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CHAIR’S VERBAL UPDATE
OPL Celebrates Black
History Month
Chair Luloff said this is
the 26th anniversary of Black History Month in Canada, a time when
Black Canadians’ contributions are highlighted in communities and Canadian
society. OPL will be honouring the contributions of many Black Canadians with
a veritable festival of virtual activities with the theme “Canadian Black
History in the Making”. There are programs throughout the month for all ages
and interests, including panels, author talks, remarkable personal stories,
cooking, breakdancing workshops, and much more. More information can be found
on OPL’s website.
Sustainable Canadian
Infrastructure Bilingual Zoom Event with Minister’s Steven Guilbeault and
Catherine McKenna
The Government of Canada
has taken action through significant investments in the environment and in
sustainable infrastructure in Canadian communities. Chair Luloff indicated
that he and Mayor Jim Watson spoke at the Contribute Fighting Climate Change event
on February 8 with the Honourable Minister Steven Guilbeault, Canadian
Heritage and the Honourable Catherine McKenna, Minister of Infrastructure and
Communities. Chair Luloff said the Mayor highlighted that 2021 is a special
year for the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada Joint
Facility project and today’s event is the first of many, including the
ground-breaking ceremony planned for later this year. The Mayor also
highlighted the efforts made by the City of Ottawa in fighting climate
change. Chair Luloff gave an overview of where the project was at and thanked
the project team and architects. He briefly highlighted Minister Guilbeault and
McKenna’s remarks. Chair Luloff said the OPL CEO, the Librarian and Archivist
of Canada, and City staff were also available for the brief question period.
Chair Luloff added that in the Mayor’s recent State of the City address, he
praised the OPL Board for their support and leadership in ensuring the Ottawa
Central Library project continue to progress to the stage where it is today.
Finally, he said the Mayor also proudly highlighted that the facility will be
the first net zero carbon library in Canada.
OPL reaches over 2
Million eBook and eAudiobook Checkouts in 2020
Chair Luloff highlighted
that Ottawans love their eBooks, especially in a pandemic, as OPL reached
over 2 million eContent downloads in 2020. This accomplishment illustrates
the continued growth and importance of our digital collections, especially
this past year. He said reader interest and usage has grown every year, and
it’s certainly true that customers have valued access to all library
services, virtual and in-person, even more during COVID-19.
Coming Up
In January, OPL and the National
Arts Centre Indigenous Theatre launched an Indigenous book club, called Our
Stories. This monthly online series highlights recently published works by
Indigenous authors across Turtle Island, including poetry, fiction, memoirs,
and plays. Each month until June, the series will feature a different title
that customers can borrow from the library’s collection or purchase from an
Indigenous-owned bookstore. The Indigenous book club was recently featured
and celebrated in the Urban Libraries Council newsletter. Chair Luloff also indicated
OPL was heavily involved in organizing the latest Un librel/One eRead Canada,
the first bilingual cross-Canada digital book club offered by over 1,000
libraries from coast to coast. He said over 20,000 people downloaded the
eBook and eAudio versions of the featured book (“Vi” by Kim Thúy), in French
and English, across Canada. This partnership with CBC/Radio Canada meant that
two wonderful hosts – Shelagh Rogers, from the Next Chapter on CBC Radio, and
Kevin Sweet, a Radio Canada Arts reporter, were involved, and there were over
4,000 views of the online book club events. Chair Luloff noted that OPL also
helped by responding to several media requests from across Canada about the
initiative.
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