Update from our Executive Director
Dear members and subscribers,
I hope that this newsletter finds you all well! First off, I want to thank you for your recent support as we navigated the security breach in mid-April. On behalf of the entire co-op, I extend our apologies for the leak, and we thank you for the measures taken on your end, helping to limit the negative impact for all involved.
Thankfully, the risk from the leaked data was low overall, and we were able to quickly address the issue. We are reviewing our security processes and protocols in response to this incident. There are a lot of projects on the go at the co-op as you will see in the newsletter, a couple of highlights from me:
National Network for Equitable Library Service
Federal funding for NNELS ended on March 31st, 2024, but bridge funding and funding from our provincial partners were made available to continue our work until funding from the new Equitable Access to Reading Program (EARP) is rolled out. The EARP application is due mid-June, with successful applicants expected to be able to begin work funded through the new program by November of this year. Staff are busy working on our application to the new program.
Team Update
Kathrin Kilburn (she/her) joined us in February as our Communications and Member Engagement Coordinator. She previously worked with Modo, a large carsharing co-op in BC. Kathrin helped coordinate our first in-person staff retreat since 2019 and attended her first provincial library conference in April. She is developing a new member engagement strategy based on last year’s member engagement report.
We also welcomed Megan Sellmer (she/her) as the new Outreach Coordinator at NNELS. She oversees building relationships, providing outreach support to BC public libraries, and promoting NNELS services. An internal hire, Megan was previously involved in the Public Library Accessibility Resource Centre (PLARC) project, co-led by the Centre for Equitable Library Access (CELA) and NNELS, in partnership with eBOUND. She was also responsible for digital literacy projects at NNELS, such as the tutorials on how to use NNELS with VoiceOver (an iOS screen reader) and the using accessible fonts in document resources.
Advocacy
Through the BC Public Library Partners, we continue to advocate for a permanent increase in provincial funding to public libraries. Through the spring the Partners have met with Provincial Ministers, Parliamentary Secretaries and senior staff to discuss the important role that public libraries play in communities across BC. After the October BC election, the Partners will seek meetings with the new Ministers and staff to continue to press for a permanent lift to sectoral funding.
Accessibility
We continue to work with the Public Library Accessibility Working Group, to support public libraries in BC on their accessibility journeys in line with the province’s Accessible BC Act. We are currently waiting for word from the funder of the PLAWG’s work, the Disability Alliance of BC, on approval for a second stage of support for libraries in regard to this work. Once we have confirmation from the funder, we will be able to share more information out on what this work could look like.
AGM Reminder
A reminder that our virtual AGM is coming up on June 20th, from 10am-12pm PST. We hope to see all of you there.
That’s it from me, we hope you enjoy the newsletter!
Sincerely,
Kevin Millsip
E.D., BC Libraries Co-op
