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| Archived Events –
2007
Saturday November 17, 3:00 p.m., 2007
Annual General Meeting of the Friends will be held at the Unitarian Centre, College & Angus
Tuesday May 8, 12:15 p.m., 2007 Committee Room #1, 15th Floor, City Hall Finance and Administration Committee, will discuss the future of the City Archives. (If possible, arrive a few minutes earlier to fill out a delegation form to make a presentation. For information call 777-7262.) Agenda & report re City Archives posted at http://www.regina.ca/ meetings.php3 Click Here for more information. 2007 RPL Customer Centred Library Presentations Monday, May 14, 9:00-11:00 a.m. Monday, May 14, 1:00-3:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 15, 9:00-11:00 a.m. Tuesday, May 15, 7:00-9:00 p.m. Wednesday, May 16, 9:00-11:00 a.m. The Film Theatre, Central Library, 2311 – 12th Avenue Click Here for more information. Thursday May 17, 7:30 – Copper Kettle Restaurant, 1953 Scarth Street Friends of Regina Public Library – General Membership Meeting - Open to the public Wednesday May 23, 12:00 Noon, 2007 Deadline for submissions to RPL board meeting of May 29th. Friday May 25 to Sunday May 27, 2007 – at The Mackenzie Art Gallery and the RPL Film Theatre The Mackenzie Art Gallery and the Dunlop Art Gallery present “The Ordinary Amazing Symposium: The Cultural Value of Modernist Architecture”, including discussion of Central Library. Click Here for more information. Saturday May 26th, 2007, 13th Avenue West of Albert Street FRPL table at Cathedral Village Arts Festival. Tuesday May 29, 2007, 4:30 PM, Boardroom, Second Floor, Central Branch. RPL Board meeting Sunday June 17, 2007 at Midnight Deadline to purchase RPL Home Lottery tickets for June 20 draw date. Phone: 359-7323 (READ) 2007's Events View our events from 2007 Contact FRPL Mail: FRPL, 2208 Rae Street, Regina, Saskatchewan, S4T 2E9 Telephone: (306) 790-8528 Email: This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it |
ARCHIVE The following information (including event sidebar) is made available as an archive of past events for the organization from 2007. On April 17th FRPL made a presentation to City Council about the RPL budget. (Download a pdf copy of our presentation to City Hall.) City Council approved the 4.9% increase in the Regina Public Library mill rate. This could translate into approximately $500,000. (Download a copy of the RPL Board presentation and of the RPL Budget.) Including this year’s proposed change, the average mill rate increase over the last ten years is only 1.87% since there were several years in which there was no increase. The City of Regina increased its mill rate by 3.9%. The City 10-year average rate of increase is 1.66%. (See page 25 of the City’s General Operating Revenue budget for 2007: City of Regina 2007 Operating Budget) 100 YEARS OF SERVICE - REGINA PUBLIC LIBRARY for Word Document, click here In commemoration of the Regina Public Library’s 100-year anniversary, the Friends of the RPL are proposing to do a history project. The project will include oral histories of past librarians, essays by library staff and library supporters, archival documents and photos. Come back to our website to find out more about the RPL history project and see how you can be involved. The library plays a prominent role in our communities and in our lives. Most of us have fond memories of visiting the library in our youth, either with family, friends or on our own. The library is one of the central places that children can go to learn a love of books and learning. Libraries help to build strong individuals, strong families and strong communities. In Regina, the first thing the citizens of Regina did was to present a petition to the Regina City Council asking that a free public library be established. The bylaw was passed January 17, 1908. Over the past hundred years the Regina Public Library has benefited from the generous support of citizens, of politicians and business people who recognize that building a strong library system was the cornerstone of a progressive community. The staff and board of the Regina Public Library built a library system that is recognized across Canada for its innovative programming. In 1974 the Library Board approved a Policy Statement which stated that the Library's objective was, "to provide education, information, research, aesthetic appreciation and recreation for the entire community”. This attitude towards supporting learning and enrichment through many disciplines led the Library to include a film theatre, art gallery, and history room in its programming as well as extensive book, magazine and video collections. At one point the Globe Theater even found its home in the Regina Public Library! Unfortunately the later years of the Regina Public Library saw a gradual decrease in political support for the library. The last decade was one of uncertainty as several consecutive Library Boards chose not to ask for increases in the mill rate that would have allowed the Regina Public Library to keep up with inflation and ensure adequate resources for building maintenance and repairs. This situation led to the announcement on November 26, 2003 that the Library Board would have to close the Prince of Wales Branch, Connaught Branch and Glen Elm Branch as well as the Dunlop Art Gallery and the Prairie History Room. The community reacted immediately by forming the Friends of the Regina Public Library to oppose the closures, resulting in a petition of 26,000 signatures being presented to City Council on March 5, 2004. As a result the closures were rescinded and the Library Board, under the direction of City Council, launched a task force to examine the options. FRPL also launched its own Task Force. The Friends of the Dunlop (FODAG) also formed and worked together with FRPL to hold events, create public dialogue, draw attention to the issues and suggest alternatives to closures. (For more information about the history link to FRPL Archives – Media Releases and Coverage - click here. For more information about FODAG click here. After further protests extensive media coverage and changes to the Library Board, the decision to close the Branches, the Prairie History Room and the Dunlop Art Gallery. Although the Friends of RPL, FODAG and other community groups and individuals were successful in stopping the closures in 2004, we remain concerned that the Provincial government has not increased funding for public libraries and Regina City Council has not made the renewal of Central Library a priority. Given the current climate of tax aversion among many politicians and lobby groups, as well as a portion of the citizens, we need to ensure that options for funding the RPL are sustainable and reasonable. We believe that libraries, like schools and hospitals, are necessary to creating a community. The Regina Public Library’s budget for the upcoming year will go to City Council by March 15, with a request to the City to either leave the mill rate as it is or approve a specific increase. At last year’s RPL budget presentation to City Council, several councilors indicated that they would not support a mill rate increase in the future. We will have to see whether the Library Board was influenced by this threat from the Council or if they ask for another increase. In the opinion of FRPL, the Regina Public Library has suffered from the many years of underfunding due to the reluctance of previous library boards to request sufficient funds to keep up with inflation and to cover the costs of building and equipment maintenance and repair. The RPL board has asked for an increase each of the past three years. We hope that they will ask for a mill rate increase again this year to ensure that funding levels are adequate to meet the needs of a growing population in Regina and to make needed investments in the Library’s infrastructure. Regina Public Library Mill Rate Requests 1998 - 2008 Year Mill Rate Requested 1998 0% 1999 1.9% 2000 1.0% 2001 0% 2002 1.5% 2003 3.5% 2004 0% 2005 3.0% 2006 2.92% 2007 4.9% 2008 ? From City of Regina 2007 Operating Budget page 25 The Lottery has raised around $37,000 in its first year in 2006 and about $130,000 in 2007. The RPL Board says it anticipates a continuing increase in the amount earned from this fund-raiser to a maximum of $300,000 per year. RPL has recently hired two new staff to work in fund-raising and marketing the library programs and planning for the Library Centennial. The federal government seems to be stalling on its plans for providing infrastructure money - the criteria for the federal government's Building Canada fund are still unclear. City Councilor Fred Clipsham has worked with the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and the FCM is now advocating having libraries eligible to receive federal infrastructure money. Over the last year the RPL Board has been providing more information from its monthly meetings as part of the minutes on its website. FRPL continues to see the need for more open communication by the RPL Board. This should be encouraged to make information about the Library and its decision-making around use of public funds more readily available and have more openness and discussion in Library Board meetings. An additional issue for FRPL is that the Library Board did not release its budget last year in advance of the City Council presentation. As a result, FRPL were not able to comment on the budget details. At the City Council meeting last year, the Library Director and Board Chair promised City Council that they would release the budget ahead of the Council meeting for the 2008 year. In early April, City Council will vote on whether to approve the mill rate recommended by the RPL Board. (City Council does not approve or disapprove of the budget, just the mill rate.) (For information about last year’s budget click here FRPL will be giving a presentation to City Council about the Library budget in April. Please attend this meeting to show your support! There are concerns that although Regina is supposed to be in a boom situation, there will be pressure on City departments and a spillover to the Regina Public Library to reduce or not increase its budget. It isn’t clear what progress the Library Board has made in carrying out its 5 year Strategic Plan – “A New Direction – Setting the Course to 2010” (click here) Discussions are continuing around options for moving the Albert Library from its current building and co-locating with other community and health locations. The Library board has also held discussions with the community around a possible expansion or relocation of the Prince of Wales Library. The Library has been providing new services to be more innovative and keep abreast of technological developments, such as e-Library services, blogs, and the virtual classroom. A Program and Services Review was done this year. The report was to be completed in January 2008 and will be reflected in the new budget. Recent News The library's audited statements were on the City Council agenda for Monday's April 30th 2007. To download a copy, click here http://www.regina.ca/pdfs/meeting_agenda/2007_CP07-9_CP07-9.pdf As a result of budget cuts to the City Manager’s Office, access to the City's archives, including the RPL historical photo collection, will be restricted. The City is proposing to eliminate the City Archivist position and public service will be reduced to viewing the archives by appointment only. The Finance and Administration Committee will make decisions on this plan on May 8th. Individuals may attend this meeting and make a presentation. Concerns about the cuts should also be expressed to the Mayor and Councillors. Find out more on our News page. Discussions are being held with Library staff and the local community concerning relocating the Prince of Wales Library. Options for a new location of the Albert Branch are also being considered. Both Libraries are looking at co-location with other community-based services. Plans are proceeding to set up an Advisory Committee for the Dunlop Art Gallery. This Committee will consist of members of the public appointed by the Friends of the Dunlop. The Committee will regularly consult with the Director of the Dunlop Art Gallery and may also consult with the RPL Board and RPL Director as necessary. This past spring, RPL told us they would be holding public discussions about the future plans for the Libraries. |
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