Written by Peter McIntyre 107.5 KISSFM Thursday, 18 October 2012 16:11
Okanagan taxpayers will be paying more for library services. The Okanagan Regional Library board has approved a 16.6 million dollar budget for 2013, which increases spending by more than a half million dollars. ($538, 103) Executive director Lesley Dieno says it covers growing costs for buildings and staff, plus an additional $130,000 to provide both digital and print copies of magazines and books. A new Internet technician position will be added, plus $10,000 for staff technology training, which Dieno says is becoming very important for staff at all levels. Dieno says reserve funds will be used for a number of projects in 2013, including replacing the library's telephone system, and replacing the library's circulation and cataloguing software. "Funding from the board's Strategic Planning Reserve fund included additional outreach hours for small branches in the library system. Most branch staff are tied to the physical branch, but research for the library board's strategic plan showed that residents of rural communities wanted their library branches to have stronger connections with their local community, so some community time is being added," says Dieno. The board also approved up to $25,000 for a consultant to work with staff on the redesign of Kelowna Branch, to make the branch more comfortable for library users. Property taxes in municipalities and rural areas within the four regional districts of Central Okanagan, North Okanagan, Columbia Shuswap, and Okanagan-Similkameen will fund approximately 85% of the ORL's cost. The library serves just over 370,000 residents.
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