September 2023
FOPL and OLA have created a new government relations priorities document to guide our advocacy work throughout the fall and winter. While this document may look familiar, there are two main changes to note; Our ask regarding the Provincial Libraries Operating Grant has changed. We are now asking for an increase to the PLOG of an additional $25 million annually on top of the existing $21 million grant. The additional $25 million would restore the PLOG to a present-day value, addressing the impact inflation, rising costs of living and other pressures accumulated over more than 25 years. We have framed this new ask to address shared critical areas of both the library community’s and provinces priorities. More information and discussion will be provided during this month’s Caucus meetings. Language pertaining to the Ontario Digital Public Library ask has changed. We are now asking for a projected cost of $10 – $20 million to demonstrate various levels of investment. An ODPL Briefing Note has been prepared by the FOPL board, incorporating feedback from our members and various caucus meetings earlier this year, to provide context and accompany our Government Relations priorities document. More information about the ODPL Briefing Note and discussion
Overdue: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries
The Canadian Urban Institute has released a new report titled “Overdue: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries”. It was written as part of the Canadian Urban Institute’s role “to highlight the critical components of the urban and community fabric that are essential to Canada’s social, economic and environmental resilience and post-pandemic recovery.” It includes lots of relevant data, a call to action, future priorities for libraries and information regarding the work that has been and continues to be done through Covid-19. For a link to the full report, click here. Letter templates have also been provided: Member Letter_OVERDUE The Case for Canada’s Libraries Partner Letter to Leaders_OVERDUE The Case for Canada’s Libraries As well as graphics for social media:
Fill Out Our Survey!
A new strategic plan for our organization is currently underway. The Strategic Plan Working Group, comprised of FOPL Board members, has designed the following survey to gather feedback from our members. Please take the time to fill out our short survey. The survey will on remain open until October 21, 2023.
Summer 2023
FOPL attended the Association of Municipal Managers, Clerks and Treasurers of Ontario (AMCTO) Conference earlier this summer and the Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) Conferences just last week to continue our campaign to reach out and spread awareness among our municipal partners. We spoke to hundreds of delegates at each, highlighting the importance of public libraries and discussing some of the larger issues our libraries are currently dealing with. A big thank you to Niagara Public Library and London Public Library for helping us out at the booth and advocating with us! We have booked two lobbying days at Queens Park on November 14th and 15th. This is our first opportunity post-pandemic to lobby at Queens Park in person and we are very excited to engage with MPPs and other stakeholders about our government relations priorities. More information on this to come!