CEO’s Report to Members June 2012 This report outlines the activities of the Federation over the past four months. Meetings with Government Officials The Federation continues to meet with various politicians and bureaucrats to address our key advocacy issues. During the past few months, meetings were held with: Mike Maka, Special Assistant on Policy to Harinder Takhar, Minister of Government Seervices (16Feb2012) David Black, Senior Policy Advisor to Bob Chiarelli, Minister of Infrastructure & Transportation (21Feb2012) Paul Miller, MPP for Hamilton East-Stoney Creek and NDP Culture Critic (23Feb2012) Melanie Wright, Senior Policy Advisor to Dwight Duncan, Minister of Finance (23Feb2012) Brad Duguid, Minister of Economic Development & Innovation (23Mar2012) Emilee Irwin, Senior Policy Advisor to Laurel Broten, Minister of Education (11Apr2012) Taki Sarantakis, Assistant Deputy Minister, Policy & Communications Branch of Infrastructure Canada (06Jun2012) Ontario and Federal Budgets There was no specific mention of public libraries in the Ontario Budget announced on March 27, 2012. However, the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport, like most ministries, is planning to reduce spending over the next three years. The Ministry is planning to cut $11 million ($3.0 M in 2012/13, $4.0 M in 2013/14, and $4.0 in 2014/15) by removing overlap and duplication. This will largely come from consolidating four existing grant programs (ie. Museum and Technology Fund, International Cultural Initiatives Fund, Creative Communities Prosperity Fund, and Cultural Strategic Investment Fund). The Ministry is planning additional unspecified reductions of $14.4 million ($0.5 M in 2012/13, $1.5 M in 2013/14, and $12.4 M in 2014/15) by undertaking efficiency measures across various programs, including those arising as a result of the merger of the Sport program. While other sectors and agencies saw dramatic cuts in their funding, the public library operating grants remain untouched. Subsequently, the Ministry announced that its funding to SOLS to provide e-resources for Ontario public libraries would continue for the next 3 years. 1 The Federal Budget was announced on March 29, 2012. Highlights of interest to the public libraries are: To promote literacy, a rebate of the GST (and the federal portion of the HST) is provided for printed books (including audio recordings) acquired by public libraries. To support repairs and improvements to existing community-based facilities, a Community Infrastructure Improvement Fund of $150 million over two years will be established. Operational savings by Libraries and Archives Canada (LAC) are expected to be $3.5 million in 2012/13, $6.6 million in 2013/14, and $9.6 million in 2015/15. Subsequently, Industry Canada announced that funding to the Community Access Program (CAP), which operates out of public libraries and community centres across Canada to provide free or low-cost Internet access to the public, would be cut effective March 31, 2012. This is negatively affecting the ability of small libraries in remote and rural areas to continue providing Internet access to their patrons. The Federation issued a media release in response to the announced funding cut to CAP. We also later learned that LAC’s inter-library loans unit would be closed. According to SOLS, 96% of items located and borrowed for inter-library loans in Ontario go through the provincial INFO system. However LAC is an important source of borrowed archival material, estimated at 3,000 items per year for Ontario public libraries. No doubt there will be increased demand on public libraries to help with genealogy and local history as LAC and other archives become weaker. Federation members were encouraged to join the advocacy campaigns of the Canadian Library Association and the Canadian Association of University Teachers to “Save Libraries and Archives Canada”. Advocacy for First Nations The Federation facilitated a meeting of representatives of our First Nations Caucus with Rob Clarke, MP for Desnethé–Missinippi–Churchill River and Chair of the Conservative Aboriginal Caucus, in Ottawa in March. On behalf of the National Aboriginal Public Library Organization (NAPLO), the Federation also drafted a proposal to Aboriginal Affairs & Northern Development Canada requestingdedicated funding for First Nation public libraries across Canada. In addition, the Federation worked with the Assembly of First Nations to craft a letter from Chief Shawn Atleo in support of the NAPLO proposal. Literacy Outcomes Report OISE has completed its research study measuring outcomes of public library based early literacy programs. Their final report was shared with the Federation’s steering committee in May. OISE concluded: 2 Early literacy library programs were successful in meeting parents’/caregivers’ goals, particularly in fostering children’s readiness to participate in school activities and their motivation to read; Participating children learned new vocabulary, demonstrated an awareness of rhymes and sounds of language and showed an understanding of books that were read by library staff; and The programs also provided parents/caregivers with new ways to interact with children to engage them with books and with print at home. Due to the Federation’s intellectual property agreement with OISE, release of the final report could be delayed for a few months. Accreditation Guidelines The Public Library Guidelines and Accreditation Council met frequently over the past year to produce the 6th Edition of the guidelines. The 6th Edition includes a number of changes to update language choices and reflect technological developments. The 6th Edition will go before the Federation’s Board of Directors for approval in June. If approved, it will be available on the Federation’s website immediately thereafter. Provincial Branding & Promotion Initiative The Libraries 2020 Project led by OLS-North identified the Federation as taking a leadership role in the collaborative process of determining the scope of the Library Branding and Promotion Initiative. The Federation has chaired two meetings of the branding initiative group so far, involving OLA, OLS-North and SOLS. One of these meetings included a presentation by a social media consultant. SOLS and OLS-North have $100,000 in unspent monies from their $15 million grant that could be used to oversee further consulting to scope out the approach for implementing the branding initiative. Objectives and expected outcomes of this scoping project are still being defined. Other Marketing The Federation will be an exhibitor at the annual conferences of the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers (AMCTO) in June and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) in August. Both conferences will be held in Ottawa. Ontario Public Library Week (OPLW) will be October 14 to 20, 2012. Sponsors for OPLW have been confirmed. They are Government of Ontario, Library Services Centre, Library Bound, Whitehots, AMPLO and Overdrive. The Federation has provided input to the design of CLA’s posters and bookmarks for Canadian Library Month, and these materials have been customized 3 for Ontario to highlight OPLW. The launch of OPLW will occur at Port Hope Public Library on October 12, 2012, and will be attended by Minister Michael Chan. Partner Meetings/Presentations Noteworthy presentations to or meetings with partner organizations included: Shelagh Paterson, OLA (23Feb2012) AMPLO (09Mar2012; 01Jun2012) Clarington Public Library Board (28Mar2012) Retirement parties for Jane Horrocks (30Mar2012) and Marzio Apolloni (26Apr2012) CELUPL (13Apr2012) Trustee Councils: #3 in Grand Valley (14Apr2012); #4 in Gravenhurst (21Apr2012); #8 in Brockville (28Apr2012) First Nations Spring Gathering in Hamilton (03May2012) Membership Fees Membership fees invoiced for the 2013 calendar year will be based on 2011 Census figures. Up until now invoice amounts have been based on the 2006 Census. Many Ontario communities have seen population increases that will push them into a new fee level. The likely impact is as follows: 7 libraries facing $50 increases 7 libraries facing $650 increases 2 libraries facing $750 increases 3 libraries facing $1,500 increases 1 library facing a $2,000 increase 1 library facing a $2,500 increase 3 libraries facing $50 decreases each Staff has forewarned existing members who are likely to see the largest jump in fees. All have expressed their commitment to the Federation, but anticipate that selling the new fees to their funders could be challenging in today’s economy. Strategic Planning In late February, Jim Bennett and David Allen attended a 2-day Symposium for Chief Staff and Chief Elected Officers organized by the Canadian Society of Association Executives (CSAE). The symposium helped association leaders deal with strategic challenges that are specific to their organizations. The most pressing challenge identified for the Federation is sustaining our financial viability. At present, almost all of the Federation’s operating revenue comes from membership fees and these fees cannot support operating expenses over the long term. Fortunately, FOPL has some lead time to implement solutions. 4 In order to be prudent and proactive, the Federation’s Executive Committee retained consultant Susan Wright to lead an all-day planning workshop with the Board of Directors in March. In preparation for the workshop, staff assembled several resource documents on fund balances, membership, and current services. The goal of the workshop was to identify financially viable ways to ensure FOPL’s services maximize value to members. Susan Wright prepared a report summarizing the workshop discussions. Since then, the Executive Committee has analyzed options and is currently developing a proposed plan of action, which will be discussed by the full Board at its meeting in June. The Board is committed to gathering input from member libraries before implementing changes to the Federation’s strategic direction. 5 .