRARY AND THESCHOOL LIBRARY

As in most arts of the country5the question of the relationship between the school libraryand the public library recently has emerged as an emotionalissue in British Columbia and in the G.V.R.D. The Question has two important aspects. A5 school libraries developin importance and are accepted as "the intellectualheart of the school" and become"resource centres""instructional materials centres" or"media" centres" the effect on the publiclibrary will be great. Less stress will be placed, inthe future, on serv:Ice to the in-school child and consequently moretime will be available for service to pre-schoolers,parents, the adult student, the businessman, the workingman,the people for whornpublic libraries were originally intended. Good Lchool resource centres will stimulate newdemands for information, resources, continuing education and a greatervariety of meclia. These new demands willbe most evident from thesecondary and post-secondary students. The other main aspect isthe question of the fuller use ofcommunity-supported educational space--the possibility of theschool-housed public library as a substitutefor the independent communitypublic library. This second aspect involves l.ocalpolitics and efficient use of public fundsand forces a wider debate ofthe role of the public library asdistinct from the schoollibFiry.

In several communities ofCanada, tho United States,Great Britain and Scandinavia there areexamples of school-housed public libraries, but very few canbe considered successful. In many cases the combinationhas resulted in a very good school library. In most cases, however,service to the adult public lacks depth orthe site is inconvenientfor evening or weekend use, or someother ingredient necessary for a successful publiclibrary operation is lacking.

Still, the physical integrationof school and publiclibrary facilities appears logical andeconomical to many trustees, politicians and administrators. Both collect and distribute books and other materialsand both are supported bythe same taxpayers. The question is, will thepublic as a whole be tt.t1PL.E.j=tcLIIY_S21±LilliThl_IhE_IY2.?

63 59

The library orresource centres of the elementary, junior or senior high schools, the trade, vocationalor specialized schools and the library or resource centre ofa city, town, district or region are only superficially similar. Their differences, on the other hand,are profound. They serve different purposes, use different resources,are run by staffs who are trained in differentways. They are responsible to different constituencies and authorities. Their organizational structures reflect their differingplace in the community.

The School Library and the Public Libraryare both essential elements of the community. They_ complement each other. They supplement eac1N other. Their coordinationis im ortant but in our opinion fhey s ou function separ te y 1 eac is to be fully effective.*

The following is an attempt to define the goals andfunctions of the two in a way that will emphasize theircomplementary relationship in the educational community.

1. Goals and Functions Compared

The Public Library The School Library

a. Purpose a. Purpose

To acquire, organize and To acquire,organize and disseminate information, disseminate all media of opinions and creative use in the formal educa- ideas. tional process.

To supply the intellectual To supply the learning resources necessary to an resources necessary to a understanding of universal total educatiolal experi- and local issues ence for "personalized learning." To support the creative To support the needs of use of work and leisure fhe students, and staff of time. pre-university or college formal educational To assist the process institutions. oT social change. To train children in the To provide recreation. use of libraries. To train the public in the use of libraries. * See J. S. Church, PersonalizedLearning; recommendation 20, page 41. 60

Use of the school library Us e ° fthe public library is informal and voluntary. TT-15-'3th formal and informal. Trialvidual or group use group use is cfoseIY linked to ol age. The emphasis to the sch661 programme and is on adult education, may extend-fromkinaergarten personal self-development to university entrance. and the improvement of the Wal-Tty of life. b. Resources b. Resources

Print and nonprint Print and non-print materials of all kinds materials of all kinds for all ages. for students and teachers. Popular and scholarly Popular and academic naterial on all subjects material on all subjects with a balanced selection encompassed by the of opinions. curriculum as well as supplementary material of Specialized books, general interest to students. documents, films, Specialized books, films, recordings, etc. recordings, etc. reflecting reflecting the character- the educational interests istics, interests, the of the students and the past and future aspira- institution in which the tions of the adult library is located. community which supports the library. Resources also include the Resources also include the equipment and facilities to equipment and facilities to ensure the efficient useof ensure the efficient useof the resourcer and to enable the resources and to enable the library to be used as the library to act as a an adulteducation centre, learning and study centre an information utilityand that contributes to the a source of cultural education process of the enrichment for the entire in-school student. community.

c. Organization c. Organization Public libraries vary in School libraries are only size and organization one of the facilities from large research provided in the schools institutions to small by the Boards of Trustees. community branches, but The School Districts are all are linked together responsible for the complete in municipal and regional education of all children

65 61 systems operated by one- up to the co'Aege or purpose library boards university level, and must whole sole obligation is provide a great variety of the management, regulation, formal educational control and development of programmes and institu- library service for all. tions for this purpose. Library service for adults is not an obligation of school trustees. d. Staff d. Staff

Directed by a Chief Directed by a professional Librarian or Director librarian or teacher- who is responsible to librarian who is responsible ahl appointed corporate directly or indirectly board. The staff are to the principal of the professioaal librarians, school. The staff are library technicians, professional librarians, specialists in various library technicians, disciplines, trades or teacher-librarians, or techniques, and clerks. clerks. All are devoted All are devoted to to serving the students serving the community and staff of the school. at large. e. Place in the Community e. Place in the School

For many years public Schools themselvesare librarie3 have been generally located close to independent institutions the homes of the students supported by local served. Although they may appropriations and be near the commercial life provincial grants. The of adults and used asa public library issuccess- social and cultural centre, ful if it is linked they are designed primarily functionally to the centre for the formal education of the commercial, social of the student and so are and cultural life of the tied to a school location. adult community. Public The school library, to be library buildings are best most successful, should be sited where a large shop located at the centre of would be successful. all student activities. Open hours must be It must be able to adapt arranged for maximum to the changing philosophy accessibility. Evening and needs of the school and weekend service is programme. Open hours of essential. the school library must coincide with its use as a learning resources centre and a study facility. 0 2

It is our view that a schoollibrary and a public library can share the same spacewhile serving these different goals and functions only withcareful organizational and architectural planning. If service to the adult population or the in-schoolpopulaLion is liable to suffer,physicalin- tegration should not be attempted. However both the school and the public library canbenefit from closer cooperation and coordination.

2. Cooperation and Coordination

No community, large or small,should support a wholly independent public library. All public libraries should be a part of a system. Also, no Board of Education can afford a wholly independent school library. All school libraries can benefit from being in a system. The building of systems of public libraries and systems of schoollibraries and the coordination of the two within aneducational jurisdiction should receive the urgent attention oflibrary and school authorities in British Columbia. There are many ways in which service to everyone canbe improved by cooraination: a. The resourcesof both should be made accessibleby the unrestricted exchange of print and non-printmaterials. b. The high school libraryshould be a constituent of any information network organized in thecommunity by the public library (e.g. teleprintercircuit, inter-loan, sharing reference work, etc.).

c. Duplication of resourcesshould be reduced by coordinated selection of materials and a recognitionof the special nature of the collectionsand services of the school and public library.

d. Mutual use of equipment(A-V, copying and recording equipment and facilities,multi-purpose room, exhibition space) should be encouraged toeffect economies, to increase mutual awareness andtrade expertise.

e. Schoollibrary materials might be orderedand processed by the public library under contract.

f. Bookmobile servicemight be provided under contractand at cost by thepublic library to schoolswithout library facilities. b 3 g. Joint school and public library staff meetings should be held regularly to discuss curricvlum changes, the :;cheduling of student projects, media selection,special collections and services. h. Joint school and library board meetings shouldbe held at least once a year to establishan atmosphere and policy of cooperation.

The public and the school library mustmove toward greatcr involvement in the whole community to fulfil their differ- Ing purposes. But a savings to the taxpayers and benefits t,-) all residents of the province will arise frommeaningful cooperation between these two specialized libraryorganiza- tions and the development of complementary butseparate pro- 2rammes.

3. The Church Report and School Library Development

1Jnt41 recently and with few exceptions the elementary and hi-h school libraries of the Drovincewere progressing very slowly up to and beyond the recommendations of the 1964 "Survey of Blitish Columbia School Libraries."* In 1969 Mr. J. S. Church, Assistant Director, ProfessionalDevelop- ment, 3ritish Columbia Teachers' Federation, submitteda report un school libraries which has already hadan influence on their direction, importance, content and organization.** The report is, inour opinion, an excellent one and is recommended to all public librarians. Many of the concepts appl) with equal validity to thenew role of the public library and many of the recommendations, if implemented, will affect the work of public librarians in the Province.

As elsewhere, school libraries in the G.V.R.D. generallyare underdeveloped, short of trained staff, inadequately housed and short of funds. Little use is made of television in the

* B.C. Department of Education, Survey of British Columbia "chool Libraries. Victoria, lg64.

** Church, J.S. L'braries and Other fir:tish Columbia. BdtF, 1.1)69.

68 64

schools as yet. The failure to realize thestandards recommended in 1964 is, as theChurch report states, "a direct, though not the sole, cause ofthe tragic and extensive lag of practice behind the theiryof 'the library as the under- girding for the entire curriculum.'"

School libraries are improvinghowever, and particularly in the provision of multi-media resources areahead of the public libraries. The Church report recommendedthe systems approach to the organization ofschool libraries and stresses the savings and efficienciespossible by establishing "Regional Resource Centres."Many of the ideas are familiar to public librarians andindeed were the result of talkswith public librarians. Many of the conclusions ofthis report can be applied topublic library organization withlittle translation from the context ofschool libraries. We support the Church re ort and ur e the rovincial overnment to coor inate its impementation with a simi ar eve opment, for fhe adult and post-secondarystudent, of public libraries and ''adult resourcecentres.° Within the school districts ofGreater Vancouver, school library development at the momentis very uneven. Richmond, for instance, has nocentralization or coordination of school libraries and no district resourcecentre. In Burnaby the teachers have been sodissatisfied with the lack of audio-visual facilitiesthat they specified in their bargaining demands for their currentemployment contract that A-V facilities must bemade available.

The District Learning ResourceCentre in Port Moody forthe school district of Coquitlamis a good example of such a facility, but the servicesprovided are not available to students but are restricted toteachers. The book collection is about 8,000 volumes andthe media service is wellstocked (359, 16mm films, 1,700film strips, 2,000 discs, 85cassette tape players, etc.).

The Delta Resources Centreis expanding rapidly,pushed to some extentby growing teacher-pupildemand for books and A-V material. In New Westminsterthe Schools Resource Centre, although forteachers, is now housedin adequate quarters and isexpanding its resources. There is excellent cooperation between theschool libraries andthe public library in all areas and apublic librarian attendsthe school librarians' meetings.

The North VancouverSchool District offerspublic service through its high schoollibraries upon request for any specific item and thereis close contactwith the public 6 5 libraries in the District. The library centre is multi- media and centralizes previewing of alms, picturemounting, stand-by equipment and 1,400 professional books for teachers. Video equipment is expected thisyear.

In the City of Vancouver all books and other mediafor school libraries are processed at the Vancouver City College in Langara and there is a model children's collection to assist teachers. The professional library is housed separately. Formerly the Vancouver Public Library acquired pnd processed all school library books but this has been discontinued. Contact between the school board and the library board is, however,very close.

In the Killarney schoola joint public-school library has been ir operation fora number of years but the scheme is being reassessed. Sharing the collection, space and services for the two functions is proving to be difficultand adults are not visiting the school building as they would if the site was central to other activities suchas shopping. In the West End on Denman Streeta public library branch is being constructed as part ofa community-education complex. The building, a.though separate from the highschool, will house the school libraryon the second floor. This combina- tion, a public library-housed school library,may prove successful because of thepresence of a good public library site on a busy street together with othel- cultural-community uses of the area and the accommodation of the school and public library functionsas separate but complementary elements of one space. It will be interesting to follow this unique form of cooperation for futureguidance.

In Vancouver, arising from the Churchreport, a demonstration school library project is being setup in the Lord Selkirk Elementary School to demonstrate the possibilities ofa multi-media collection with constantaccess for pupils and teachers. One of the purposes of this experiment is "to provide a means of testing the hypothesis that improved library services, improved quantitative standards and expanded school library facilities will facilitate growth of skills and concepts and the emergence ofa lasting commitment to learning in pupils." This, too, should be watched and public librarians should cooperate with the British Columbia Teachers Federation in the operation and evaluation of this project.

In West Vancouver, a comparatively well-to-doarea, the school libraries are suffering from recent budgetcuts and there is only modest progress toward the multi-mediaresource centre concept. There is a great shortage of equipment. .6(3

We have very briefly cited afew examples of school library development to emphasize the varietyof approaches to this service and the fact that schooldistricts make a much greater use of non-book mediaand the systems concept than do the public libraries. There is in addition a tendency toward longer open hoars and anincrease in the use of school libraries by the general public. Most school officials seem to agree that the schooland the public libraries have separate and complementary roles toplay in education and express greatwillingness to cooperate on suchpractical matters as early notificationof school assignments, interloan of material, sharing resourcesand general consultation. It is recommended thatofficial contact, throu h inter-board and inter-staff committeesbetween the school anu publi c 11 rary aut orities be initiated to iscuss mutualproblems, means ofcoordination and to establish policieswhia will im rove service to students andthe sublic. It is fuif5g17 recommen e t at t e separate ementar roles of fhe school and public library be recognize ,y a gpvernment.

4. The Centennial High School andCommunity Library, cosuitlam

Mr. Al W. Fraser, theschool librarian, worked closelywith John Church on the reportmentioned earlier and has done a great deal to developthis school library as a service tothe whole community since moving to newquarters in December, '4"1 1969. Although attempts were madebefore 1967 to pass a by- law for a public libraryin Coquitlam, they were not successful and the present arrangement,whereby the Coquitlam City Council pays the Boardof School Trustees forthe cost of public st.rvice through therchool library, developed from the failure to establish apublic library. In 1971 $100,000.00 was given the schoolboard and $130,000.00 is expected in 1972, which represents anestimate of the cast of extra staff and materials tosupply public service. The library is an excellentexample of a schoollibrary but use by thepublic is low (only 40%non-student borrowing of the book collections). The A-V collection,although a good one, isrestricted to in-library useand so is little used by the public. One could say thatthe facilities provided for study are excellentbut the orientation ofthe location, the staff and materials is, asit must be, towardhigh school student service. Since there is nopublic library board, there is no officialcommunity point-of-viewin the decisions affecting the developmentof the service. The 32,982 volumes 0.7 in the collection represent only .6volumes per capita, far below the 3 volumesper capita recommended as standard for the size of the community and the low adultuse is reflected in a circulationper capita of only 2.3 as against the recommended standard of 9 per capita. One could question the wisdom of spending about $2.00per capita on an operation that provides a limited adult serviceon a poor public library site apart from any commercial-retail activity,without effective budgetary control of the municipalfunds supplied and,further,that is ineligible for the provincialgrant or any aid whatsoever from the Library Development Commission.

P7Z 68

PART V

THE FEASIBILITY OF CENTRALIZEDTECHNICAL SERVICES IN THE G.V.R.D.

Technical services is one of the operationsfrequently given first consideration as a projectfor centralization among groups ofindependent libraries. It is one of a group of behind-the-scenes administrative activities common toall libraries, with a routine and assemblyline character that could benefit from mass productionand inter-library standards.

For uur purposes we will define"technical services" to include all operations from coordinationof materials selection to organizing thefinished product for public use. There is no single library activity thathas been more thoroughly studied, analyzed,contemplated, argued about or abused thancentralized technical service operations. We have seen big ones, small ones,highly mechanized and primitive examples producing bothcustom-tailored and standardized output.

In our opinion the advantagesaccruing to any group of libraries who wish to organize a centralcataloguing and processing unit are not necessarilyfinancial, and the idea should not be sold either tocouncils or library trustees solely as a means of saving money. In the best examples the advantages are administrativeand result in improved inter-library lending and easier access to morelibrary resources. The arguments for and againstcentralized technical services are well documentedand can be summarized asfollows:

Arguments For:

1. Coordination of acquisitionsthrough centralized selection can reduceduplication of resources andbuild up specializations.

Z. Cost per item i reduced with one-time cataloguingand maximum copies processing.

73 69

3. Able and specialized cataloguers and expensive cataloguing tools are concentrated in one location thus improving standards.

4. Bulk buying of cataloguing and processing supplies will save money.

5. Shipping charges are reduced and discounts increased with consolidated ordering. 6. The duplication of files, office furniture and equipment is reduced.

7. A union catalogue with standard entries, subject headings and classification can be built up at the processing centre.

8. Cataloguing data and processed library materials are produced faster.

9. Cataloguing is more consistent and of a higher quality.

10. Mechanization and automation become feasible for a large operation which in turn can produce "spin off" benefits such as book catalogues, statistical analyses and instant billing. 11. Library staff and space are released for additional public service.

12. Centralized technical services can act as a unifying force to hold the library system together.

Arguments Against:

1. There would be loss of autonomy by participating libraries.

2. The size of the operation would create bureaucracy but would not guarantee efficiency.

The mechanized and assembly-line nature of the operation might preclude exceptions to speed delivery of items in high demand. 4. The coordination of ordering would impose a strict time limit on selection procedures.

S. Cataloguing and classification sta,Idards would, of 70

necessity, be geared to the largest library andwould be too detailed for the smaller libraries.

6. Enforced uniformity of cataloguing andprocessing would require retroactive adjustments to the catalogues of most participating libraries.

7. Centralization would not cut costs orspeed up the provision of books to the public because of the tendency toward a complex mechanized organization.

8. Since participating library staffswould no longer handle new accessions, they may notbecome familiar with their contents. 9. Commercial technical services operationsand the availability of cataloguing data from the National Library of Canada and the Library of Congress rendercentralized technical services organized by groups oflibraries unnecessary.

Before a decision on the provision ofcentralized technical services for any group of libraries can betaken the arguments for and against must betested as far as possible by analysis and research. It might prove feasible to begin by sharing cataloguing data or it might be sufficientfor V.P.L. to issue an accessionslist of verified main entries with cla3sification and subject headings or, ifconformity and high use can be assured a G.V.R.D. processingunit housed in factory space might coordinate orderingand produce fully catalogued and processed, print and non-printlibrary materials on a unit cost basis for public andschool libraries.

Detailed predictions of costs, administration,capitalization, technique and the future needs of librariesin the area are required before a choice between the manyalternative arrangements can be made. Within the time limits available for this study we were able to conduct only a verygeneral test of feasibility on theassumption that, to be viable, any alternativescheme would have to include andbe based on the cataloguing outputof the Vancouver PublicLibrary and be used 100% by the librariesof Burnaby, New Westminster, North Vancouver City and District.

On the suggestion of Mr. MelEndelman, Systems Analyst of the Vancouver Public Library,and with an assistant to visit each library and compile the datacollected, 255 non-fiction adult titles were selected fromthe V.P.L. "New Titles Added" lists for the months ofMarch, April, May, June and 71

July of 1971. only titles added to one of the subject divisions of thL Ilain library and a branch collectionwere selected on the a,.-umption that such titles would probably be current selectiol.s and duplicated in one of the other libraries. These titles were checked in the records of the other 4 libraries for duplicated titles, for date ordered, received and catalogued, and for class number assigned. The following results indicate a high rate of duplication buta wide time span between date of ordering and date of cataloguing in all libraries. In addition, a large percentage of titles added to V.P.L. from March to July were not yet catalogued in Burnaby, North Vancouver City and District indicating a large backlog of current titles in these libraries. (Burnaby reported a 6 month backlog, North Vancouver City had about 300 volumes awaiting cataloguing and North Vancouver District 3,735 volumes inprocess at the time of our visit.) In regard to classification numbers it seems that differences occur most fiequently between V.P.L. and New Westminster- 37% of the 157 duplicated titles. 7 2

Table M: Statistics Based on 157V.P.L. Ti1es duplicated in Four Libraries. (All titles werecatalogued in V.P.L. in 1971) North North New Van. Van. Burnaby West. City Dist.

Duplicated titles 98 62% 94 60% 62 40% 66 42% Catalogues in 1971 20 35 3 9 Catalogued prior 1971 22 26 12 4 Call No. Same as 19 16 1 7 V.P.L. Call No, Different 30 19% 58 37% 13 S% 6 4% from V.P.L. Rec'd Not Yet 35 1 40 35 catalogued Ordered in 1971 31 18 30 41 Ordered Prior 1971 14 1 18 10

Note: Discrepancies in figures occurfor the following reasons: Some items were received butwill not be catalogued. Some items were cataloguedbut order file not yet adjusted.

As it turned out technicalservice records were not available to enable us to establishthe cataloguing delay in the sur- veyed libraries. In V.P.L. the delay isreporte,1 to be from 2 to 3 months from thedate the book is received. Some libraries waited up to 10 weeksfor Library of Congress cards to arrive. West Vancouver reported a oneweek delay in cataloguing and New Westminsterappeared to be quickest at selection, ordering and cataloguing onthe average.

Dr. Ronald Hagler of theSchool of Librarianship wasinter- viewed and he agreed tosummarize the findings ofhis 1968 study of the feasibility ofcentralized technical services for the public librariesof British Columbia andsubmit them in the form of a memo tothis study. We have examined the figures and found the conclusions tobe valid and most help- ful. The full text is among thestudy documents and is available.

77 7 3

To summarize the opinions expressed in thememo and the significance of the statistics; itseems to be clear that in 1967, central cataloguing and processing in theG.V.R.D. could not have providedan economic advantage without coordinated selection and ordering because of thelow number of titles ordered and processedat the same time. We believe this opinion holds true for 1971as well. In 1967 it seems therewas a high incidence of differences in classification numbers assigned- 41% of the titles checked in 15 libraries in B.C. Dr. Hagler believes that this high incidence would apply equallyto G.V.R.D. libraries. As noted previously, our figures confirm thisto be true in 1971 also, although we did not distinguishbetween sub- stantial and minor differences in class numbers.

Based on the opinion expressed by the chieflibrarian of the G.V.R.D. libraries,Dr. Hagler's conclusionslandour sample test for duplicate titles, classificationdifferences, and processing time lags it is recommendedthat centralized technical services should not be organized f6iPubliclibraries in the 17:V.R.D. withouta thorough study of-its feasibility and also that the acceptance ofa single standard of cataloguing, administrative coordintion of selection,ordering and the sharing of cataloguing dataare necessary preludes to any centralized scheme.

In regard to the use of computers tostore and retrieve cataloguing data and to produce book cataloguesetc. we do not deny their usefullness for groups of smaller libraries but for urban libraries requiring detailed descriptive cataloguing and analytical subjectaccess to large collections computers and data processing equipment should not be used before improved service and economicscan confidently be fore- cast. 7 4

PART VI

THE FRASER VALLEY REGIONAL LIBRARYAND THE G.V.R.D.

Within the boundaries cf the G.V.R.D.the F.V.R.L. operates 12 branches, 4 in Surrey, 5in Richmond, 1 in Delta, 1 in Port Coquitlam and 1 inWhiterock. In addition there is a service provided in these areas by 2bookmobiles. The collections of these branches total147,000, or about 46% of the total bockstock of theregional library system. The circulation of books from these branches totals1,049,000 approximately, which is about 52% of the totalcirculation of the Region. This relatively small area of the whole library region is increasing rapidlyin population and will require more resources andfacilities. It is bound to be more difficult forthe F.V.R.L. organization to meet these demands without neglecting the more rural areas.

The amount assessed by the F.V.R.L.Board from the G.V.R.D. branches was $279,342.00 in 1971 or 62%of the total budget of the system. When the present per capita supportfor library purposes is worked out for allmunicipalities in the Fraser Valley Region it can be seenthat the G.V.R.D. municipalities of Surrey, Delta, Richmond,Whiterock and Port Coquitlam have a higher percapita figure than the other municipalities in the Valley. Large grants of capital funds for buildings, bookstock and equipmenthave been required from these municipalities in recent yearsin an effort to keep up to their rapid development. Six new G.V.R.D. branches were opened in 1971 for instance. Of course part of the assessed funds go towardthe financing of central regional services such as the ordering,cataloguing and processing of books, bookmobileservice, interloan and reference service,delivery and film service.

If the G.V.R.D. branches of theF.V.R.L. operated independently costs would increase. More staff would be required and services now provided by theregional headquarters in Abbotsfordwould be required locally. It is undoubtedly cheaper for any individual library to operatewithin a system. The loss of these municipalities would,however, be a serious blow to the Fraser Valley System and manyof its headquarters 75

services would he seriously dislocated. Nevertheless, the orientation of the people of these communities is toward the Greater Vancouver area and their needs anddemands for library service are more complex and require easieraccess to more sophisticated resources andsources of information than do the people of the easternareas of the F.V.R.L. system. The people of Surrey, for instance,are using the New Westminster Public Library in growing numbers. In 1968, 12.1% of the reference userswere from Surrey and this percentage has increased since then. The Coquitlam Centennial Community Library reports considerableuse by residents of Port Coquitlam and 3% of theuse of the Vancouver main library is by residents of Richmond and White Rock.

It seems clear that library services in these Fraser Valley communities should be coordinated with the GreaterVancouver urban network. The Fraser Valley Regional Library, the oldest in Canada, was formed toserve small communities and rural areas and has performed this role admirably. The growth of large suburb_ populations could not have been predicted for the region in 1934. The separation of the five G.V.R.D. municipalitiesmay, in the long run, relieve the F,V.R.L. Board from the pressures to meet the needs ofan urban population that has already little incommon with the rest of the Valley.

The Director of the FraserValley Regional Library has submitted u memorandum to this study in whichthe case for a new F.V.R.L. system based on the new Regional Districts in the eastern Valley is set outas well as the arguments for maintaining the present arrangementas a viable unit of service adjusted financially to providemore suburban resource-, for the G.V.R.D. municipalities. These points-ofview have been considered and should be closely studied by the Commission. Mr. Ley's memorandum is availableas one ot the documents accompanying this study.

It is difficult to justify the separation of the G.V.R.D. municipalities on financial arguments. Library service at the standard provided by New Westminster, Vancouveror Burnaby would probably be more costly but it wouldalso offer access to greater resources. In addition the central services now provided by the F.V.R.L. could be provided by a new system of libraries based on a G.V.R.D. federation in which these G.V.R.D. municipalities would be partners.

It is our view that library service in Port Coquitlam, White Rock, Surrey, Delta and Richmondcan best be developed 7n association with the urban municipalitiesof Greater Vancouver andwe have made recommendations to this effec: in the "Plan ForDevelopment." 76

PART VII

A PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF PUBLIC

LIBRARIES IN THE G.V.R.D.

1. Pre-Conditions for Library System Development

Before proposing a plan for the G.V.R.D., wewould like to recommend the conditions that webelieve will or should pre- vail before a library system can succeedin the Regional District. These conditions arise from our study of the area and have been explicit or implicit inthe preceding chapters of this report. a. The special importance of the VancouverPublic Library makes the further expansion of its centralcollection and an increase in the number of itssubject specialists vital to the development of the system. It would make no sense for any library authority to tryto duplicate or compete with this unique service. It is recommended that the V.P.L. main branchbe desipitTFET- ii-71-T1WalFiTTWEEFEF-NET-re and-tEat all liorary authorities In the region work toward a strengthening of its resources andthat this invaluable racilitle assiste y t e rovinciagovernment an t e egional District Munic alities so tnat its resourceswill'be ree y avai a e to everyone in t e D. b. To a lesser extent the NewWestminster Public Librar is also of District importanceand it is recommended that the New Westminster PublicLib-rary be deviloped as a secondary resourcecentre by adding reference resources anal crevelo in stronger sUb'ect s eciali- zations n coopera on wi F.L. and trie other pti libraries with the financialassistaimunicia- TITIFT-TR-Th-i-leiTERWI-M1117.17I-and the Librar Develo ment Commission so that itsreference resources w freelyavr.nabletoo_reeintheG.r.R.D. torrelieve the present heavy dependency onthe Vancouver main building. 7 7 c. It is recommended that the ublic libraries of the municipalities o Port Coquitlam, Survey, iterock, Richmond andIelta4be separated from the Fraser Valley Regional Library and'develop an urban-6fIented service as part of the G.V.R.D. system of-libraries. This will cause tem- porary 'hard-ship to the Fraser Valley system which should receive special provincial assistance during the adjust- ment period as outlined in "Financing the System." d. The predicted development of the municipalities of Port Moody, Port Coquitlam and Coquitlam indicates that their library service should be planned together. It is recommended that one librar authority be estaTiThed or tnese t ree munic pa t es un er action o t e Public Libraries Act and thata central library building be built in Covitlam in a busy central location with the existing lipraries in Port Moody and Port Coquitlam raing as branches. e. We are assuming the eventual amalgamation of North Vancouver City and North Vancouver District. In the meantime the Boards of these public libraries should coordinate their services and programmes and together with West Vancouver organize one library service area on the North Shore. f. It is recommended that the City of Whiterock obtain its library service from the library board of Surrey as soon as this board is established.

2. Integration or Federation

As we have indicated in Part I of this report, the future pattern of development in "The Lower Mainland" will favour an intensification of urban growth in the area defined as the G.V.R.D. This is a "natural" trend arising from a common economic base, the port activities and social and cultural attractions of the area. The planning and central services provided by the regional district level of government are designed to organize this urban growth as efficent- ly and economically as possible.

Public libraries, supported by local taxpayers, have a local and a regional responsibility. However, to discharge these responsibilities efficiently libraries must be able to deliver.the information and resources needed on the local TFVFTFr refer their constituents to another source, there must be unrestricted movement of resources from library to 78 library, there must be a knowledge of what is available everywhere as well as total coordination and one standard of service.

The complete integration or amalgamation of all public libraries into one G.V.R.D. system could be one way to meet such responsibilities. Such a system could operate as does the Vancouver Public Library, but over the whole Region. More than likely, in time, a series of large libraries linked together could serve and be served by sub-branches grouped around each of them. The whole could be under the authority of the G.V.R.D. Library Board and administered centrally with one staff, one collection, one budget and one master plan. All funds could be collected by the Regional District Board on an equalized assessment basis from each member municipality. The central administration could act for the whole District in all arrangements made with other types of libraries, in all contacts with the rest of the Province or the country and the Library Development Commission would have to regard the District as one municipality.

In the regional concept of government as developed in British Columbia so far there is no precedent for such an arrangement. Even in the matter of hospitals, one of the "original" responsibilities of Regional Districts, there is still a large measure of local participation in their planning and operation. In any case, we consider the integration of existing libraries and library systems to be politically unrealistic at this time and the resulting loss of local involvement to be undesireable in an urban area with 15 communities of diverse '3..ze, wealth, level of development and character. It is c .11. view that a federation of library authorities within the G.V.R.D. regional government concept provides ;Ile best opportunity to preserve local involvement and strengthen the services provided by all public libraries. It is recommendedafter stud in the communit the needs of 1 speo an t e level o rar rvcesa resent provile t e beglona strict tnat a resi.ents wou benefit and tat piblic funds woulde better s ent w t tne crea on o a begiona us riot rary au ority o administer a federated system of publiclibraries in the G:V.R.b.

3. The Ob ectives of a Library Federation a. To ensure that the resourcesand services of all public libraries are available equally to all residents. b. To ensure that public library collections are coordinated 79

and developed to eliminate unnecessary duplication, to build on existing strens.ths and specializations. c. To provide central services to all libraries when such services will effect economies and improve efficiency. d. To cooperate with the university, college, special and school libraries in the District to expand the network of service and resources available to the general public. e. To develop and revise annually a Regional District plan of service agreed to by all public library agencies in the District.

f. To develop contacts with other libraries and library systems in British Columbia, in Canada and in the United States for the purposes of sharing resources and information. g. To support research, experimentation and training programmes that will change techniques, services and attitudes in response to changes in the urban environment.

One could argue that these objectives could be attained voluntarily by the cooperation of the existing boards and staff through the mechanism of task forces and provincially- supported committees. If this were the case, more would have been accomplished to date by the Lower Mainland Public Library Coordinating Committee or by various informal alliances of libraries such as North Vancouver City and District or by Vancouver and Burnaby. The need for greater cooperation has been recognized since the publication of the Vainstein Report but the best intentions are often foiled by an enforced municipal independence for political reasons, by the pro- tracted formal and informal agreement necessary to effect a minor change and by the insecurity implicit in such arrangements.

It is our opinion that all of these objectives require a formal organization with legal and fiscal authority independent of the local responsibilities of the existing public libraries. But, more important, all objectives require the wholehearted support and full cooperation of existing library boards, library administrators and the Library Development Commission.

It is recommended that the objectives of the G.V.R.D. library SO system be understood and acceted b librar boards in the area and the Commission e orean ste s are ta-en to give one ody e a aut ori y or syst_em-wi e rary responsi- it os.

4. Attaining the Objectives

In Part II we outlinedthe main purposes of theRegional Districts. When one applies these to anurban public library system one can see thatthey would be admirably served if the G.V.R.D. assumedresponsibilities for such a system.

Purpose number 1) providesfor the representation of each municipalityand electoral orunorganized area in any decision affectinglibrary system development. Pul-ose number 2) allows theRegional District to provide w o esa e libniyservices to some or allmunicipalities after consultation and agreementby them.

Purpose number 3) allowsthe Regional District toprovide or arrange forlibrary service in Buntzen,Bowen Island, Lions Bay, Barnston Island orIndian Reserves if requested.

Purpose number 4) ensuresthat the cost of system-wide services provided will bespread equitably over the -14 whole Region. Purpose number 5) providesfor one borrowing agent as a sourceof capital for librarybuildings, expansions, renovations or new majorpieces of equipment.

The question is how canthe G.V.R.D. Board ofDirectors, a body of electedpoliticians representingthe municipalities, develop a library system,in partnership withthe municipalities, given theobjectives listed. The pattern so far in the G.V.R.D. has been forthe Board to makedecisions based on study and advicereceived from bodies set upfor this purpose ur toexercise its authoritydirectly. As far as we can ascertain, there are noindependent boards or commissions governed by separatelegislation but reporting toand financed by a regionaldistrict. In other words, aRegional District Library Boardoperating on a regionallevel in the same manaer as amunicipal library boardwould be a concept without precedent so farin the development ofregional government in BritishColumbia. 81

However, it is our view that in the matter of library development there should bea body that is separate from but responsible to the Board of Directorsof the Regional Dis- trict; this body should have the authorityto receive and spend public funds directly,to set policy for its operations, to deal directly with the municipal libraryboards and to operate services.

This new form of public library boardcould be set up by Provincial Letters Patent. An amendment to the Public Libraries Act would benecessary to establish the eligibili- ty of the new board for provincialgrants and to establish its relationship with the LibraryDevelopment Commission.

It is recommended that theG.V.R.D. Board of Directors recommend to the 'Provincial Tovernmenttfi-at responsibility 1"---1-7friileThrorteeveopnitoapuiclibrarysystem-be madea function of the G.V.R.D. and further thatIthrough an amendmentto the Public Libraries Act and by means 61 letters 'Patent,the Provincial Government, in consultation withthe Library levelOpment Commission, estdbfisha 6reater Vancouver Library System 'Board.

S. TheG'tNr_sLy_ylcotLibrarSstem Board

The followingare suggesed responsibilities andpowers of the G.V.L.S.B. a. To attain and maintain the objectivesagreed to by all municipal library authoritiesin the Regional District. b. To be able to make rules and regulationsfor the guidance and functioning of the G.V.L.S.B. c. To be required to produce and,after approval by the G.V.R.D. Board, account foran annual budget of funds needed for its operations. d. To have control over the annualexpenditure of funds allotted by the G.V.R.D. Boardor in the form of provincial grants-in-aid from the LibraryDevelopment Commission or received through thesale of a library service. 8 2

e. To have power to hire and removeit:; staff and prescribe rules and salaries. f. To be required to report toand advise as requested the Board of Directors of theG.V.R.D. and to establish close liaison with the G.V.R.D. PlanningDepartment.

In recommending the make-up of aLibrary System Board best suited to the context of regional government,the following factors were considered: The estimated populationof each municipality by 1981 and their relative importanceby that date.

The key importance of theVancouver Public Library as the main resourcecentre of the District. The importance of the resources of theNew Westminster Public Library. The necessity of ensuring representationfor people of the electoral and unorganized areas.

The need to encourage and sustainpublic library boards in Delta, Surrey and Richmond sothat their separation from the Fraser ValleyRegional Libraly will not leave them without locallibrary service.

The inclusion of politicalrepresentation by 3 members of the G.V.R.D. Boardwhich would provide liaison with that body and itsother activities.

It is recommended thatthe Greater Vancouver LibrarySystem O4ard censist ar 11 members._represen4tive _of the G.Y.R.D. and the municipalities_,_ andmadv up of 7 sele_c_ted from among th9 sitting members of the areaLibrary Beards or groups of Boards,as follows: The Vancouver Public LibraryBoard 1 member The New Westminster PublicLibrary Board - 1 member The Surrey Public LibraryBoard - 1 member The Delta Public LibraryBoard The Richmond Public LibraryBoard ) 1 member The Burnaby Public LibraryBoard - 1 member The City of North Van. LibraryBoard The District of North Van.Library Board The West Vancouver LibraryBoard ) 1 member 8 3

The Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody Union Public Library Board 1 member

In addition 1 member at large would be appointed by the G.V.R.D.gaii7aBTDITTHTirs to represent the electoral areas--tho U.B.C. Endowment Lands, Buntzen, Bowen Island, Barnston Island, the Village of Lions Bay and the Indian Reserves. In addition the G.V.R.D. Board would appoint from its number 2 members, one of which would bea representative oT fhe City of Vancouver.

The Chairman of the G.V.R.D. Board or his delegate would be an ex-officio member of the Library System Board.

Each member to have one vote and the terms of office and other procedural matters to be as set out in the Public Libraries Act.

The Board would elect a chairman anda vice-chairman, appoint committees and hire a Director who would bea qualified librarian with experience in the administration ofa library system and who would be the chief executive officer of the Board.

6. Regional Functions of the Library System Board

One of the first tasks of the Library System Board and the Director would be to establish, in consultation with the public libraries, which District-wide services should be undertaken and to establish priorities.* On the basis of our investigations it is recomTended that the following services and activities including some problems whiel will re uire further studbe accepted as functions ot tne GJV.L.S.B. for first consi eration: arrange in priority order)

a. A communication and information network for sharing resources and inter-library lending among public and non-public libraries within the District.

b. The provision of a central audio-visual centre as a back-up service to the libraries and a direct public service, for the stimulation of prigric library use of non-book media including educational television.

* The present Public Libraries CoordinatingCommittee could act as a consultative and advisory body to thenew Board. We suggest that it be renamed "The Greater VancouverLibrary Council" and that direct support from the L.D.C.be withdrawn.

tab 8 4

c. The support of a Greater VancouverBibliographic Centre in the Vancouver PublicLibrary central building (dependent on the format ofthe communication and information network). d. The coordination of acquisitionsand the support of special collections.

e. The provision of a researchand development unit to conducz research projectsreferred to it by the libraries in the area, or projectsconsidered necessary,before organizing a new service. This unit may support experimentation and pilot projects in any onelibrary or other appropriate agency providingthat the results can, if successful, be of benefit tothe library system as a whole. Areas in which research isneeded include automation of circulation control,the use of computers and data processing equipmentin budget control, bibliographic information exchange and retrieval,the development of long distance facsimilereproduction, the use of television in libraries, analyses oflibrary users and users' needs etc.

f. The provision of a centralpool of foreign language material as a back-up collectionfor the use of libraries only.

g. The production anddistribution of catalogues, indexes, bibliographies, photocopies,microforms, recordings, etc., of District importance.

h. The provision of a poolcollection of duplicates, last copies of discarded material,etc. Such a collection should be developed incooperation with a similar facility being consideredby the university and college libraries in the area. District i. Central publicity andpublic relations for the as needed on acontinuing basis or forspecial campaigns and events.

The organization ofDistrict workshops, conferencesand committees to maintain opencoftmunications and an atmosphere of partnershipand cooperation, tofacilitate decisions and to advisethe Board on services tobe provided and assistanceneeded.

k. A central gifts andexchange centre. S S

1. The retaining of legal counsel and adviceto member libraries in censorship cases, contracts,labour relations, etc.

7. Financing_ the System

The financing of the System operation including itscoordinating function and headquartersexpenses should be based on actual need as urp.anization proceeds. The G.V.R.D. Board of Directors should, however, be prepared tocarry these expenses for the first year, with the assistance ofa Grant from the Library Development Commission. The amount necessary tocover expenses during the first year cannot be specified at this time but we recormend that it be basedon estimated need and not on a per capita formula. After a detailed plan of operation is submitted and approved, and servicesto be provided are determined, it is recommended that thefollowing grant structure startin in the secondyear of operation be acceptedIy the G.V.L.S:B. and the Commission:

a. Establishment Grants

2nd year based on estimated need, half paid by the G.V.R.D. and half paid by the L.D.C.

3rd year -50 cents per capita, ($564,853 basedon 1971 est. population) half paid by the G.V.R.D. and half paid by the L.D.C.

4th year same rate. b. Resource Centre Grants:

This grant should be paid to the Vancouver Public Library and the New Westminster Public Library directly by the Commission and the G.V.R.D. Board until the Library System Board can work out a formula for sharing costs with the municipalities based on the actual service being provided by these institutions to other municipalities. However, such grants should not be paid for more than 2 years without a cost sharing formula.

To the Vancouver Public Library: one-third of the cost of the operation of the public services in the main branEFYraid-on a 50-50 basis by the t.V.R.D. and the L.D.C. 86

To the New WestminsterPublic Library: one half ofthe cost of the o eration ofthe reference servicesprovided paid on a 50-50bas1s1y the D.V.R.D. and the L.D.C.

After the 2 year period grantsshould be based on the actual cost of the regionalservice being provided. The G.V.R.D. portion would thenbe shared by the municipalities. c. Headquarters Grant: Since the G.V.L.S.B. willestablish collections of material (A-V, foreignlanguages) for the use of libraries and will need some equipmentand office furniture, a grant to establish thesefacilities should be paid. We recommend the payment of$300,000 over a 2-year period toward the cost of rent orconstruction, equipment and resources. d. Annual Operating Crants Grants should be payable tothe Library System Board according to the principles andconditions laid down for other library systems in theProvince with the exception that, in the G.V.R.D., themunicipalities with newly established public libraryboards, i.e. the Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and PortMoody Union Board, the Surrey, Delta and Richmondboards should receive special consideration in the form of interimoperating grants in addition to the system operating grantsuntil these libraries have reached the minimumstandards approved by the L.D.C.

e. laciALGEElts The G.V.L.S. Boardshould be eligible forspecial grants in support of each news,,rvice added, for specialprojects such as workshops,seminars and for research,pilot projects and demonstrationsas neededsubject to the approval of the L.D.C.and the G.V.R.D. Boardof Directors and on the conditionthat the G.V.R.D. will alsoshare in the funding of newservices and special projects.

There is a special grantreferred to in Part la that we feel is justified bythe necessity of maintainingthe strength of the FraserValley Regional Library. This is the special compensatory&rant whichshould.be paid for 3

91 87

years to the F.V.R.L. Board for the loss of revenue and dislocation of service resulting from the separation of the four municipalities of Port Coquitlam, Surrey, (Whiterock), Delta and Richmond from the Fraser Valley Regional Library. This special grant will enable the Fraser Valley system to adjust staff, headquarters operation, equipment and services to thenew conditions. We are unable to suggest an amount,but it should be noted that revenue 1sst when the fourareas leave the Fraser Valley system would be $279,342.00 at the 1971 level and the remaining communities in the system would havea lower assessment and population on which to base future appropriation for library service. A formula of compensa- tion would have to be worked out.

8. Areas for Further Study

One of the important functions of the G.V.L.S. will beto determine its future role. An effort of self-education and study will be required as wellas the formal investigation of library service problems in order to advise individual library boards and the G.V.R.D. Board of future priorities and directions. In our study we were able to identifya number of areas requiring fuller investigation: a. The conditions under which centralized technical services sliould be organized--the financial implications and the possible extension of this service to all public libraries in the province. b. The implications of computer and related technologyas applied to the District library system. c. Overall library user and non-user characteristics and needs as a measure of the pace and direction of change.

Recent communication technology such as Cable TV, the National Science Library's S.D.I. service, TELSAT, tele- copying, etc., and their use in Greater Vancouver's total library and information network. e. Strengths and weaknesses in reference and information resources in the G.V.R.D. with particular reference to the Vancouver Public Library and a plan for cooperative collection building. 88

f. The provision of service in languagesother than English as a regional servicebased on research into the distribution and needs of the ethnic groups in theG.V.R.D. g. Centralized circulation control and overdueprocedures.

93 9 CXJ.LSOAPhG.RVIC.,t RiSlitamtelLrn PMTERNS ES OF TI4E. LIBRARY SYSTSM OF &MATE.R VANCOUVER. t) I NIT RtSPONSIISturtts Low. 13004W RESM4SIBILittas LIBRARYIN.FORMATIONCOM OtRSSIFLARLO NXI1ON Nictvicoew or Acaoismoms & 1ram...11016"Y tat4OiN6 AUNION upio-upro-VIstAL VIsuALCENnwett (Cu.lirt N OtOACOESGr C.SNLTR.t.KAPN it CArALOGUE a ettwo- Cattnict. 10MS LOCALLOCALCiacuukraos RILFIUMACR COLLIMTI Saitusuis MS StRUICEzIttmiceti La Simms PRODUCTIONRteiltWALFIALaccrtFiNiktACIALSUrPOIcr Ote CATALOSIAS, RIR & P R. REWONAL.COLLt.CTIONS R.SAICWALCVO'SPE:X.1ALRec.:IC*1AL RAL 1b.C.14 REP iN,FCRMATION&MEAN. N (CAL (DLL- Itt-TIONA Cr.i.t.tcnoms StR\ACIES C.I4SCMOOLBRN4CAIIIS I Lb itt SlItRgiCIES a kitiCAMODRIA00(1 Usimples Sratviurts cr) LAZAaims Lit St.ExtRAtt&E ay ice. CENTRE itibtsiEs RSOMb1116C,121-c. FIVDCAPAMMes WORKSHOPS C.P.MTRtGomm trrcas o1VIA1N I MG. I COMMLOCALSsimmem PROGRAMMES t4oriormAsbe CirbmtRxc UN trY t 14 FORMATION C. CooPs.a.Nnowlwrsit.i.LIBRARYCOMCOOR.AINATtONDOC.VMERTATION puTu &TELtPFUNTLIt Wm%be.I.141tRAMS ottilut LteRa.akets 21 beim-atoms STC. ETC. SE.RVLCECOKTACTS WITI4To ikuseRvas iJABRIMIILS & uNeettANIXEbt NtST(TUTION1B.C.PRI:N(510N AREAs. OVTSIDe 9 0

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDATIONS

Part I: A Profile of the Region

1. It is recommended thatlibraries research the distribution and information needs ofthe ethnic population to ensure that service tothese groups is not neglected.

Part III:Library Service inthe Greater Vancouver Regional District

2. It is recommended thatpublic library boards accept as one of the firstresponsibilities of any system of public libraries in a metropolitanenvironment the provision of service unrestricted bymunicipal or community boundaries.

3. It is recommended that publiclibraries develop community information services separatefrom traditional reference services And developboth in response to community needs. Direct information services provided should not duplicate thoseorganized by other community organizations butshould be coordinated with them and should stress referraltechniques.

4.It is recommended thatperiodical holdings be greatly increased in all G.V.R.D. libraries,that periodical resources be sharedand that a policy covering the length of time back files arestored be worked out jointly.

5.It is recommended that a systemapproach to resource building emphasize the need forrelevant collections of material not easily availablebecause of source or price and place less emphasis onpopular books and periodicals.

6. It is recommendedthat collections of non-print resources beorganized in each publiclibrary in the region, that a centralcollection coordinated with the local ones act as aregional audio-visual centre

SS 91

for maintenance, previewing and selection of thesere- sources U5 well as an audio-visual information centre for libraries and the public, and thata union list of all audio-visual materials with locations be issued by this centre.

7. It is recommended tha . %Ten the university, college and public lit held as soon as possible and that an ii.rary lending policy be approved that will be 111.,_, with the existingTelex and delivery system at present operated in Greater Vancouver by the universities. It is also recommended that the public be encouraged touse the scheme through a vigorous promotion campaign and the abolition of all restrictions and charges.

Part IV :The Public Library and the School Library

8. It is recommended that of'Zicial contact, through inter- board and inter-staff committees, between theschool and public library authorities be initiatedto discuss mutual problems, means of coordination andto establish policies which will improve service to students andthe public. It is further recommended that the separate but complementary roles of the school and public library be recognized by all levels of government.

Part V: The Feasibility of Technical Services in the G.V.R.b.

9.It is recommended that centralized technical services for public libraries in the G.V.R.D. should not be organized without a thorough study of its feasibility and objectives. Also that the acceptance of a single standard of cataloguing, administrative coordination of selection, ordering and the sharing of cataloguing data are necessary preludes to any centralized scheme.

Part VILA Plan for the Development of Public Libraries in the G.V.R.D.

10. It is recommended that the V.P.L. main branch be designated as a Regional Resource Centre and that all library authorities in the region work toward a strengthening of its resources and that this invaluable facility be assisted by the Library Development Com- mission and the municipalities in the Regional District 9 2

so that its resourceswill be freely available to everyone in the G.V.R.D.

11. It is recommended that the NewWestminster Public Library be developed as a secondary resource centre for the region by adding reference resourcesand by developing stronger subject specializationsin cooperation with V.P.L. and the other publiclibraries with the financial assistance of themunicipalities in the Regional District and the LibraryDevelopment Commission so that its reference resourceswill be freely available to everyone inthe G.V.R.D.

12. It is recommended that thepublic libraries of the municipalities of Port Coquitlam, Surrey,Whiterock, Richmond and Delta be separated from the FraserValley Regional Library and that they develop anurban- oriented service as part of the G.V.R.D. systemof libraries.

13. It is recommended that onelibrary authority be established for Port Moody, Port Coquitlamand Coquitlam under Section 56 of the PublicLibraries Act, and that a central librarybuilding be built in Coquitlam in a busy central locationwith the existing libraries in Port Moody and Port Coquitlamacting as branches. 14. It is recommended that the Cityof Whiterock obtain its library service from the libraryboard of Surrey as soon asthis board is established. iS. I is recommended, after studyingthe community, the needs of its people and the levelof library services at present provided inthe Regional District, that all residents wc,uld benefit and that publicfunds would be better spent with the creation of aRegional District library authority to administer afederated system of public libraries in the G.V.R.D.

16. It is recommended that theobjectives of the G.V.R.D. library system be understood andaccepted by library boards in the area and theCommission before any steps are taken to give onebody legal authority over system-wide responsibilities.

17. It is recommended that theG.V.R.D. Board of Directors recommend to the Provincial Governmentthat responsibility for the developmentof a public library system be made a function of theG.V.R.D. and further that, 93

through an amendment to the Public Libraries Act and by means of Letters Patent, the Provincial Government, in consultation with the Library Development Commission, establish a Greater Vancouver Library System Board.

18.It is recommended that the Greater Vancouver Library System Board consist of 11 members representative of the G.V.R.D. and the municipalities and be madeup of 7 members selected from among the sitting members of the area Library Boards orgroups of Boards, as follows: (see page 82 )

19.It is recommended that the following services and activities including some problems that will require further study be acceptedas functions of the G.V.L.S.B. for first consideration: (arranged in priorityorder) (see page 83 for functions)

20.It is recommended that .:.he following grantstructure starting in the second year of operation be accepted by the G.V.L.S.B. and the Commission: (seepage 85 for grant structure). 94

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

It is a pleasure to acknowledge the generoushelp of all the chief librarians of the public libraries inGreater Vancouver and particularly the Director of the Fraser Valley Regional Library, Mr. Ron Ley. A number of staff members of libraries were interviewed and allthe Division Heads of the Vancouver Public Library. Patient attention was given to all ourquestions. To municipal officials in plwining departments (their answers were verymuch to the point), clerks' offices and school districtoffices we are most grateful. Special thanks are due to Mr. T. Rashleigh, Senior Associate Planner of the Planning Department of the G.V.R.D. for his valuable help and criticisms and to Mr. H.N. Lash, Director of Planning. Mr. Roy Stokes, Director of the Universityof British Columbia, School of Librarianship and his staff supplied office space, offered advice and help in many ways. I am specially grateful to Lois Bewley and Ron Hagler fortheir positive contribution and support. Basil Stuart Stubbs, University Librarian at U.B.C., Charles MacDonald at Simon Fraser, George Noble at Douglas College,Bob Harris of B.C.I.T., Del Affleck of Capilano College, are a few people to whom we owe thanks. Paul Azaroff of Harry Smith & Sons Ltd. and Jan Clemson and Wally Lee of theNational Film Board were excellent on the rubject of A-V media. Mel Endelman, Systems Analyst with thVancouver Public Library was invaluable and Alice Simpson,Field Consultant, Library Development Commission provided office assistanceand assisted greatly in identifying the important people totalk to and in supplying some of thedocuments. Finally I wish personally to thank Bob Davison,Director, Library Development Commission for makingarrangements for my visits to the area,supplying facts and reports and above all for giving me absolute freedom toconduct the study as I wi3hed.