Introduction The Canadian Library Association welcomes the opportunity to influence the future of libraries and archives in Canada

Introduction

The Canadian Library Association welcomes the opportunity to influence the future of libraries and archives in Canada. We build on the experience of the past, the realities of the present and challenges and promises of the rapidly changing digital world, which has been and will continue to transform the role of libraries in society.

Briefly about library system

While it is distressing to point out that no national statistical profile of library metrics has been assembled since the National Core Library Statistics Program sponsored by the former National Library of Canada in 1999, CLA initiated and funded its own research into library statistics and values to begin to address this gap.

Although the research base could not be as exhaustive as LAC’s former program, below is a summary of the findings:

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  There were 1 million visits to libraries (public, academic and school) every day of the year in 2010
  
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  On average Canadians visited a library once a month in 2010 (11 visits/year)
  
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  There were 198,000 electronic database sessions conducted in libraries (public, academic and the three national special libraries) every day of the year in 2010
  
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  There were 1,600,00 uses of library materials every day of the year in 2010
  
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  On average Canadians used at least one library item per month in 2010 (17 library items/year)
  
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  Print and electronic resources owned and leased by libraries amounted to 14 items per Canadian
  
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  Public and academic libraries answered almost 70,000 questions by Canadians every day of the year in 2010
  
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  21,000 Canadians attended programs held by public and academic libraries every day in 2010
  
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  Libraries in Canada operate on 28 cents per day per Canadian, or $104/year/Canadian
  
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  95% of Canadians had access to local public libraries in 2010
  

School Libraries: optimally provide service as “learning centre” or “heart” of a school’s learning activities. Staffed with professionally educated teacher-librarians (MLIS and teacher certification), ideally they are intentionally connected with the curriculum, and functioning as interactive, lively learning commons environments in physical and virtual spaces in collaboration with classroom teachers. This environment prepares students to achieve learning outcomes by examining knowledge in all forms—fiction and nonfiction, print and digital—to access, evaluate, dialogue, construct new knowledge and reflect upon it. Extensive research supports the correlation of advanced student achievement and literacy development with quality school library learning commons services, especially when led under the direction of teacher-librarians. Research demonstrates that access to a teacher librarian working collaboratively with teachers within a school library increases students’ performance on standardized tests (http://www.lrs.org/documents/school/school_library_impact.pdf) . Professionally staffed school libraries are needed now more than ever to strengthen literacy rates and to teach students how to navigate the enormous amount of information available to them.

Public Libraries:

Public libraries are the hub of the community and an integral institution to a community’s success. Public library services in Canada are extremely popular and usage continues to climb. The Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) 2011 statistics www.culc.ca representing 47 of the largest public library systems in the country (with a combined population of more than 17 million) indicate:

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  104 million in-person visits
  
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  121 million e-visits
  
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  205 million items circulated
  
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  4.5 million program attendees
  

More specifically, the Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest library, reporting (for 2011) an annual circulation of more than 33 million items and more than 19 million in person-visits . Public libraries provide access to a variety of collections to enable learning and entertainment opportunities for Canadians. The wealth of public library resources include: songs, movies, videogames, books for adults and youth, e-books, language learning resources, magazines and access to a multitude of electronic resources including full-text newspapers and journals. Many of these resources are also available in other languages. Public libraries have professionally-trained staff to assist customers to find the answers to their questions. They respond to the diverse needs of people with disabilities, homebound individuals and older adults through home delivery service, large print books, assistive technologies and descriptive videos and DVDs. Public libraries are frequently the go-to resource for job seekers.Public libraries are more than their collections and borrowing. They are the only public institutions that provide free, reliable access to the Internet for those unable to afford or navigate the digital world alone. Most public libraries in Canada provide support for using the Internet and mobile devices, helping individuals develop digital literacy skills. Public libraries strengthen literacies and build social cohesion in communities.

Academic Libraries:

Similarly, the digital revolution has transformed academic libraries and their services. Academic libraries are becoming much more about collaboration and co-learning than silent study halls of the past. The primary role of libraries continues to be access and provision of information. There is increasing emphasis on combining traditional access to physical and e-resources with teaching, learning and social spaces that support collaborative learning. Likewise, research questions no longer consist of quick facts but more frequently represent complex, sophisticated questions that reflect a shift in how universities are preparing students. Academic library spaces are collaborative spaces that frequently include writing centres, tutoring services (peer and volunteer) to meet the diverse learning needs of post-secondary students. Many academic libraries are positioned to support international students and their need to develop English Language Learning proficiencies through partnerships with teaching English as a second language centres.

Library Services to New Canadians:

Many of Canada’s libraries have robust programs and resources to serve new Canadians, often in partnership with local settlement and ethno-cultural agencies and Citizen and Immigration Canada. English language learning programs and books in dozens of other languages support newcomers. Public libraries offer a variety of programs from early literacy classes to computer training to book clubs, championing 21stcentury literacies including early literacy, basic literacy, information and computer literacy, and financial literacy services. They also serve students outside the classroom with the Summer Reading Club and other programs. Finally, libraries are vital community gathering places. CULC libraries alone provide 9.5 million square feet of publicly accessible space in 624 branches. Canadians gather in library spaces to study, read, participate in library programs, meet with friends or get work done in quiet study areas. Many public libraries offer Wi-Fi access enabling customers to use the space as their home office away from home. In spite of budget restrictions, more new and renewed spaces are opening every year in response to growing populations and increasing public demand.

Library services for Canada’s Aboriginal Peoples:

Good library service for First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities remains a major challenge and unmet need in this country. In large urban centres major public libraries provide services, spaces and collections targeted to the needs of these groups. However in small, rural, and remote areas, service is usually poor or lacking completely. The Government of Canada no longer has a dedicated library support program for First Nations communities, despite the fact that it is the fastest growing population in Canada. In the provinces of Saskatchewan and Ontario, provincial government financially supports library services for First Nations communities; this is not the case in the remaining majority of provinces.School libraries on First Nation reserves are often non-existent. Furthermore, as noted by the National Reading Campaign, most Aboriginal communities across Canada, especially those on reserves or in remote areas, do not have access to properly funded public libraries. Funding for education for Aboriginal people already falls far behind that spent on education for the rest of Canadians. According to Statistics Canada, the national per-student average in 2009 was $10,439. According to a statement from the Assembly of First Nations, the national average for First Nations students is about $7,101, or less than 70% of the norm for other Canadians.

Are libraries the appropriate institution to catalogue, store and provide access to research data?

If not, which institutions should provide these services?

Research libraries are essential institutions in developing and managing data repositories. Libraries and librarians have the expertise in resource description, storage, and access. Libraries have the ability to work within common standards so that data can be preserved, described, accessed, shared and, ideally used and re-used beyond its original context. Libraries take user privacy seriously and have the capacity to be the interface between the public and the research institution. Academic libraries are the appropriate institutions to catalogue, store and provide access to research data. Currently in Canada the vast majority of research data is at risk of being lost because it is not being systematically managed and preserved. While certain disciplines and research projects have institutional, national, or international support for data management, this support is available for a minority of researchers only. A coordinated and national approach to managing research data in Canada is required in order to derive greater and longer term benefits, both socially and economically, from the extensive public investments that are made in research. The Canadian Association of Research Libraries defines roles for research libraries that include:

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  Develop and manage data repositories at the institution
  

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  Support training for librarians in the area of data stewardship
  
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  Provide support for researchers by hiring qualified data librarians and make these professionals available to the research community
  
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  Provide education for researchers about data management practice
  

Libraries are currently hybrid operations, constantly pulled toward traditional services by many core users and pulled, equally, by a concern for relevancy from other users and potential users. What issues are libraries facing as they try to make the transition to new service models?

There are many predictions about the future of libraries and some excellent sources of information on future library trends are: the IFLA Trend Report; the book, Library 2020: Todays Leading Visionaries Describe Tomorrow’s Library; the data from Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project1; and ALA’s most recent future trends-related publication, Planning Our Future Libraries: Blueprints for 2025. These sources reveal several primary drivers of and trends in the future of library service: evolving technologies and the digital shift, leading to a technological divide, differential access to technology and future. the need for increased technology training and assistance; the need to embrace participation and community-led service models to remain responsive to customers accustomed to greater control and greater choice; the reimagining of libraries and library spaces (both physical and digital) as places of creation rather than places of mere consumption; and a shift from entertainment to learning with the library positioned to take on a role in the life-long learning of customers.

Reimagining Library Space

If library collections are no longer sufficient to draw people to library spaces (as the data is beginning to suggest), what happens to that space? A new emerging trend that addresses this is the development of makerspaces in libraries. Mostly technological in nature (e.g. 3D printers, and video/music/photo editing/creation software) these spaces are meant to both connect with new tech-savvy communities and introduce these tools to a broader audience for both educational and entertainment purposes. Libraries are re-imagining their customers as, not just readers, but creators, and reimagining reading as involving more than just print material (Fontichiaro, 2012; Polonka, 2012).

Libraries and Learning

The technological shift has meant that on-demand entertainment is everywhere and, for many people, it is accessible for a modest fee without recourse to the library. In response, libraries are re-embracing their educational origins, realizing that there is space between elementary/high school and MOOCs for both career and interest oriented education. IFLA predicts the explosion of inexpensive online education will lead to enormous increases in the number of people participating in online learning and the introduction of innovative, cross-sectional, ultidisciplinary online learning opportunities. In addition, as technological change continues at rapid rates and the economy becomes increasingly globalized, individuals will be required to adapt by gaining new skills and knowledge throughout their adult lives.

While libraries may not emerge as a key player in the world of MOOCs, they may have an essential role to play as intermediaries, providing platforms for peer learning, mentoring, network-building, co-study, collaboration and informal support systems.

Increasingly, users want:

 Just-in-time online research services

 apps-based access to library materials and programs

 access to technology “petting zoos” to try out new devices

 GPS navigation apps to help users locate materials inside library buildings

 Redbox style lending machines (e.g. Ottawa Public Library kiosks, Loblaws new Red Box services) located throughout the community where people can check-out books, movies or music without having to go to the library itself

 Amazon-style customized book/audio/video recommendation schemes that are based on a user’s prior library behaviour (e.g. BiblioCommons, -a made-in-Canada next generation online public access catalogue used by many libraries in Canada, the USA, Australia and New Zealand)

School Libraries: are an essential component in the learning ecology of Canadian society. They too are balancing the best ways to provide traditional print materials and e-materials to their students and teachers. Many schools have not yet met Achieving Information Literacy Standards (CLA 2003). The CLA School Libraries Advisory Committee and CLA’s Voices for School Libraries Network are currently producing a common set of complementary standards for educators across Canada, to acquire and develop skills and expertise in order to implement a comprehensive school library learning commons model. A steering committee and focus group have developed five basic “Principles of Effective School Library Learning Commons” and are currently developing standards rubrics for these principles. The results of this project will be launched as an e-book at the 2014 CLA National Conference and Trade Show in Victoria. CLA is working in cooperation with eleven provincial/territorial school library organizations and/or school board representatives in coordinating this national initiative. Each of these organizations has developed strong contingents of school library committees and has met physically or virtually, submitting responses to the project writing on an ongoing basis.

Would Canadians know of or understand the contributions libraries make to civic life in Canada?

Canadians love their libraries. They understand that libraries provide free service; they are for everyone, they are there to provide and support literacy development and that the library is a trusted community service. Canadians’ understanding is built on their experiences using library services as well as the marketing and promotion of libraries. In survey after survey, when citizens are asked to indicate what comes to mind when they think of libraries the answer is: books, books and books. As the national voice for the Canadian community of libraries, the Canadian Library Association and its members and partners need to be more effective and dynamic in helping Canadians rediscover their libraries and the everexpanding range of services they offer. Enhancing the ability to communicate the impact of libraries is a definitive role CLA could play in developing a better understanding of the contributions libraries make to society.

In the digital era, what support for patrons do/should libraries provide?

The digital era provides vast opportunities for libraries and their communities. Many creative libraries have implemented programs reflective of our digital era. Some of these opportunities include the following:

 Standard services in most public and academic libraries include free internet access, basic software packages, printers, fax machines, scanners and photocopiers; additionally, many provide Wi-Fi access, computer training, online research chat services, support for mobile devices such as tablets, e-readers and smart-phones

 Libraries will continue to support their customers to become empowered through expanding their own abilities, to help them to become better versed in their interests and to become more connected to their communities

 Already some libraries are providing support for the entire creative process from idea to artifact. They do so by hosting writers in residence who mentor members of the public or their user community. They host reading and writing support groups. They provide self-publishing vehicles such as the Espresso Book Machine. And some libraries are creating maker-spaces, a demonstration of the transformation from consuming to creating.

 Libraries support learning, facilitating courses, providing programs and offering access to online programs

 Libraries continue to support self-directed, interest-driven activity and are expanding into providing support for more collaborative learning and creative activities within their spaces

 Libraries teach library users how to use and interpret new technologies and ways of accessing information

 Libraries provide spaces for people to work collaboratively on projects with equipment that would be beyond their own personal reach (media labs, scanners, 3-D printers, etc)

 Academic libraries provide collaborative learning spaces

 Libraries actively support charitable and not-for-profit organizations and help find ways to connect their work with their communities

 Libraries provide services that help users convert and save older digital materials into more modern formats

 Libraries provide robust genealogical services and in-house expertise; many facilitate other means by which the public has access to local and national history.

What will be the function and future of a bricks-and-mortar library in a paperless-society?

In any foreseeable future, society will see a mixed use of physical and electronic resources. And although we collaborate across the country and outside our bounders, people have not lost their affinity for sharing in public spaces. Among institutions in society, libraries have pioneered the use of space and collaboration and the blended approach of changing paradigms. Libraries have a unique position to demonstrate through their role as free public gathering spaces and co-learning spaces. Some libraries are developing co-working spaces for non-profits and small businesses. Libraries have already developed labs for the individual and group development of creative works, both digital and non-digital. In the future, libraries could help users convert and save older digital materials with the option of keeping copies for a community historical archive.

Conclusion

This brief has been developed by a CLA members team, CLA’s President and supported by CLA headquarters staff and is submitted by CLA President Marie De Young. We thank the Royal Society of Canada and the Members of the Expert Panel for the opportunity to present CLA’s views. We look forward to submitting a final brief following our formal presentation to Expert Panel and the conclusion of the Panel’s Canada-wide consultation process.

References

1.Canadian Urban Libraries Council. (2011). An Analysis of Public Library Trends. Accessed December 2, 2013 from http://www.culc.ca/cms_lib/CULC%20Public%20Library%20Trends.pdf

2.Fontichiaro, K. (2012) Chapter 2. In Janes, J. (2013). Library 2020: Today's leading visionaries describe tomorrow's library. Lanham: The Scarecrow Press, Inc.

3.International Federation of Library Associations. (2013). Riding the Wave or Caught in the Tide?

4.Navigating the Evolving Information Environment. Accessed December 2, 2013 from http://trends.ifla.org

5.Polanka, S. (2012). No Shelf Required 2: Use and Management of Electronic Books. Chicago: American Library Association.

6.Williment, K. (2011). "It Takes a Community to Create a Library." Public Libraries, 50, 2: 30-35.

Plan:

Introduction

1.Briefly about library system

2.Store and provide access to research data

3.Libraries and Learning

4.Would Canadians know of or understand the contributions libraries make to civic life in Canada?

5.What will be the function and future of a bricks-and-mortar library in a paperless-society?

Conclusion

References