Library Board approves 0.4% increase to budget request

‘Modest increase balances sustainability with growing customer demand’

By Melanie Boatswain-Watson –

After a lengthy and thorough debate, the Toronto Public Library Board approved a modest 0.4% increase in its 2013 operating budget request at its meeting Monday night.

The Board approved a $165.17 million operating budget request for 2013 which represents a 0.4% or $680,000 increase over 2012. The increase is comprised of inflationary pressures of $2.73 million or a 1.7% increase, offset by savings found through additional revenues, efficiencies and other savings totaling $2.30 million or a 1.4% decrease. The Board also voted to increase open hours at seven district branches and the Toronto Reference Library totaling 1,794 hours per year for a cost of $250,000 or a 0.1% increase.

“The budget we are putting forward takes a balanced approach to maintaining the library’s and the City’s long-term financial sustainability while addressing the ongoing needs of our customers,” said Library Board Chair Paul Ainslie.  “New efficiency and revenue-generating initiatives have enabled us to come very close to meeting City budget targets, and a very modest increase will allow the library to expand and standardize hours at our biggest and busiest branches, having the greatest positive impact on the largest number of people.”

The proposed increase to open hours would see a total of 1,794 hours added per year to seven district branches (Albert Campbell, Albion, Barbara Frum, Brentwood, Don Mills, Maria A. Shchuka and York Woods) and to the Toronto Reference Library, bringing them all to 69 hours per week, including Sundays. These additional hours would standardize schedules and improve equity of access to library service across the city. These large, busy branches offer the largest collections and the most service to users, and they are geographically distributed across the city.

The library operating budget will now be considered by the City’s Budget Committee and Executive Committee, and will be approved by City Council in January.

Toronto Public Library is the world’s busiest urban public library systems. Every year, more than 19 million people visit our branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow over 33 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131. To get the most current updates on what’s happening at the library, follow us on Twitter @torontolibrary.