Public invited to provide feedback on Saskatchewan libraries report

The provincial government announced on January 10 they are seeking public feedback into a report on Saskatchewan’s public libraries before an end date of Friday, January 25.

The province held a two month long consultation period with the 11 public library systems across Saskatchewan, with sessions from October 10 to December 10.

They are now inviting the public to share their feedback on eight identified themes in their Report of Saskatchewan Public Libraries Engagement.

The eight themes identified in the report are: Funding Structure and Predictability; Provincial Public Library Strategic Plan; One Card, One Province; Communication with the Provincial Library; Governance Training; Indigenization; Value of Public Libraries; and Legislation.

1) Funding Structure and Predictability - The report outlines the need for a review of the provincial funding formula. The majority of the library systems reported the impact of having no increase to provincial grant funding. Several have had to cut administrative services. All stakeholders and library systems are interested in further discussion around funding stability and the future of the public library system.

2) Provincial Public Library Strategic Plan - Consultations determined a desire for a strategic plan in place of the library system to both showcase the goals of public libraries and provided a clearer understanding of the goals of the provincial government as it pertains to libraries.

3) One Card, One Province - By signing up for a library card, a card holder can access materials owned by any library system in the province and have it delivered to their home branch. This helps provide easy access to materials for rural residents. Regional libraries expressed a lot of pride in the nationally and internationally recognized library network in Saskatchewan. However the library sectors needs to pay attention to the relationships and balance at the individual library system level to be successful in the future.

4) Communication with Provincial Library - The report identified a need for increased communication across all parts of Saskatchewan’s public library system.

5) Governance Training - There was a strong desire voiced for increased training on the structure and processes of board governance.

6) Indigenization - Libraries expressed their interest in further developing programs and services for Indigenous library users. Some additional partnerships may be required to enhance these library services.

7) Value of Public Libraries - According to stakeholders, there is a need for a greater understanding of the value of public libraries within the provincial government. Many library systems expressed the cost effective programs and services they offer could be developed at a provincial level.

8) Legislation - The Public Libraries Act was last revised in a major way back in 1996. As public library service delivery has changed in the last two decades, it was agreed legislation needs to be updated to reflect these changes. Areas of concern included the use of new technologies not used 20 years ago, and that there are no standards in the legislation for library facilities. There was also some discussion during the consultation about co-located school and public library, and the successes and challenges of these joint ventures.

The survey and report are available at https://www. saskatchewan.ca/government/public-consultations/ report-of-saskatchewan-public-libraries-engagementsurvey,

Feedback on the eight themes is gauged by rankings (not at all important, somewhat unimportant, neutral, somewhat important, very important, or don’t know/ uncertain) and a comment section.