Edmonton Public Library 7 Sir Winston Churchill Square Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V4 www.epl.ca Edmonton Public Library Great Libraries Great Cities 2007 Annual Report Quick Facts 5,578,124 in-person visits made to 16 locations 6,976,091 visits made to www.epl.ca 9,639,141 items borrowed 1,892,738 questions answered 149,027 people attended 5,242 programs 131,091 adult and children's books added 96,211 paperbacks added 66,205 av materials added 35,391 periodicals added 4,896 reference books added 8,001 world language books added 3,902 volunteer hours donated by the Friends of the Library and Library Access Division volunteers Message from the Chair of the Board and Chief Executive Officer Mayor Stephen Mandel and Edmonton Oiler Dwayne Roloson help EPL promote literacy. 2007 Board of Trustees Dr. Sheila Bertram Linda C. Cook The Edmonton Public Library Board consists of 10 trustees, one of whom The Edmonton Public Library (EPL) was not surprised when the is a member of City Council. federal census announced that Edmonton is growing faster than any other Canadian city. Anyone who lives, works or plays here knows Dr. Sheila Bertram, Chair the city is growing and changing rapidly. Dr. Diana Davidson, Vice-Chair Throughout 2007 EPL changed to reflect this dynamic city. We are Councillor Don Iveson welcoming newcomers from around the world who need a (appointed October 23, 2007) convenient, reliable and affordable way to access essential information and connect with their community. We are working Councillor Michael Phair (retired October 23, 2007) with Aboriginal groups to make the Library a source of their writings and culture and to ensure it is a friendly and relevant place Mr. Roger R. Breault for them. Together with the Alberta Council on Aging and the City Mr. Tim Haysom of Edmonton, we are updating our services and spaces so that Edmontonians of every age can comfortably use their library. Ms. Karen Lynch Working with Child Friendly Edmonton, the University of Alberta Mr. Brent McDonough and Edmonton’s cultural community, we have kept Edmontonians reading and writing. Mr. Colin W.J. Minor The following pages show examples of how EPL changed during Dr. Carol Suddards 2007. We are proud of our accomplishments and of the support we Mrs. Joan Welch receive from individuals, the City of Edmonton, the province and the many agencies and groups working closely with us. This is a great library, and great libraries make great cities. Dr. Sheila Bertram Chair, Board of Trustees Linda C. Cook Chief Executive Officer Counsillor and Trustee Michael Phair Edmonton Public Library Annual Report 2007 A Great Library for . New Edmontonians The fastest growing city in Canada, Edmonton is now a city of many languages and cultures. EPL’s 16 branches have become neighbourhood centres where newcomers connect with each other and access the information they need to succeed. Linda Goyette Jalal Barzanji NEW STORIES EPL Writer in Residence Linda Goyette created a support group for immigrant writers NEW SERVICES NEW LANGUAGES and began an anthology EPL introduced book clubs for During 2007 EPL expanded its called The Story That Brought newcomers and Family world languages collections to Me Here , asking newcomers to Language Kits for children. include material in Arabic, submit true stories about their Already available in 16 Chinese, Cree, German, journey to Edmonton. Jalal languages, the kits include Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Barzanji began a one-year bilingual children’s books, Japanese, Kurdish, Persian, term as Edmonton’s Writer in picture dictionaries and other Polish, Punjabi, Russian, Exile, a position housed at materials to help parents Somali, Spanish, Tagalog, both EPL and the University whose first language is not Ukrainian, Urdu and of Alberta Faculty of Arts. A English. At the Mill Woods Vietnamese, as well as French. writer who spent three years Branch, an Intern Multicultural in an Iraqi prison, Barzanji is Librarian began working using his term to transcribe closely with multicultural his prison notes. communities to better support their library needs. Edmonton currently has the second largest Aboriginal population in Canada. EPL welcomes Aboriginal people, showcases Aboriginal culture and gives a voice to the Aboriginal community. A Great Library for . the Aboriginal Community UNDERSTANDING COMMITMENT In 2007 EPL became the first EPL and the Centre for library in Alberta to hire an Family Literacy signed a Aboriginal Services Memorandum of Librarian, another step Understanding, a formal toward meeting the commitment to work recommendations outlined together to improve in the 2005 Library Services literacy in Edmonton. for Aboriginal Peoples Task The partnership will Force Report . EPL created an support Story Sacks, a David Bouchard Aboriginal Services team to new service for work with Aboriginal Aboriginal parents BELONGING agencies, offered cultural with preschool awareness training to all David Bouchard read from his children. Each staff, added music, film and book Nokum is My Teacher , the Story Sack books to the collection, story of an Aboriginal boy who contains a book and created programs and has a hard time understanding several props which worked with educational why he is in school. The event adults can use to institutions to learn about was one of many EPL programs bring a book to life. the community’s unique bringing Aboriginal people educational needs. into the Library. Edmonton Public Library Annual Report 2007 Literacy is essential for survival in a complex, information-driven society, and EPL is making sure teens stay connected to literacy and libraries. A Great Library for . Teens TEEN SPACES EPL’s Teen Gamers Palace program won an Award of Excellence for Library Services from the Library Association TEEN COOL of Alberta, recognizing EPL’s For a second year, EPL commitment to bringing partnered with radio station teens into the Library. Teens 91.7 The Bounce to hold a aged 12 to 17 take over the Back to Cool contest. The Library on Friday evenings, Bounce aired ads inviting making it a Teen Gamers junior and senior high students Palace, where they can eat to go to the Library website to pizza, listen to music, sing answer a skill-testing library Karaoke and play video question and enter the Back to and traditional Cool contest. EPL received board games. more than 320 entries and the five winners chosen at random won free Beyoncé concert tickets and school pizza parties, where The Bounce DJs and EPL staff showed students that libraries can be cool. Edmonton Public Library Annual Report 2007 A Great Library for . The percentage of older Edmontonians continues to increase. By 2012, 31 per cent of Edmonton’s Older Adults population will be over 50, while 12 per cent will be over 65. EPL is ensuring that its spaces, services and staff are senior friendly. SPECIAL SERVICES SPECIAL COLLECTIONS EPL designated 2007 as the EPL has been concentrating Year of the Older Adult to on ensuring that the Library enhance services to this large collection meets the needs of customer group. Audits were those who are homebound or conducted at all locations, in extended care facilities by new programs for seniors purchasing and delivering were created, the 55 and large-print and talking books. Better website was redesigned, and staff were trained to be sensitive to the needs of older persons. l a n Edmonton was named 2007 Cultural Capital of r u o J n o Canada in recognition of its support for arts t n o m d and culture. Edmonton’s active cultural groups E e h t joined with EPL to inspire writers and readers. f o y s e t r u o c o t o h P Marty Chan reading from The Mystery of the Graffiti Ghoul A Great Library for . Readers and Writers YOUNG READERS WRITERS Kids Read! Edmonton, EPL’s EPL expanded the Edmonton: first city-wide children’s book A City Called Home online club, was launched in collection and moved it to the September 2007 with Marty EPL website. Started in 2004 in Chan’s The Mystery of the celebration of Edmonton’s Graffiti Ghoul . Child Friendly centennial, the updated online Edmonton and the Edmonton collection houses citizens’ Oilers Community Foundation stories, interviews and provided funding for 2,000 photographs, edited and copies of Chan’s book which catalogued by the Library’s Rawi Hage EPL distributed to schools. Writer in Residence Linda Marty Chan gave readings and ADULT READERS Goyette. During her term with students went online to chat EPL, Goyette critiqued the EPL chose De Niro’s Game by directly with him about books work of hundreds of new and Canadian author Rawi Hage for and writing. Over three established writers and the city-wide book club, months, the Kids Read! travelled to schools and Alberta Edmonton Reads: One City, Edmonton website received cities and towns to meet with One Book. EPL invited more than one million hits. writers. She also set up seniors Edmontonians to read De Niro’s groups, where seniors could Game and then staged public remember and share their events and an online forum, stories, and founded the where readers could discuss the Sunday afternoon Writer’s award-winning novel set in Corner, in order that published civil-war-era Lebanon. and unpublished writers could meet to talk about their craft and the publishing business. Edmonton Public Library Annual Report 2007 A Great City for . Libraries Great cities support great libraries, and EPL enjoys support from government, citizens in every community and other libraries. The City of Edmonton is a direct and active supporter of EPL. In 2007, newly elected Councillor Don Iveson joined the EPL Board of Trustees, replacing Councillor Michael Phair who retired after serving the Library for six years and Edmonton City Council for 15.