Decisions on library funding on hold for now

Apr 4, 2023 | 2:25 PM Liam Verster

The Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) needs more time to decide how to distribute provincial funding to individual branches.

On Friday, March 31, the B.C. government announced an investment of nearly $1.7-million for the ORL which runs 30 library branches, ranging in size from quite large like the ones in Vernon and downtown Kelowna, to smaller sites in Cherryville and Sicamous

The ORL knew that grants were going to be distributed to libraries, and did have some preliminary discussions on how to use the money, but did not make any specific decisions for individual libraries as they did not know how much they were going to receive until the announcement.

“The discussions that we had mostly revolved around things that would benefit the system in itself,” Michal Utko, director of marketing and communication for ORL, told Vernon Matters.

“So bolstering some of our resources and potential ways to how we handle programming and things like that, but nothing really specific to individual branches or any specific communities at this point.”

Discussion relating to specific funding allocations remain ongoing, as ORL still hasn’t officially received the funds, and a formal timeline has yet to be set for making final decisions.

“That’s partially because the province came back to us and didn’t really identify any sort of reporting timeline, so it gives us a little bit more freedom to think about the potential benefits of this money and how we’re going to spend it and making sure we’re responsible with it and we provide the biggest impact to the community possible with it,” Utko explained.

The local funds were part of a total of $45-million being distributed to support 71 libraries and library partners across the province to improve service delivery.

“It was a really exciting thing for us to hear that the province was going to be investing in all the libraries in the province,” Utko noted.

“The fact that it’s $45-million is a really amazing number, the fact that we’re getting $1.7-million is a huge boost to our system. I’m really excited to see the impact that it’s going to have to the communities like Vernon or Kelowna or Cherryville. We will stretch this money as much, and as far, as we can and we’re going to make some really cool things with it.”

The funds can be used for a range of operation and service delivery priorities such as upgrading technologies, extending hours, enhancing digital collections, and improving access to literacy and learning opportunities.