I cannot agree with Mr. Friedman’s view that the library houses a “tired collection.” (“If island can afford library shell, can it pay for better contents?” Oct. 21 In Response piece.)

It may be that materials are tired, because they circulate so often, but certainly not because they lack currency or popularity, as he states. Each year the library adds thousands of print volumes and is also building a very popular audio book and DVD collection. The children’s and teen collections have grown enormously in the last several years in a conscious effort to create a library collection to meet community needs.

In 2008 the library had a total circulation of 134,944 items and had roughly 2,020 in-person visits per week. Circulation per capita averages 14 — a very respectable number when you consider this ranks Salt Spring as the ninth highest per capita circulation in the province out of a total of 71 public libraries. In addition, the library has a culling program that regularly weeds unused or outdated items from its collections.

Book selections are made by committees comprised of community members and result in a library collection that has a high level of community involvement and relevance. In 2007 our library was ranked the fifth lowest in the province in expenditure per capita — yet we added more books to our library than many other libraries our size. We managed this efficient use of funds in part because of our high reliance on a large group of dedicated volunteers — which we plan to continue to rely on in our new building.

The interlibrary loan services which Mr. Friedman laments is one of the most popular services offered. Not only does it serve book clubs that want multiple copies of a title but also offers quick and efficient access to millions of titles throughout the province for any member of the community. In 2008 approximately 2308 interlibrary loan requests were made and of these 1,732 or 75 per cent were successfully filled. 

As to the library’s reference collection, Mr. Friedman would be aware that the introduction of the internet and electronic materials generally has made the need for a large print reference collection redundant in most small public libraries. The essential materials continue to be available in print and as always we are open to suggestions for purchase if a need is identified.

The Salt Spring Public Library operates under the Library Act (Bill 12) and is regulated financially and in respect to its governance under this Act. Currently the Ministry of Education is designated to oversee public libraries in the province through the Public Library Services Branch.

Having brought over 30 years of library experience and a Masters in Library Science to my position as chief librarian I can testify to the professional library standards under which the library operates. Our library provides exemplary service at a very reasonable cost and is committed to continuing to do so in the future. Among the many services are story times, summer reading clubs, services to the print impaired and the homebound, access to electronic databases, audio books and e-books, computer internet and Wi-Fi access and of course wonderful collections of print materials.

Please come to visit us if you aren’t already aware of all we do or visit our website at http://saltspring.bclibrary.ca for more information on our services.

BRIGITTE

PETER-CHERNEFF,

Salt Spring chief librarian