First Nations Public Libraries: A Peer Study, 2014-2017
First_Nations_Libraries_and_Their_Peers_2014-2017
53 page PDF
As with previous report we can see that First Nation Public Libraries are performing very well. Great job!
“This is the third peer analysis we have done of Ontario’s First Nations libraries.
The goal here, as earlier, is to offer a stable means of comparing the data from 46
First Nations’ libraries for the four years from 2014 to 2017 along with nine major
Ontario public libraries. In addition, we provide select summary data from these
libraries from 2000-2017 as we did for Ontario’s public libraries in our latest
report on these libraries from the data published by the Ministry of Tourism,
Culture, and Sport.
The data were drawn from the raw data on Ontario’s public libraries compiled
and published separately by the Ministry from 1999-2017 and recompiled by
FOPL to include the 2000-2017 data in one longitudinal file.
Historically, public library data have been used largely for comparisons of peers
and usually those comparisons are on peers by size of the library, but other
means of organizing peer groups have been used. In this report, the comparisons
are based on the Ministry’s classification of “First Nations Libraries.”
Given that libraries vary so much in budgets, collections, staff, and resident
population–the distributions are commonly highly skewed–the common
practice is to use ratios of variables for analysis and comparison. We have
discussed this use of ratios in the Primer accompanying the annual FOPL
summary reports about Ontario’s Public Libraries. For example, in the 2017 data,
Toronto Public Library reported circulation of 30 million items by its 2.2 million
residents. That year the library serving the Mississaugas of Scugog Island First
Nation reported its 54 residents circulated 1,659 items.”