PRL | 2012 Annual Report

“The staff have been amazing! I am blown away by how responsive and caring they are!”

- Library manager

Table of Contents

2012 Goals & Strategies4

Innovation & Efficiency5

Marketing & Communications6

Training & Consulting7

Technology10

Cooperation11

Sustainability12

Finances13

Outlook for 201314

Staff & Membership15

Message from the Director

2012 was a year of technological leaps and bounds, boosting PRL and its member libraries further into the digital age!

Our mission at Parkland is to support our members through cooperation, innovation, and service. We are proud of the changes we have provided to libraries throughout our region. We do this by providing human and material support, focusing on leadership and advocacy, and being efficiently and effectively governed and financially stable.

In relation to our yearly goals, our performance was strong. From the positive feedback from our clients, Parkland continues to provide excellent service to member libraries throughout the region.

In 2012, Parkland took on the management of member library wireless networks and computer networks, as well as paying for the purchase of new computers for member libraries.

In addition to these services, we have been asked to help with subjects as diverse as trustee education, budget planning, and plans of service. We have taken our training capacities digital to

include instructional resources on YouTube that are available for staff and board members to use when it is most convenient for them.

Parkland also focused on introducing advocacy for libraries; encouraging our member libraries to develop their own advocacy and marketing campaign to show their communities the array of services and value that is available at the library. This is a powerful message for current and potential patrons, especially in times of economic uncertainty.

Above: PRL Director, Ron Sheppard

3

2012 Goals & Strategies

Innovation & Efficiency Ensuring Parkland provides innovative and efficient services that are responsive to the needs of its clients.

Marketing & Communications Improving all aspects of marketing and communications for Parkland and its member libraries.

TrainingProviding training to our client groups that are appropriate and timely, delivered in an easily understood and accessible manner.

TechnologyUtilizing technology in the most innovative, efficient, and effective way.

CooperationEngaging in cooperative ventures for enhancing Parkland’s operations, services, and efficiency.

SustainabilityEnsuring Parkland headquarters is managed so as to maintain stability and relevance.

2012 also marked the end of one strategic plan and the needs assessment of the 2013-2015 strategic plan.

4

Innovation & Efficiency

Our technical services team strives for excellence in cataloguing and processing. 2012 was a busy year for our team as they sought new strategies to speed up the acquisitions and cataloguing process.

• Negotiating with vendors for the best possible prices for books and other materials to libraries. Our members receive discounts between 10% to 40%, with an average 33% discount on library materials due to our bulk purchasing power.

• Maintaining Parkland’s bibliographic and authority records with current cataloging standards.

• Parkland introduced online ordering with our two principle vendors, United Library Service (ULS) and Library Services Centre (LSC).

2012 Quick Facts65 Member Municipalities 46 Participating Library Boards

50 Municipal Libraries 36 School Library Contracts

29 Employees at headquarters

200,379 Population Served Service area of over 24,153 square kilometers

5

Marketing & Communications

In order for libraries to remain relevant in our ever-changing world, libraries cannot overlook the power of marketing and public relations to show the public the value of the library to the community. This is a vital strategy for PRL and our member libraries to fulfill our advocacy goals.

Since 2010, PRL has made significant strides such as creating a comprehensive communications and advocacy plan for both the regional headquarters and member libraries.

Highlights include:

• Participation of most Parkland libraries in Library Snapshot Day.

• Creation of the shared ‘Q:’ drive that can be accessed by all member libraries. Library staff can place materials of any subject they wish to share on the drive. Much of the contents in the Q: drive is concerning marketing and advocacy.

• Parkland’s website underwent a major revision making templates, webforms, and informational materials more accessible to member libraries.

• Parkland embarked on a new and exciting regional advocacy initiative, The Library Effect, which leverages the power of personal stories to demonstrate the value of libraries in their communities. The project was launched in fall of 2012 with a very sucessful region-wide story contest, which attracted over 150 entries.

6

Parkland contributed to the success of our member libraries by strength-ening relationships with staff and trustees and through innovative approaches to training, a strategic priority identified in the 2010-2012 plan of service. In addition to providing core services such as customer service, statistics gathering, technology, reference, and readers’ advisory training, Parkland consultants organized a very successful programming workshop and a full day conference. We developed a number of training videos, available on our YouTube channel, one of which garnered international acclaim.

Once again in 2012, Parkland was able to offer writing workshops in communities throughout the region by hosting Kimmy Beach as a Writ-er-in-Residence. We continued to deliver a range of topical workshops in communities across the region, bringing training to the point of need for library staff and boards. Highlights include:

• Working closely with municipal library boards to incorporate strategic planning in the creation of community-focused plans of service.

• Exploring new methods of delivering training at point of need.

• Parkland produced 14 instruction-al videos of various topics such as ordering online, Freading and Web Reporter.

• Leveraging social media to share

timely information.

• Assisting library staff and trust-ees with space planning, collection development and maintenance, library administration and management, human resources, budgeting, and statistical reporting.

• Refining the format of Librar-ies Advisory Group meetings to strengthen decision-making abilities and incorporate a training component into meetings.

7

Training & Consulting

123 workshops sponsored

21 writer-in-residence programs in member libraries

287 consulting visits

Total items in system catalogue

928,608

37,319 items ordered 46,811 items catalogued

1,262 attendees

Satisfaction with system service

97%

+ 1 million visits to our online catalogue

127 IT visits

96 new computers purchased for member libraries

270 van deliveries a month,

that’s 3,240 a year!

20,000 items available in our special collection

192,105 interlibrary loans

Technology

In 2012, Parkland Regional Library undertook a bigger role of manag-ing the local computer networks of member libraries to allow for more standardization and management of the region-wide network.

Our Information Technology department rolled out a massive new technology strategy, that in-cluded new equipment as well as a shared drive and fully integrated network. The drive and network can be accessed by all member libraries to promote sharing and collaboration.

With the new hardware, software, and network management provid-ed through Parkland, libraries will see significant cost savings. Libraries will notice the troble-free management of the computers and wireless networks.

Parkland now manages a central-ized technology infrastructure including:

• The wireless networks in member libraries.

• The management of desktop computers in member libraries.

• The bulk purchase of new computers for member libraries.

• The bulk licensing of Windows operating system and Microsoft Office software for member libraries.

• The back-up of local library computer networks.

10

As a municipal cooperative made up of 65 municipalites with 46 library boards, and as one of 16 resource sharing node libraries, working collectively is a hallmark of Parkland’s activities. Regionally, we increased material availability by promoting effective collection management and facilitating interlibrary loans.

To address the growing need in the central Alberta region, we are continuing to build on our collection of large print and audio collections. In 2012, the eAudio-book collection grew from 50 titles to over 1000! We also participate in NetLibrary, a provincial license

Comments from our 2012 PRL Satisfaction Survey

which provides both download-able eBooks and eAudiobooks to the region.

We’ve had ongoing provincial and regional activities such as:

• Participating with the Alberta Library and the System Directors Group.

• Encouraging Parkland staff to participate in relevant work groups and committees around the province.

• Contributing to and promoting provincial advocacy campaigns.

• Presenting at various library events such as the Alberta Library Conference and Northern Lights Conference in 2012.

11

Cooperation

At Parkland we are dedicated to providing a safe and effective workplace for our employees as well as operating in a fiscally responsible manner.

To maintain our sustainable organization we focused on:

• Expanding our website for extensive use of online resources aimed at member libraries.• Improving the marketing and communications of PRL services.• Ensuring Parkland collections are relevant to the region.• Monitoring building maintenance and infrastructure.• Ensuring Parkland has a stable complement of staff who are well trained and experienced to provide effective and effcient services.

12

** The Rural Library Service Grant is received by Parkland to be dispersed directly to member libraries throughout the region.

Expenses

Sustainability

Income

* Percentages have been rounded.

Statement of Financial Position as of December 31, 2012 (Audited)

December 31,2012Financial AssetsCash and guaranteed investment certificates $ 989,179Accounts Receivable 12,707Long-term investments 659,720Grant receivable -

1,661,606LiabilitiesCurrent LiabilitiesAccounts payable and accruals 105,327Deferred revenue 28,957Book allotment 119,882

254,166Net Financial Assets 1,407,440Non-Financial AssetsTangible capital assets 777,042Prepaid expenses 64,171Inventory for consumption 18,934Accumulated remeasurement gain on long-term investments

(39,646)

820,501Accumulated Surplus $ 2,227,941

Parkland recieved a clean audit report by Collins Barrow for 2012.

13

Finances

Outlook for 2013

Our vision for Parkland Regional Library is being a leader for its members to achieve excellence in library service.

Our goals for 2013-2015 Strategic Plan are:

TrainingProviding training that will aid in the delivery of excellent library service throughout the region.

Advocacy & MarketingAdvocating and aiding in the marketing efforts of both member libraries and Parkland headquarters.

TechnologyEnhancing & standardizing the technology infrastructure of Parkland and its member libraries.

Access to ResourcesMaximizing access to library resources and where possible ensuring they meet community needs.

SustainabilityEnsuring that Parkland Regional Library is a sustainable organization able to maintain efficient services and programs for its member libraries.

We also hope to further province-wide resource sharing.

14

Our membership grew in 2012, due to the dissolution of the village of New Norway, located 22 kilometers southwest of Camrose in Camrose County.

At the time of dissolution, New Norway’s population was just over 280. Since it was not previously a member of the PRL system, its residents gained access to our library services when its population was absorbed into Camrose County.

PRL is happy to report that we serve the majority of the region’s population with the exception of six municipalities with a combined population under 1,000 people and the city of Red Deer.

Our annual report is published by:Parkland Regional Library’s

Communications Department

Questions or comments can be directed to communications@prl.ab.ca

Staff

Membership

Back row: Tim Spark, Norma-Jean Colquhoun, Jana-Lee Patton, Tabby Bennedbaek, Colleen Schalm, Marquita Bevens, Steven Dobrowolski, Karyn Goodwillie, Alida Burnard, Joanne Mokry, Donna Williams, Mike McNulty. Front Row: Wendy Crews, Margo Vandaelle, Judy Dubas, Lindsay McFarlane, Victoria Papst, Sandy Bilik, Debby Sutherland, Margaret Wedman, Doris Green. Not pictured: Anna Alexander, Susan Grieshaber-Otto, Lauralee Gilmour, Chris Gregory, Rob Penrice, Ron Sheppard, Albert Tataryn, Wayne Wedman, and Forres Werner.

5404 56 AvenueLacombe, AB T4L 1G1

Telephone: 403-782-3850www.prl.ab.ca

Providing exceptional library service to 50 public and 35 school libraries for over 200,000 residents in central Alberta