Chair's Message

1998 was another year of success and challenge in the Edmonton Public Library's drive to bring the best possible library service to the city. By December, Council approved the capital funding for a new library in Riverbend, to open early in 2000. This approval was due in part to the successful -- and continuing -- community fund-raising campaign.

The new Riverbend branch will be the third new library that we have opened in the past five years as part of our Capital Campaign, Foundations of Learning. Two other libraries -- Lessard and the Penny McKee in Abbottsfield -- were opened in 1996 and 1997 respectively.

In addition, this year we completed major renovations in the Woodcroft branch and began a major facelift at the Stanley A. Milner Library downtown.

These are the visible changes. The Edmonton Public Library has also been busy planning for the future, especially as regards to community-wide access to information technology and in developing partnerships in the city.

We are grateful for support from Council, our partners, and especially the countless number of volunteers. I wish to particularly thank all the volunteers who worked with the Library during the year, raising funds to build a branch in Riverbend, working in booksales, delivering library access services to residents who could not go to library locations, and advocating for library support at election forums and other public functions. We could not have accomplished so much without your generosity.

On behalf of the Board, I thank Ms. Cook, Director of Libraries, and all her staff, for an outstanding job in giving us a public library system that strives to provide the widest access to the knowledge and culture of the world to everyone.

As the year ends, I am delighted to report that a recent marketing survey showed that 96% of the respondents said the Library was an essential city service, used regularly by 60% of the City's households.

Don Carmichael, Chair
Edmonton Public Library Board of Trustees, 1998

 

Director's Message

The Edmonton Public Library is a key player in the library community in Alberta and Canada, involved in finding new ways of sharing resources and delivering seamless library service to everyone. One of my key roles as Director of Libraries is to raise the profile of the Library as an essential public service. It is vitally important for the Library to develop partnerships with many diverse groups in the community, and during the year, we met regularly with officials of the City and Province to discuss the community library needs. As well, trustees, staff, and volunteers gave presentations to businesses and community groups, and attended many community functions to spread "the library story".

As Edmonton's representative on the Council of Administrators of Large Urban Public Libraries, I discussed common concerns, including service delivery, electronic access, and copyright issues with other library directors. We were particularly interested in finding ways to provide low-income communities with access to computers, the Internet, and technical training.

During the coming year, the Library is planning to unveil a new Strategic Plan that will take us into the new millennium, and we will continue working to raise our profile with customers, politicians, and the business community.

Thanks go to the staff, trustees, Friends of the Library, and our customers, for their strong advocacy of the Edmonton Public Library. We also wish to thank the City of Edmonton, Province of Alberta, foundations, businesses, community groups, and individual donors who supported the Library with funding and donations to allow us to provide excellent library service, an essential public service for a Smart City.

Linda C. Cook, Director of Libraries
The Edmonton Public Library

 

1998 Board of Trustees

Don Carmichael, Chair
Rose-Marie Cassis, Vice-Chair
Tajesh (TJ) Adhihetty
Marco L. Adria
Edrick Andrews
Cal Bricker
Dennis Denis
Jason Ding
Councillor Brian Mason
J. Michael Warmington

 

1998 ANNUAL REPORT HIGHLIGHTS

Success in Riverbend

• The Edmonton Public Library launched the third and final phase of the Foundations of Learning campaign, with the objective of raising $550,000 from the community for a branch in Riverbend.
• By year-end the campaign had raised $470,000 in donations and pledges for the Riverbend branch.
• Over 2,500 people attended a community and media event, "Goin' Round the Bend in Riverbend" on Halloween weekend, including the Hon. Dave Hancock, MLA for Edmonton Whitemud and Minister of Intergovernmental and Aboriginal Affairs, Mayor Bill Smith, Councillors Bryan Anderson, Larry Langley, Brian Mason, and Dave Thiele. The Hongkong Bank of Canada was a major event sponsor, among others.
• Friends of the Library and community supporters organized advocacy activities, attended candidates' forums in the October civic election, and gave presentations in budget forums. This had a positive impact, as the City approved $1.8 million in capital funding for the proposed branch in Riverbend.

 Face Lift for Milner Library

• The City approved a capital project to waterproof the 31-year-old Stanley A. Milner Library, with an addition of 11,000 square feet in the North Plaza. At a media announcement, Mayor Bill Smith recognized the Library as essential to the City's vision of a Smart City and praised the Milner Library as the "most visited civic building in Alberta's Capital City and an anchor member of the City's Arts District."
• A renovations project, due for completion in 1999, will provide customers with better access to collections and services and streamline workflow for staff.
• Friends of the Library launched a campaign to raise $50,000 in support of the Milner Library's Heritage Room, which will house the Canadiana Collection.
• The Library received grants totaling $135,000 from the City's Accessibility Committee to install an elevator and two ramps in the basement as part of the Milner Library renovations, giving customers better wheelchair accessibility.

Library an Essential Service

• A marketing survey conducted for the Library in 1998 by the Population Research Laboratory of the University of Alberta found that 96% of the respondents considered the Library to be an essential city service and 60% of Edmonton's households used the Library on a regular basis.
• 4,033,742 visits were made to the Library's 15 locations.
• 7,506,374 items were borrowed.
• 82,773 new books and 24,659 AV materials were added to the collections, including 5,933 donated items.
• 133,915 visits were made to the Library's web site.
• 131,009 people attended 4,002 public programs at all 15 library locations, ranging from Time for Twos and Pre-School Storytime to collecting Titanic memorabilia, Feng Shui, and how to set up a personal directive.

 

Partnerships

• Through its participation in the Alberta Public Libraries Electronic Network (APLEN) consortium, the Edmonton Public Library received a grant from the Province of Alberta's APLEN project and the Federal Government's Western Economic Partnership Agreement, to implement its Technology Action Plan. This allowed the Edmonton Public Library to create its own web site and also to make its public access catalogue and web site available over the Internet and to all public libraries in Alberta.
• As a pilot project, the Alberta Library BookCard was offered free of charge to Edmonton Public Library adult members in August, allowing them to borrow books from the University of Alberta Libraries.
• Information Services participated in organizing Small Business Week (October 25 - 31) in conjunction with The Business Link, Economic Development Edmonton, the Edmonton Chamber of Commerce and others.
• ATEC, Alberta's service excellence training experts, donated a collection of videos as part of the Milner Library's special loan collection of business titles. The ATEC collection covers more than 175 subjects, ranging from careers in tourism, customer service, food and beverage services, to management and professional development.
• Starbucks Coffee Company hosted the "All Books for Children Book Drive" in August to benefit local libraries and promote literacy. Supporters donated over 300 books to the Library in the two-week campaign.
• The Carnival of Champions Foundation, set up by the Edmonton Oilers of the NHL and the Edmonton Eskimos of the CFL, donated $20,000 to enrich the children's collections in the Penny McKee Branch -- Abbottsfield.
• Highlands, Jasper Place, and Sprucewood branches participated in the Books for Babies program, organized in conjunction with the Junior League of Edmonton, Prospects Literacy Association, and other sponsors. This is a family literacy program that provided books and materials to young families and worked toward developing library use skills and improving literacy skills in the home.
• The Library worked with the City's Asset Management and Public Works to open the Non-Profit Centre on the 6^th floor of the Milner Library. The Centre was created to assist arts and non-profit groups that were having difficulty finding affordable and convenient office space
• Canada Post worked with the Library to kick off its popular annual Santa Letter Writing Program on November 20. Over 100 children gathered at the Stanley A. Milner Library to mail their letters to the North Pole and were greeted there by Santa's elves, Letterman, Albert A. Bear, and Mrs. Claus.
• The Library raised $22,000 from the Fringe Paperback Book Sale in August and the Annual Book Sale held in October, with the help of 166 volunteers.

Smart Search

• In January, the Library launched an express, in-depth business information service, catered to customers' needs and provided on a cost-recovery basis. At year-end, 65 research projects were conducted for 38 customers, ranging from some of Alberta's largest corporations to individuals who are just starting their own businesses. About half of the requests came from repeat customers.
• Staff promoted Library information services at trade shows, after-business mixers, and other community events.

Information Galore

• The Library provided Web stations for all 15 locations. These PCs gave customers access to the Internet, various electronic databases, and the capability to check the on-line catalogue and their own accounts.
• Summer Reading Club '98 -- Take Me Out to the Library -- was attended by 11,292 children who collectively read over 3.4 million minutes during the summer.

Library Staff as Knowledge Workers

• The Library's Learning and Development team focussed on providing on-going learning opportunities for staff to assist them in providing excellent, knowledgeable service to customers.
• Library staff participated in 40 internal course offerings ranging from customer service, mullticultural awareness, to the application of various electronic technologies. As well 70 employees benefited from external training opportunities.

Celebrations

• Over 300 people attended the Woodcroft Branch re-opening on June 30. Guest speakers included the Hon. Anne McLellan, Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada and MP for Edmonton West, Mayor Bill Smith, MLA Mary O'Neill, representing the Hon. Shirley McClellan, Minister of Community Development, Ms. Nancy MacBeth, Leader of the Alberta Liberal Party, and Dr. Don Carmichael, Library Board Chair.
• The Library co-hosted an event to pay tribute to W.O. Mitchell (1914 - 1998), well-known author and teacher, who passed away on February 25 at the age of 83.
• The Library organized the Best Book of the 20^th Century contest, inviting the public to nominate their choices, J.R.R. Tolkein's Lord of the Rings was declared the winner, beating over 200 other nominations.
• The Library co-hosted an exhibition, "Book Design in Switzerland" in conjunction with Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council, the Edmonton Art Gallery, the Graphic Designers of Canada (Alberta Chapter -- North), the Book Publishers of Alberta, the Bank J. Vontobel-Vancouver, the Edmonton Swiss Society, the Hon. Consul of Switzerland, and Walter Jungkind, Professor Emeritus of the University of Alberta.
• Strathcona Branch celebrated 85 years of service in the heart of Old Strathcona.
• Idylwylde Branch celebrated its first customers' appreciation day, "Idylwylde About You", on Valentine's Day, with visiting Elvis, entertainment, and refreshments.
• First Nations artist, Calvin Morin, held an art exhibition, "Smoking Tales of the Past" in the Penny McKee Branch in Abbottsfield.

Rediscover the Library

• The Library presented an advertising campaign, "Rediscover the Library" to promote benefits of library membership with tools such as billboards, newspaper, posters, and direct mail.
• Staff ambassadors promoted the Library to over 100,000 people at trade shows and community events, including the Edmonton Woman's Show, InfoCity Festival, the Greater Edmonton Teachers' Convention, the Seniors Fair, Klondike Days' Kids on the Street, the Alberta Book Fair, Welcome Wagon Baby shower, and Meet the North Exposition.

Looking Good

• The Library continued revitalizing its visual identity system and completed signage upgrades in six branches -- Jasper Place, Mill Woods, Lessard, Woodcroft, Penny McKee, and Londonderry.
• The revitalized logo was painted on the Library's trucks, which delivered materials among the 15 locations twice daily, six days a week, giving the Library the best possible "mobile advertising".

 

Collections & Services

Visits to Library Items Borrowed Adult Juvenile In-House Collections Use Questions Answered Programs Presented Program Attendance Collections Purchased Magazine Subscriptions Total Collection Population of Edmonton* Number of Libraries

1998 4,033,742 7,506,374 4,961,213 2,545,161 2,425,750 1,006,386 4,002 131,009 232,594 1,300 1,456,191 636,096 15

1997 4,146,412 7,620,966 5,082,033 2,538,933 2,331,950 1,093,504 3,613 125,535 240,535 1,300 1,537,156 623,931 15

 *Estimate by Planning and Development, May 1998

 

Statement of Revenue and Expense

Revenue: Grants: City of Edmonton Province of Alberta Annual registration fees Fines and charges Interest Copiers Book Sale Other   Expenses: Salaries Book and library materials Supplies Maintenance of properties Property rentals     Excess of revenue over expense

1998     $ 15,304,000 2,483,713 672,173 655,364 112,429 71,801 50,610 68,484  19,418,574   12,100,241 2,750,930 1,698,680 1,515,399 1,223,507 19,288,757   $ 129,817

1997     $ 14,258,000 2,477,100 709,537 650,427 32,968 80,727 44,667 66,166   18,319,592   11,736,475 2,264,283 1,583,895 1,397,906 1,183,162 18,165,721   $ 153,871

For the year ended December 31, 1998 with comparative figures for 1997

 

 

EDMONTON PUBLIC LIBRARY
7 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 2V4