Grace Brown was a toddler on a mission at Greater Victoria Public Library’s Esquimalt branch on Tuesday afternoon, excitedly flipping through a batch of CD-and-book reading kits.
Her favourite, it appeared, was Good Night Moon, Margaret Wise Brown’s children’s bedtime classic. “She really liked it, so we will try it for tonight,” said the two-year-old girl’s mother, Anne, who comes twice a week to the branch.
“My mother language is Korean, so she can learn English and me as well,” she said.
“We can borrow movies and newspapers and cooking books, as well, so it’s really wonderful for us and our family.”
The mother and daughter are among the 200,070 cardholders whose enthusiasm for Greater Victoria’s public library system was noted in the Victoria Foundation’s 11th annual Vital Signs survey.
In 2014, the GVPL had the highest circulation per capita in Canada at 19.45, compared with the national average of 11.03, according to the Canadian Urban Libraries Council. It also had the second-highest number of visits per capita, at 7.88, that year. The national average was 6.06.
According to GVPL figures, the door count at its branches in 2014 was 2,512,237, while there were 3,812,327 “virtual visits,” reflecting the library system’s rapid online expansion.
The kind of action seen at the Esquimalt branch on Tuesday doesn’t surprise Maureen Sawa, CEO of the library system, which has 11 branches from Langford to Central Saanich.
“One of the first ways children learn to understand the world is through reading and storytelling. It expands their perspective, and it supports different points of view that naturally occur in healthy neighbourhoods,” said Sawa, who is attending the Canadian Urban Libraries Council Conference in Halifax.
“It helps prepare them to become engaged members of their communities as they become adults and form their own families and connections.”
Residents of the capital region are avid readers, she said, adding the library has proven to be a place where connections naturally occur.
“A sense of belonging begins with empathy and interest for our neighbours,” said Sawa, who point outs that 8,000 children in Greater Victoria participated in the library’s Summer Reading Club this year. “Fostering a sense of belonging is critical for young people.”
Deputy CEO Lynne Jordon said the high attendance and circulation numbers can be attributed to the range of services and programs the library system offers for free.
In addition to traditional book-borrowing, there’s the Victoria Seed Library, an ever-expanding catalogue of DVDs, Blu-Rays and online films, classic TV shows and web series through InstantFlix, free computer and Internet courses, and a multitude of family offerings.
“Our strength is our diversity. We appeal to a large group of people,” Jordon said. “We don’t make up those numbers. They are real.”
One particularly popular service is Library PressDisplay, said Daphne Wood, the GVPL’s director of communications and development.
Full-colour images of newspapers from around the world are available digitally, with the option to listen to articles, magnify print size, download, save and share.
“You can access newspapers from [100 countries] around the world in [more than 60] different languages,” Wood said, adding that the service allows newcomers to Canada to maintain connections to other countries.
The GVPL plan for the next five years emphasizes a four-pronged approach of creating, engaging, inspiring and leading.
Goals include developing community-inspired branch plans, cultivating the development of 21st-century skills “to bridge the digital divide,” and investing in new ways to expand the library’s reach.
The library is also eyeing a new branch in James Bay. A community survey conducted last year showed support for a 7,500-square-foot neighbourhood branch with community meeting space in the Capital Park development at Menzies and Superior streets. The city has the option to lease space for library purposes.
