annual - Strathcona County Library

A N N U A L
S T R AT H C O N A C O U N T Y L I B R A R Y
R E P O R T
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County residents are at the heart of everything we do, and we love that our photos are full of
people of all ages enjoying Library activities. Here are some additional 2014 highlights.
Growth in our digital collections.
Our community continues to be interested in physical formats like books, DVDs, and CDs. But
demand is also rising for digital formats too, with digital borrowing up by 68%. We’ve added Zinio
eMagazines, and Hoopla, to bring eMovies, Music and TV into our existing electronic mix.
Library programming in the community.
Last year, we offered over 3000 program sessions to more than 57,000 attendees of all ages. Many
of these took place out in the community: at preschool agencies (36% more than in 2013), in rural
community halls (Bookmobile program attendance increased by 149% over 2012), and in seniors’
lodges (for more than 100 seniors residing there).
A solid future.
In the fall of 2014 we began developing a new Plan of Service. Our consultation brought together
a diverse group of 26 community representatives to talk about needs and challenges, and to tell us
how they want to see Library services shaped over the next five years. The future they described is
bold, exciting, and community-focused. We look forward to unveiling our new plan this fall.
Thank You.
We want to take a moment to offer our sincere thanks for the support we receive from so many:
• Mayor Roxanne Carr and Strathcona County Council;
• The Province of Alberta and in particular, the Honourable Dave Quest and MLAs Jacquie
Fenske and Cathy Olesen;
• The Friends of Strathcona County Library Society, who raise a tremendous amount of funds for
collections and services through events like our annual Garden Tour that many residents enjoy;
• Our many volunteers who give so generously of their time and energy, including our hardworking and dedicated Library Board;
• Community partners, whose support has added many innovative dimensions to Library service;
• The many individual donors who care so much about the collections, programs and services
the Library provides; and
• Our caring and professional staff, and our patrons, who continue to use and support the Library.
You are all a vital part of our mission to provide literacy, learning and leisure in the community that
we are so fortunate to call home.
As we look to our library’s future, we are reminded of something our dear friend and previous
board chair used to say: “Onward and upward!”
Anna Pandos
Chair, Strathcona County Library Board
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Sharon Siga
CEO, Strathcona County Library
A DAY IN THE LIFE OF STRATHCONA COUNTY LIBRARY
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1557
PEOPLE SIGN UP FOR
PEOPLE
WALK THROUGH THE DOORS OF OUR CENTRAL
LIBRARY IN THE STRATHCONA COUNTY
COMMUNITY CENTRE
101
PEOPLE
VISIT THE
BOOKMOBILE
A LIBRARY CARD
3809
PHYSICAL ITEMS
ARE BORROWED
274
DIGITAL ITEMS
ARE BORROWED
CHECK-OUTS OF DIGITAL ITEMS
HAVE INCREASED BY
1077
PEOPLE
68%
OVER 2013
VISIT OUR WEBSITE
1752
PEOPLE
VISIT OUR ONLINE CATALOGUE
165
PEOPLE
TA K E PA R T I N A
LIBRARY PROGRAM
222
PEOPLE
U SE O NE O F O U R
88
P U B L I C
COMPUTERS
AND
PEOPLE LOG INTO THE
LIBRARY’S FREE WIFI SERVICE
369
TIMES
THIS REPRESENTS A 31%
INCREASE OVER 2013
Statistics are based on days open in 2014
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PROGRAMMING FOCUSED ON MENTAL HEALTH
On April 2, we welcomed His Honour, Col. (Retired)
the Honourable Donald S. Ethell, OC OMM AOE
MSC CD LLD, Lieutenant Governor of Alberta, to
speak about his personal experiences living with
post-traumatic stress disorder. He was joined by
Melissa Baker, Director of the Edmonton Chapter
of the Post Natal Depression Association, who
spoke about living with post natal depression.
This unique program was presented with the
assistance of the The Lieutenant Governor’s Circle
on Mental Health and Addiction, a charitable
organization dedicated to helping reduce the
stigma related to mental illness and addiction,
furthering public knowledge of the topic, and
shining a light on the positive work taking place
across the province.
MINISTER’S AWARD OF EXCELLENCE AND
INNOVATION IN PUBLIC LIBRARY SERVICE
Our Library is a member of the Metro Edmonton Federation
of Libraries, which received a Minister’s Award of Excellence
and Innovation in Public Library Service in 2014. This award
recognized the development of the ME Libraries Service,
which began its life as a pilot project created by the Metro
Edmonton Federation of Libraries (made up of Edmonton, Fort
Saskatchewan, St. Albert and Strathcona County Libraries).
What began as a pilot has now become Alberta-wide borrowing:
an Albertan with a valid library card can borrow materials from
any public library in the province.
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PARTNERSHIP WITH EDMONTON
IMMIGRANT SERVICES ASSOCIATION (EISA)
In 2014, the Library launched an innovative
partnership with the Edmonton Immigration
Services Association.
We supply Library meeting space, and EISA
supplies a Settlement Practitioner, who
meets twice a week with newcomers to
Canada.
Grazyna Pakos, our Settlement Practitioner
The Library Settlement Program is funded
by Citizenship and Immigration Canada and
our Settlement Practitioner provides
assistance to newcomers in a broad range
of areas:
• immigration and related issues,
• information and assistance with
government forms and procedures,
• referrals to local agencies such as Family
and Community Services, and
• understanding the Canadian school
system.
CHANGING LIVES THROUGH PARTNERSHIPS
Some key partners helped our Library to make a big impact on people’s lives in 2014:
• With Strathcona County Family & Community Services, we helped residents to complete
their income tax returns.
• With our Metro Library Writer in Residence, we helped to guide and inspire local writers.
• With the Rotary Club of Sherwood Park Heartland, we offered free faxing, printing and
other job-search help through our Career Resource Centre.
• With Norquest College, we welcomed newcomers with
ongoing English language classes.
• With the Community Adult Literacy and Learning Society
of Fort Saskatchewan and Strathcona, we offered English
conversation circles and one-on-one language tutoring.
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2014 Human Library Event
Human “books” share stories
from their lives
FAMILY FOOTBALL NIGHT
In May, kicker Grant Shaw and fullback Calvin McCarty of
the Edmonton Eskimos spent an evening with a group of
County kids and their families.
Literacy isn’t always about books, and this event was
designed to teach kids a little bit about how the game of
football is played, as well as give them a peek into the world
of a professional football player.
Edmonton Eskimos kicker Grant Shaw
signs a football for a young fan
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No question was off-limits and the queries ranged from
“Do I have to go to college in the U.S. if I want to play in
the CFL?” to “What do you eat for supper?” We all learned
something new!
Bookmobile Manager Diana Balbar and Bookmobile Specialist Cindy Schmidt (second and third from the left),
with several County residents at Antler Lake Hall for Neighbour Day
COMMUNITY BUILDING
When the Antler Lake Community Hall closed, our Bookmobile staff began a year-long
community development effort. Diana Balbar, our Bookmobile Manager, put on a Neighbour
Day to gauge support, held community meetings to recruit new members for the Community
League executive and helped plan a series of programs and events.
This rural hall has re-opened, and community programming is going strong once again. Our
Bookmobile is truly part of the rural community, and works hard to support the many rural
community halls that the Library uses to provide programs and services to County residents.
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THE YEAR IN PHOTOS
Bookmobile Specialist Christiane Karsten leads a
summer storytime in North Cooking Lake
Linda Fair and her dog Hazel present the program
“Dogged Determination Across Canada” , the story
of Linda’s four-year trek across Canada by dogsled.
Local teens Emelia Housch and Caitlin Taylor
attend a Steampunk program in November
Global TV’s Gord Steinke showcases his book at the
Words in the Park local author event
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Writer in Residence
Margaret Macpherson
hosts the
Big Speakeasy event
A participant plays Scrabble in our
UnlimitED senior’s program
THE YEAR IN PHOTOS
Participants in the
“Star Wars Reads” event
Strathcona County Mayor Roxanne Carr reads to a group of children during Read-In Week 2014
Melanie Kerr reads at Words in the Park
Brian and Penny Betts,
2014 Friends’ Garden Tour hosts
Enbridge employees, plus 67 other volunteers, help with the
Friends of Strathcona County Library gift wrap fundraiser at Sherwood Park Mall
Bookmobile Manager Diana Balbar and Bookmobile Specialist
Twyla Guenette-Wachno celebrate the completion of the
Grade One Book Buzz program at Ministik School
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LOCKED IN THE LIBRARY
As a member organization in the Positive Youth
Development Committee, the Library planned one of
the County-wide Youth Rocks events in May: Locked
in the Library.
This program received a grant from the Edmonton
Community Foundation’s Young Edmonton Grant
(YEG) program, and it was one of the programs
featured in the Edmonton Community Foundation’s
Vital Signs report -- an annual check-up to measure
how the community is doing with youth.
We were also very pleased that Taryn Lough, our Teen
Services Librarian, received a High Five Award in 2014.
Recipients for this award are chosen by Strathcona
County youth.
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FUND DEVELOPMENT
INDIVIDUALS
CORPORATIONS
COMMUNITY
GROUPS
IN MEMORY OF
LOVED ONES
$57,995
donated in 2014
Alan Hill and Larry Fowler of the Sherwood Park Breakfast Lions Club (front row) were
on hand to present the Library with three SAD lamps in December 2014.
In this year’s annual report, we’d like to make special
mention of the Sherwood Park Breakfast Lions Club, who
are long-time donors to the Library, often supporting
initiatives that will help patrons with special needs:
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•
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SAD Lamps, which may help patrons who experience
Seasonal Affective Disorder and sleep disorders.
Sound Enhancement Systems technology, which helps
people with limited hearing, including second language
learners and children with a variety of special needs.
Special computer monitors for patrons who are visually
impaired.
DAISY readers (Digital Accessible Information System),
Talking Books and Descriptive DVDs.
EQUIPMENT
SERVICES
PROGRAMS
FRIENDS OF THE LIBRARY SOCIETY
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The 14th annual Garden Tour ran Sunday, July 13. Volunteers donated over 600 hours of their
time to this event.
Friends’ volunteers helped with annual Book Sale in August, which raised almost $11,000.
In October, the Friends hosted a successful wine-tasting event called “Books, Bites and
Bubbly”, attended by 90 people.
Our annual Christmas Gift Wrap fundraiser at Sherwood Park Mall saw more than 70
volunteers donating 425 hours, and raising just over $7500.
And finally, there were two recipients of the 2014 Muriel Abdurahman Volunteer Award:
Tine Prins and Beth Duff.
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SATELLITE SERVICES
This year, we opened a book return bin at the
new Bethel Transit Terminal. We now have three
of these satellite book drops: as well as the bin at
Bethel, there’s a book drop at Millennium Place
and one at the Ardrossan Recreation Centre.
MONTHLY AVERAGE ITEMS RETURNED
TO S AT E L L I T E B O O K D R O P S
275
The book drop at the
Bethel Transit Terminal
ARDROSSAN
295 1106
BETHEL
MILLENNIUM
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The Provincial Libraries Act of Alberta requires that public libraries have their annual financial statements
audited by an external auditor. KPMG, our external auditor, provided us with an unqualified audit opinion
that our financial statements for the year ended December, 31, 2014 present fairly, in all material respects,
the financial position of the Library and our results of operations, our change in net debt and our cash flows
in accordance with Canadian public sector accounting standards.
The Strathcona County Library Audited Financial Statements and Notes to the Financial Statements for the
year ended December 31, 2014 are available on our website at www.sclibrary.ab.ca.
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Our beautiful cover photo was shot by
NAIT student Corey Pollack, as part of
a photo essay assignment
Strathcona County Library
401 Festival Lane | Sherwood Park, AB | T8A 5P7
780.410.8600 | www.sclibrary.ab.ca | [email protected]