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TORONTO (April 30, 2013) – The Toronto Public Library Board met last
night at the Toronto Reference Library. A summary of key topics discussed
follows.

Circulation and Collection Use

The
Board regularly reviews the Circulation and Collection Use policy and
accompanying fines schedule to ensure that they are reasonable, effective and in
line with nearby library systems and other large urban Canadian public
libraries.

At last
night’s meeting, the Board approved some changes and requested that staff track
trends in circulation of all materials and fine revenues.

The
Board approved recommended changes to the Circulation and Use Policy,
including:

• Simplifying
  reasons for suspending borrower privileges
• Increasing
  Best Bets (new and popular titles) loan period to three weeks
• Increasing
  the number of items customers in temporary housing or shelters can borrow to
  improve access to library services
• Introducing
  a $1.00 fee for interlibrary loans that are not picked up.

Library staff will report back to the Board’s budget
committee on the impact of these changes in six months. 

E-book Advocacy

Despite
significantly increased use of and demand for e-content, public libraries face
challenges in terms of being able to purchase content from publishers, as well
as making that content readily discoverable through their websites. The Board
continues to advocate for increased library access to e-books and is preparing
a strategy to raise public awareness of these challenges.  

2012
Performance Measures and Strategic Plan Update

This year’s report states that
overall library usage decreased in 2012, compared to 2011, largely due to the
11-day closure of all branches as a result of a labour disruption. Within the
context of the last 10 years, 2012 was the third busiest year and the busiest
years were from 2010 to 2012, reflecting a trend toward increasing library
usage.

The most significant trend in
library activity in 2012 was a 105.1% increase in e-titles, including e-books,
and e-audiobooks. This increase reflects increased demand and availability of
e-titles, a trend that is expected to increase. Visits to the library’s website
increased by10.9% and searches increased by 9% as more content is available
exclusively online.

From 2008 to 2012, circulation
increased 7.5% and visits increased 16.7%. People visit library branches for
more than browsing materials, although this continues to be a popular activity.
People use computers and wireless, access study and
community space, work, network and attend programs and community events.

Operating
Budget Monitoring Report

The Board received a summary of
gross and net operating expenditures for 2012. As of December 31, 2012, Toronto
Public Library had a favourable net expenditure variance of $5.581 million,
consisting of a favourable expenditure variance of $4.211 million and a favorable
revenue variance of $1.370 million.

The annual surplus is mainly due to
staffing cost savings of $3.5 million from the March 2012 labour disruption and
additional savings resulting from the implementation of the Voluntary
Separation Program.

As of March 31, 2013 the Library
reports a favourable net variance of $0.351 million. The Board requested that
staff explore options for spending potential surpluses from savings and
efficiencies identified in the report, including improving e-book access.

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Media contact:

Ana-Maria Critchley, 416-393-7212, media@torontopubliclibrary.ca