Education and Early Childhood Development
September 30, 2016

Working to Ensure a Sustainable Library System

The Public are Invited to Participate in the Review of the Provincial Library System

Over the coming weeks, public roundtable consultations will occur for the review of the provincial public library system. These consultations will run from October 5 to November 2, and will consist of 10 public roundtable engagement sessions, as well as online surveys and written submissions.

"Our government believes that libraries are important to communities and the people of this province. That is why we are undertaking a complete review that contemplates the full impact libraries have on communities. We want to improve library services for the people of this province, so residents are encouraged to participate in this review."
- The Honourable Dale Kirby, Minister of Education and Early Childhood Development

The consultations will be led by EY, an international consulting firm, in collaboration with a steering committee comprising six representatives from the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board and the Provincial Government. For individuals not able to attend a public roundtable consultation session, there is an option to complete a survey and/or make a submission online at www.nlpl.ca/home/review .

"This steering committee will collaborate with EY to ensure all of the information required is available and that this is a thorough and well-balanced review of our library system. I am confident this review will steer us in the right direction as we take next steps. "
-Minister Kirby

The steering committee has been working with EY to develop these public roundtable consultation sessions, ensuring residents and stakeholders have an opportunity to voice their opinions, which will help influence final recommendations from EY.

"We are pleased to work with the Provincial‎ Government as members of the steering committee, as we collaborate to determine the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities for our provincial library system. In the end, with input from residents and stakeholders, the result will be a better and more efficient system."
- Calvin Taylor, Chair, Provincial Information and Library Resources Board

The scope and format of the review and the public roundtable consultations schedule is included in the below Backgrounder, as well as the list of members of the steering committee.

QUICK FACTS

• Over the coming weeks, public consultation sessions will occur for the organizational review of the provincial public library system.
• The consultation sessions will run from October 5 to November 2.
• Information on the review process, including the link to complete the public survey and to submit written submissions, is available at www.nlpl.ca/home/review
• The steering committee, comprising members from the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board and the Provincial Government, will oversee the review process

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Media contacts:

Lauren Wiseman Director of Communications Department of Education and Early Childhood Development 729-0048, 691-7668 laurenwiseman@gov.nl.ca

Andrew Hunt Executive Director Provincial Information and Library Resources Board 709-643-0902 ahunt@nlpl.ca

BACKGROUNDER
Schedule for Public Consultations

Date	Location	Venue	Time
Wednesday, October 5	Bay Roberts	Amalgamated Academy	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 6	St. John's	A.C. Hunter Library	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 11	Marystown	Sacred Heart Elementary School	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 13	Clarenville	Clarenville High School	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Tuesday, October 18	Springdale	Riverwood Inn	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, October 19	Grand Falls-Windsor	Grand Falls-Winsor Public Library, Arts and Culture Centre	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 20	Twillingate	United Church Hall	1:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m.
Wednesday, October 26	Rocky Harbour	Gros Morne Academy	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Thursday, October 27	Stephenville	Kindale Public Library	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 2	Labrador City	Labrador City Public Library	6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m.

Information on the format of the roundtable consultation and the review process, including the link to complete the public survey and to submit written submissions, is available at www.nlpl.ca/home/review .

The format of the public roundtable consultation sessions will include the following:

• Participants will be organized into smaller groups to answer a series of questions;
• A facilitator will be assigned to each group;
• Questions will focus on the role and use of local libraries and identifying opportunities for improvement; and
• The results from each group will be discussed with the broader group.

Scope of the Library System Review

This review will consider the overall purpose of the library system in Newfoundland and Labrador, in that universal access to improved library services should be available to all citizens. Key components of the review are:

• Provincial consultations, including:
• Public consultation sessions held across the province;
• Public survey;
• Internal staff survey; and
• Acceptance of written submissions.
• Analysis of the current service delivery landscape, including:
• Locations;
• Types of services currently offered;
• Service delivery methods;
• Service standards; and
• Usage.
• Review of the current governance structure
• Research of innovations and leading practices from other jurisdictions

EY will deliver a final report to the Provincial Government and the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board to provide recommendations and considerations to inform decision-making of the future of the provincial public library system.

Steering Committee Members

Steering committee members for the provincial library system review are:

• Calvin Taylor, Provincial Information and Library Resources Board (Co-chair)
• Janet Vivian-Walsh, Provincial Government (Co-chair)
• Andrew Hunt, Provincial Information and Library Resources Board
• Gillian Noonan, Provincial Information and Library Resources Board
• Brian Evans, Provincial Government
• Tracy King, Provincial Government

2016 09 30            9:05 a.m.