Lakeland Library representatives gave a presentation to Battleford town council last Monday, to explain some general matters regarding area libraries and to explain why funding from Battleford taxpayers is increasing.
Lakeland Library Region encompasses 32 libraries within 46,000 square kilometres. Libraries in the region include those in North Battleford, Battleford, Lloydminster, Meadow Lake and smaller rural centres.
A number of RMs are included in the region as well, such as a number of those numbered in the 400s in west central Saskatchewan, going as far north as the RMs of Meadow Lake and Beaver River.
The area contains approximately 81,000 people.
Library Director Darrell Yates said Saskatchewan has an enviable library system, as it allows patrons to use a single piece of identification to check out material from any library in the province. Library patrons can also request items from any library in the province within the interconnected system.
Libraries are funded by two main sources: the province and municipalities. Municipalities with higher populations pay more, as funding is set on a per capita basis.
Provincial funding, Yates said, has flatlined and remained constant for five years.
“There has been an emphasis on applying some pressures to the municipalities,” Yates said.
Lakeland Library Region chairperson Dennis Taylor was also in attendance.
Taylor, writing in Lakeland’s 2017 annual report, stated “2017 was a tumultuous year for the Lakeland Library Region […] It started with a budget that slashed library services to a fraction of what it was. The resulting reaction, which I think is unprecedented in Saskatchewan history, pressured the Wall government to reverse its decision.”
Battleford’s population increased by approximately nine per cent, according to figures from the 2016 to the 2017 censuses.
Battleford’s funding toward “Lakeland Library requisition” in the Town’s budget increased from $74,500 in the 2017 budget, to $83,752 in the 2018 budget.
Mayor Ames Leslie wasn’t in attendance for the meeting. CAO John Enns-Wind asked Yates if Battleford residents were getting their money’s worth given the increase.
Yates said given the way library regions operate, it’s difficult to quantify a funding increase directly to level of service at a single library.
Funding the library region receives is distributed to libraries within a region.
As a percentage of overall circulation, Yates said use at Battleford’s library “is perhaps lower than it should be.”
But North Battleford Head Librarian Richard Bee told the News-Optimistin January North Battleford’s public library sees many users from Battleford, as well as other surrounding towns.
Yates said the logic for the funding increase from the Town is Battleford residents, regardless of which library they frequent, get access to a number of available services.
Offerings by area libraries include books, ebooks, movies, video games, magazines, Press Reader (which allows access to world newspapers) and many others, including online access. New recent offerings include AtoZ World Food (which allows access to recipes across the world) and a concentration on STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts and music programs).
Yates said use of digital material is increasing every year, and constituted 15.6 per cent of total borrowings. Physical copies remain the overwhelming majority of borrowings.
The 2017 annual report for Lakeland region included the following statistics:
Physical borrowing: 477,569
Digital borrowing: 74,818
New items added: 21,590
New patrons registered: 2,765
Programs held: 1,638
Program attendance: 19,256
Items loaned out to other regions: 59,527
Items borrowed from other regions: 40,863.
A library card is free. Obtaining one requires identification and application can be made online.
