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COVID-19 Updates: Taking steps to return to normal.
Facts and statistics about library use and funding in Alberta.
The statistics are a result of the compilation of the data from the Annual Report as completed by Alberta's library boards.
In 2018:
In 2018:
In the 5-year period between 2013 and 2018:
In 2018:
Source: Public Library Statistics, 2018, Public Library Services Branch (PLSB).
The role of the provincial government in public library service delivery is to:
The provincial government, through the PLSB, provides monetary support in a variety of ways.
The primary means by which the provincial government supports public library service is through annual operating grants to library boards.
In 2018, provincial grants from PLSB to municipal and system library boards totalled $30,132,755 ($21,398,524 to municipal library boards and $8,734,231 to system library boards). This support equals $7.19 per capita served.
For more information, see public library statistics.
The provincial government also provides network support to enable provincewide sharing of public library resources. Public library network support provided by PLSB totalled $4,841,109 in 2018. This included:
In 2018, total provincial support for public library service (as provided by PLSB) totalled $34,973,864 or $8.34 per capita served.
In Alberta, the municipality is one of the foundations for public library service delivery, along with the library board and the province.
In order to fulfil its role, the province is reliant on a robust municipal base upon which to layer its support.
The following resources demonstrate the strong support Alberta's library boards receive from their municipalities.
In 2018, local appropriation provided by municipalities to local library boards totalled $162,507,516. This accounted for 77.2% of all revenue generated for public library service.
In addition to providing monetary support to the local board, most municipalities in Alberta (308) also participate in regional library systems, which leverage the power of cooperation to greatly enhance local public library service delivery.
In 2018, municipalities contributed $10,787,785 for library system service.
In 2018, municipalities provided:
This amounts to a total of $173,295,301 in municipal operating support for public library service in Alberta, providing a solid foundation upon which the provincial government can layer its support.
Local appropriation is the amount of monetary support a municipality allocates to its municipal library board in operating funds for delivery of public library service in the municipality (which often entails the operation of the municipal library). It can take 2 forms:
Local appropriation per capita is the local appropriation (as defined above) divided by the current population of the municipality served by the library board (as delineated in the Municipal population lists).
This figure allows for the comparison of relative support across different population sizes. A board in a smaller centre can compare the support it receives from its municipality to boards in larger centres.
In 2018, the provincial local appropriation per capita was $42.48 (total local appropriation given to all municipal library boards divided by the total population served by all municipal library boards).
Each year we also recognize those municipalities that provide the greatest level of support to their local library board.
This 'top thirty' list contains municipalities of all sizes, demonstrating that you don't have to be big to do great things.
A corresponding list of "all stars" highlights those municipalities that provide strong, consistent support over time.
For more information, see public library statistics.
Connect with the Public Library Services Branch:
Phone: 780-427-4871
Toll free: 310-0000 before the phone number (in Alberta)
Email: [email protected]
Address:
17th Floor, Commerce Place
10155 102 Street
Edmonton, Alberta T5J 4L4
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