6

A C T I O N

 

 

Subject:                                   Ontario Ministry of Culture $15 Million Investment in Public Libraries

 

Prepared by:                           Barbara Clubb, City Librarian

 

Prepared for:                          Ottawa Public Library Board

 

Meeting of:                              June 15, 2009

 

Date of preparation:               May 26, 2009

 

 

RECOMMENDATION

 

1.      That the Library Board approve the following recommended OPL allocation ($165,225) of the Ontario Ministry of Culture $15 million investment in public libraries:

Accessible and Tactile Signage           $50,000

Customer Services Training                $51,500

Daisy Readers                                     $20,000

MP3 Books                                           $10,000

Assistive Workstations                       $33,725

 

Total                                                    $165,225

 

2.      And that the approved recommendations be submitted to the Southern Ontario Library Service by June 30, 2009.

 

References

 

1.       City Librarian’s Report February 9, 2009

2.       http://www.sols.org/ministryprojects/$15MillionInvestment/15MillionInvestment.htm

 

Background

 

1.       The Ontario Ministry of Culture is investing $15 million in Public Libraries through the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) and the Ontario Library Service-North (OLSN). On January 29, 2009 at the OLS Superconference, SOLS and OLSN unveiled the details of the project. The $15 million is to be used for the purpose of supporting public libraries’ efforts to provide equitable access to a range of digital information, community collections and services to Ontarians. The expenditure plan was developed after extensive sectoral consultation. The Board and staff of the Ottawa Public Library participated in the consultation process.

 

Over $7 million of the $15 million was allocated to a library credits program for specific target areas including: learning and literacy; collections; training; Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities (AODA) compliance and Automation-New Technologies. The final credit allocation for the Ottawa Public Library is $165,225.

 

Application for the library credit must be submitted to SOLS by June 30, 2009.  The deadline for the expenditure of funds is December 31, 2010.

 

 

2.       OPL management recommendations for the expenditure of these funds support the implementation of the Board’s Strategic Directions.  They include:

 

a)     Accessible and Tactile Signage ($50,000) The signage would qualify under the AODA compliance target category. In the beginning of 2009, tactile directional signs were installed at Vanier and Cumberland. The OPL Accessibility Working Group has identified a need to extend this accessible signage program to include visual image signage, which is used to portray collection images for comprehension by members of the public with learning disabilities and low literacy skills. Initial examples of such signage were obtained through the American Library Association but would need to be revised to properly address OPL’s needs. A consultant with the proper expertise would be retained to research best practices, determine appropriate graphical directions, and design and recommend a suitable graphic approach for all future accessible and tactile signage at OPL. Estimates place the cost of a signage consultant to undertake this task at $20,000. Installation of accessible signage is estimated to be $3,000 to $6,000 per branch, depending on recommendations and size of branch.

 

b)     Customer Service Training ($51,500). This would meet the training target category. As an organization that provides service to the pubic, it is essential that all staff have highly developed customer service skills when dealing with patrons and colleagues. In addition, many centralized departments provide customer service to internal customers within OPL. In keeping with the OPL value of customer service orientation to “excel in customer-driven service and respond to the diverse needs of the population of Ottawa”, it is important that standard customer service principles be developed and staff are trained and comfortable in applying these principles.  The funding would be used to retain an expert to work with the OPL Customer Service Program Team to develop a training package. The expert would develop/provide a train-the-trainer model and would train the OPL trainers before the program implementation system-wide.  Funding would support the development of the training package including facilitator’s guide, PowerPoint presentation and participants’ materials, train-the-trainer session and proprietary rights to the training material and reproduction of the participants’ materials.

 

 

c)      Daisy Readers ($20,000). This would qualify under the collections and new technologies target category.  With the demise of books on cassettes, more and more clients with print disabilities are turning to the Daisy Reader for listening to books. The Daisy Reader costs approximately $500 per unit and remains prohibitively expensive for the majority of OPL clients.   The OPL assistive services program currently has 39 Daisy players and homebound services program has and additional nine. These players are on loan to library clients for three-month periods. There are often hold lists on the players, which means clients cannot renew their loan. $20,000 would supply 40 additional players and would enable OPL to meet the growing demand for these readers.

 

d)     MP3 Books ($10,000). This would qualify under the collections and new technologies target category. Books on cassette are no longer available from the CNIB for persons with print disabilities. OPL began purchasing books from the CNIB in the format for Daisy Readers two years ago. The format continues to grow in popularity, but the selection from the CNIB is limited. Many popular titles are available commercially in the MP3 format, which can be played on the Daisy Readers. The current collections budget for the assistive services program is $10,000, and has remained the same for a number of years. This grant funding would provide 200 more titles, and would provide OPL’s print disabled clients with a strong basic collection.

 

e)     Assistive Technology Workstations (The balance of the funding, @$33,725). This would qualify under the AODA compliance category. At the end of 2009 OPL will have provided assistive workstations in 15 locations to accommodate specialized needs not met by existing workstations. The SOLS credit will support the installation of an additional three workstations. The assistive workstations provide screen reading technology, enlargement, and other systems to help increase the accessibility of library PCs. Adaptive workstation desktop images have been developed and therefore would be easily deployed. Each deployment would cost approximately $7,500 for hardware/software, $2,070 for an adjustable desk and $250 for cabling.

 

 

 

Contact Person:

Barbara Herd

Division Manager, Public and Support Services

Ottawa Public Library

613-580-2424 x41303

Barbara.herd@biblioottawalibrary.ca