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The
Board heard from the following delegations. Those marked with an asterisk (*)
below denote that a written submission or presentation is held on file with
the Chief Executive Officer.
John D. Reid* said removal of barriers
to Library services, through the filling of geographic gaps in service,
supports the principles of inclusion and accessibility, and is in direct
support of the Board Strategic Statement. He asked why the extension of open
hours at current branches was in progress, when there should be consideration
for a fair system to secure funds to fill gaps. Mr. Reid also noted that the
OPL budget includes no commitments to Net Zero, suggested that OPL should be in-line
with the City of Ottawa’s zero emissions commercial vehicle strategy, and
urged staff to develop a library plan to meet climate objectives. He
suggested staff purchase non fossil fuel library vehicles by way of a motion
from the Board.
Trustee Brockington
thanked Mr. Reid for his presentation and for his conscientious,
constructive, and positive submissions throughout the years.
Mathieu Fleury,
Councillor, Ward 12 - Rideau-Vanier represents Lowertown, Sandy Hill,
and Vanier, three of the lowest income areas in the city. The demographics of
these communities consist of newcomers, highly vulnerable people, and
generally low-income families. He remarked that in 2018, during the review of
the Recreation, Culture, and Facilities, feedback was received regarding the
hours of services of OPL branches, which did not meet the needs of the
community. Councillor Fleury mentioned that Sunday opening hours would
provide much needed access to these communities, and he is in support of
increasing Sunday hours. He suggested staff consider closing Mondays, and
instead opening on Sundays for the Vanier branch. He thanked the CEO for
meeting with him to discuss this, and for providing additional information.
He said that Trustee King and himself share vulnerable areas, and he thanked
him in advance for bringing forward a direction to staff for this purpose.
While he appreciates that there is a Board-approved framework for Sunday
hours of operation, and that there are limitations of what staff can do, he
felt there are opportunities to explore the specific needs of this community.
Councillor Fleury indicated that the Vanier Community Association submitted a
communique which supports Sunday hours for the Vanier branch.
Chair Luloff thanked the
Councillor for his collaboration on this file. He noted that staff did not
receive the communication from the Community Association and asked Councillor
Fleury to forward it to staff. (Communication was shared to the Board when it
was received.)
Trustee King said that he
appreciated Councillor Fleury reaching out regarding the needs in the
community and knows how much Sunday hours would benefit communities with a
high population of vulnerable people.
Prior to questions and
comments, Chair Luloff proposed that Trustees King and Brockington introduce
their direction to staff and motion.
Trustee King was pleased
to bring forward a direction to staff to review the needs assessment
component of the evaluation process that was approved by the Board in 2019,
which includes a cost, gap, and needs analysis. Trustee King indicated that
part of the needs assessment should include a criterion that considers the
vulnerability of a community before any other branch receives Sunday hours:
That staff:
1.
Consider
adding, as part of the Needs Assessment component of the Evaluation process,
the inclusion of a criteria that considers the needs of vulnerable
communities, and that staff give appropriate weight to that criteria; and,
2.
That
the needs of vulnerable communities’ criteria be completed before any new
branches are recommended for Sunday service hours.
Chair Luloff said staff
assisted in the preparation of the direction and were prepared to accept it.
Trustee Brockington
thanked staff for responding to questions prior to the meeting. On the theme
of equity and those communities without a branch, he introduced the following
motion:
WHEREAS OPL is an active part of the
community, reaching beyond its spaces to build relationships that enrich
Ottawa;
WHEREAS community development
enhances OPL's ability to inspiring learning, spark curiosity, and connect
people;
WHEREAS the current delivery of
community outreach and development transcends several departments in OPL,
with the majority of the budget allocated to programming and lesser to
branches conducting outreach;
WHEREAS there is a desire to address
the needs of vulnerable communities and communities without
a local branch
who would benefit from connections to library programs and services; and,
WHEREAS this matter is currently
being reviewed under the Service Delivery Framework that is being updated and
is scheduled to come to the Board in 2022;
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED THAT
additional funds be allocated to support increased community development
efforts system-wide in 2022; and,
THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED
THAT the Board approve re-allocating $40,000 in the draft budget from
“Transfer to Reserves” to Account 170073 for 2022 (one-time) to allow staff
to increase community development work throughout the system to address the needs of
vulnerable communities and others, as funds permit.
The Chair then opened the
floor to questions of staff by trustees.
Trustee Brockington said
the budget is sound and addresses most needs in the City. He noted that he
has concerns about rental revenue generation but understands that meeting
room rentals will not resume until 2022.
Trustee Brockington asked
staff if they believe that increasing the service fee for museum passes will
ensure that they will be returned and asked why the organizations that offer
these passes do not receive them at the wicket when a family goes to the
museum, where OPL could then collect them on a weekly basis. Ms. McDonald
responded that the cost of replacement matches the cost of the asset if not
returned. Ms. Seaman said the $20.00 to $50.00 replacement cost is an
incentive to return the pass. She explained that OPL has been exploring
different solutions to facilitate the process. She said that funds were
allocated in 2021 to investigate a digital solution (i.e., a downloadable
pass or ability to print a form with an expiry) but noted that we are dealing
with many different partner institutions, which require a French interface.
Staff continue to explore and work on this. Trustee Brockington urged staff
to provide an update to the Board in 2022.
Trustee Begg asked
whether Trustee Brockington’s motion was supported by staff, specifically
regarding staff time and effort required to implement. Chair Luloff responded
that it was prepared with the assistance of staff and was supported. Ms.
Clark commented that the $40K for Community Development doubles the current
amount of funding for programming at the branch-level. OPL will maintain
in-house programming and draw on these new funds for outreach into the
communities. She remarked that currently, community outreach is done on an
ad-hoc basis.
Vice-Chair Fisher asked
staff to clarify the Strategic Initiative – Creation Strategy (OPL-LAC JF)
forecasted portion for 2023-2024. Craig Ginther, Division Manager, Central
Library Development Project said the funds identified in this budget will be
used to support the piloting of various initiatives in branches, with
specific funding for 2022 and future years to be allocated through the
service planning process, which will be developed in the coming months. This
budget line was initially established in 2019 to support various branch
pilots (i.e., equipment, technology, spaces, etc.) in preparation for
Ādisōke.
Following up on Trustee
Brockington’s motion, regarding what community programming may look like, Ms.
Clark said that staff know the communities they do outreach with, and
identify gaps by connecting with the community, rather than OPL trying to
determine gaps without doing consultation. This includes talking with
partners about services that are lacking and doing our best to fill any
identified gaps in programming.
Trustee Slack was
supportive of the initiatives introduced by Trustees Brockington and King.
Trustee Brown asked if
the $40K Community Development monies identified in Trustee Brockington’s
motion would serve as a bridge for 2022 or commit OPL to future operational
funding. Ms. McDonald said staff will move this forward by developing a
community development plan for the organization that encompasses the best
financial and administrative plan. Staff will have the flexibility to
determine where our vulnerable communities are and identify any thresholds or
community needs.
Trustee Meehan asked for
clarification around the digital museum passes solution that was referred
earlier by staff. Ms. Seaman explained that a digital solution could mean
that the passes could be borrowed online for downloading or printing and
could have a start and end usage date. With such a solution, the pass would
be available for one week as per normal lending practice, which gives time to
customers to visit more than one organization given some passes provide
access to multiple venues.
Trustee Higdon asked a
question about the transit bins that have reached the end of their
serviceable lifecycle, specifically why the Library Materials Transit Bins
are so expensive. Anna Basile, Division Manager, Corporate Services said the
bins are expensive as they are highly intelligent/sophisticated logistical
systems for automated transportation and robotic retrieval of library
materials. The bins work effectively with OPL’s Radio-Frequency
Identification (RFID) collection and sorting systems. She pointed out that
there has been a reduction in workplace injuries (as the bins elevate in relation
to the weight of what is inside the bins, so that staff do not have to bend
over as much to lift material out of the bins.) Ms. Basile said the price of
technology is high, however, the benefit outweighs the negatives.
Chair Luloff expressed
his admiration with the enhanced and increased virtual services introduced
during the pandemic and asked what the future will look like. Ms. McDonald
responded that a new full-time equivalent (FTE) position will be created in
2022 to support OPLs virtual channels. Ms. Seaman noted that this is the key
piece to help OPL continue with virtual enhancements. During the pandemic,
OPL had branch staff assisting with virtual services, however, now that
branches have resumed regular hours and are expanding in-person services, the
new, dedicated position will coordinate OPLs digital content creation and
services (if approved).
In
closing, Chair Luloff thanked the CEO, Senior Management, and all staff for
their tremendous work on the budget.
Written correspondence
was submitted to the Board after the meeting, from Lauren Touchant,
President, Association Communautaire Vanier Community Association (Dated
December 1, 2021, which asks the Board to consider the long-term beneficial
social impacts that are directly linked to the expansion of programming and
operations (Sundays) in Vanier.
There being no further
discussion, the OPL 2022 Draft Budget was CARRIED as amended.
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