Zoom Meetup Recording & Notes

June 15, 2022

Watch the Recording

(0:35) Welcome and Introduction

Leigh Anne Palmer welcomed attendees and guests (Kevin Millsip / Tami Setala, BC Libraries Cooperative; Jenny Abramzik, Thompson Nicola Regional Library; Mari Martin, the Public Libraries Branch).

(2:30) Kevin Millsip & Tami Setala – Covid Relief & Recovery Funding (CRR)

A total of $3.1 million was allocated to the Coop: $100,000 for accessibility; $.5M for technology infrastructure; and $2.5M for digital resources and authentication.

The Coop is in the process of establishing a small advisory group to provide input into how to use the $2.5M allocated for digital resources. The advisory group will look at results of the 2018 survey/consultation that resulted in the Digital Initiatives Project funding. Questions from the 2018 survey will be updated for the new 2022 survey. The survey will go out to libraries early July with a deadline of early August to respond. The advisory group will review the results and come up with recommendations.

The Coop will have a plan in place for using all funds by August 15th .

Kevin also spoke about the Accessible BC Act. The first set of regulations for the Act cover 750 organizations across the province, including public libraries. The Province has allocated $3M to the Disability Alliance of BC to support understanding the timelines, processes and procedures for implementing the Act. $1M of these funds is going toward supporting local governments/municipalities. DABC is looking to set up supports that will be useful to all 10 sectors such as creating a one stop resource portal (templates, webinars, list of best practices, etc.) as well as a list of other grants and resources available.

(23:15) Jenny Abramzik, TNRL – One Book, One Community Initiative

TNRL recognized that there was a great interest in this program and is inviting other libraries to host their own One Book, One Community program. Jenny shared a slide show summarizing this initiative. TNRL has developed a toolkit of resources including marketing, promotional materials, and programming ideas. The first One Book, One Community title is Five Little Indians by Michelle Good.

A survey will be sent out the listserv in July for libraries who are interested in participating or learning more about the program

(35:05) Pride Month

Members were polled about what libraries are doing for Pride month, community participation, and opposition to programs/displays.

~90% of members have programs that celebrate Pride

~30% have experienced opposition to Pride-related activities

~60% of members feel “somewhat confident” in handling opposition to equity focused events, compared with “very confident” or “not confident at all”

Leianne Emery shared that their library experienced serious online backlash against their Drag Queen Story Time. Don Nettleton shared that their event last week was uneventful and that their Board set a policy regarding supporting diversity in communities and leaving parents to judge whether they chose to participate or not. Heather Evans-Cullen shared that they recently hosted Drag Queen Story Time that was very peaceful with a very good turnout.

There was discussion about the bulk of the opposition being directed via social media channels /email rather than in person; as well as an increase in opposition to equity-related programming from a vocal minority.

(48:15) MLA Visits

Local MLAs have been actively visiting their public libraries. As MLA’s return home for the summer, libraries may see an increase in these visits.

Jorge Cardenas and Beth Davies shared their experiences with these requests and visits; then discussed how to show appreciation for the one-time funding while also acknowledging that the CRR funding does not fix the existing funding problems Public Libraries experience.

Regarding the upcoming municipal elections in the Fall, Deb Hutchison Koep asked if we have a list of questions trustees can address at all candidate meetings. If anyone has key messages or questions to provide to trustees please share. Jorge Cardenas shared that one of their trustees brought along their child to a recent meeting with local council and had the child speak to council which turned out to be very effective in having council think about how to better serve and support libraries

Leigh Anne Palmer suggested perhaps creating a package with templates, etc for members to use for the upcoming election season and welcomed members to provide any feedback or suggestions

(58:05) Next Meetings

Members were reminded of the special Zoom meeting on July 6th where PLB will present the results of the Infrastructure Survey and announced that the Fall AGM meeting will occur virtually on October 14th.