Last week, we provided an update following the release of the 2019 Ontario Budget. With specific details about the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport’s budget for the coming year still to be determined, we committed to engaging further with our members as we continue to learn more.
As many of you are aware, this week Ontario Library Service – North (OLS – North) and Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) announced that their budgets have been reduced for the 2019-20 year. We understand and share your concern about the impact on the services and other supports that OLS – North and SOLS provide to your libraries and local residents.
Today, OLA and FOPL issued the following statement:
“Public libraries are essential to people and families across Ontario, providing hundreds of services such as job training, access to broadband in under-serviced areas, children’s programming, and supporting lifelong learning.
Today, in a formal statement, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport has committed to maintaining base funding for libraries across Ontario. We are working with the Ministry to fully understand the status of provincial support for public libraries.
SOLS and OLS North provide highly-valued services, like inter-library loan, that give all people in Ontario, especially those in rural and Northern communities, the ability to access resources through their local public library.
OLA and FOPL will be working with members, local public libraries and the Province to continue to discuss how libraries can provide the services and resources that residents rely upon.”
OLA and FOPL are focused on our long-term strategy to continue to work with the Province on the value of local public libraries. Our work is focused on ensuring that Ontario’s public and First Nations Libraries can continue to provide the services and resources that their residents rely upon and that enrich our local communities.
We will continue to keep you updated as we learn more. While we await further details, we urge you to direct any input, questions or concerns to us.
We want to hear from you: What is the impact of SOLS and OLS – North for the people of your community?
As part of this ongoing effort, OLA and FOPL will be meeting with representatives from the Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport in the coming weeks as part of our ongoing advocacy on behalf of Ontario’s local public and First Nations libraries.
You can help: tell us why the services and resources delivered through OLS – North and SOLS matter to the people of your community.
- What do SOLS and OLS – North do for you and your library?
- What is the difference these services make for people in your community?
- What will the impact be on your residents if those services end?
Please take a few minutes to share with us your thoughts by filling in this short form. Feedback from our members helps us to shape our communications and to ensure that we are able to educate policy makers on the local impact of provincial policies.
- Fill out this short form by April 26th
reduce the ministry funding by $58.6 million — from $1.55 billion to $1.49 billion-1.49 billion is a lot of money–lets have a breakdown of who gets what—and it hits interlibrary loans—???–which cost what 4 million ?? Seems more like a political move by entrenched bureaucrats then anything else.I see all the vitriol directed at the government,but I doubt they targeted Interloan–who made the decision,who got increases and who else was reduced,who was left alone?? Without details the inrerloan cut is just manipulative,and political from the permanent government,those uncivil servants who do as they please. And they decided to target rural Ontario–that isnt by accident.
Our library is a small rural library that can not possibly afford to purchase and meet all the resources and reading material our diverse community needs. Inter-library loan allows us to borrow materials and resources from other communities that are willing to share and have the materials our patrons want. I have an elderly housebound gentleman that is very grateful to our staff for requesting Historical WWII materials. It is heartbreaking to know that we can no longer provide this service to this person and others in need.
The drastic cuts to the SOLS budget and elimination of interlibrary loan deliver is very sad news for library users across the province. This valuable service allowed Caledon Public Library to bring in 2854 titles from other libraries on behalf of our patrons in 2018. Had we purchased these titles (assuming they were still in print) to add to our collection it would have cost approximately $43,000 – more than 10% of our materials budget. We were also able to share 3408 items with other libraries across the province last year.
The elimination of this service will also have implications for the receipt of our newly purchased materials as our primary vendor, LSC, has long made use of SOLS drivers to deliver materials. This was an incredibly efficient solution as the drivers were already travelling to all libraries. It remains to be seen how this change might impact the purchase power of our materials budget.
These services, coupled with shared SOLS managed eBook collections, consortium purchasing and staff and board training, demonstrate SOLS commitment to supporting Ontario libraries’ efforts to provide responsive and fiscally responsible services to residents across the province.