Ottawa Public Library joins initiative to study the impact of public libraries

Ottawa Public Library is part of a nationwide initiative by the Canadian Urban Libraries Council (CULC) to better understand the role of urban libraries in their communities and the impact and value of libraries for the entire country.

Inspired by pioneering work at Toronto Public Library, more than 20 urban libraries are now coming together in a new study to understand and improve the ways in which we support our communities. This study is the first of its kind being conducted at a national scale.

The social impact study moves beyond traditional economic reporting metrics such as the number of visits or books borrowed, focusing instead on capturing how public libraries provide emotional, intellectual, creative, and social value.

The insights from this project will enable us to have new and exciting conversations about the importance of public libraries to our local communities – and to society at large. The results of the study will support national and regional conversations about the importance of public libraries to local communities and to Canada as a whole.

Over the coming months, the project will be collecting a comprehensive quantitative dataset, supplemented by deep-dive interviews into the experiences of individual library patrons. The survey portion of the study will launch in May 2025 and is expected to conclude by July 2025.

By combining a nationally representative survey with data collected from patrons at each individual library, the study will uncover perspectives from both current library clients and potential future clients.

At Ottawa Public Library, we will soon be inviting 4,000 clients to make their voice heard by participating in the survey. Clients will receive an invitation by email.

The national initiative is led by CULC, and the study is carried out by the research consortium IS IT A BIRD / It depends. The 23 partner libraries include:

  • Bibliothèques Montréal
  • Burlington Public Library
  • Calgary Public Library
  • Edmonton Public Library
  • Halifax Public Libraries
  • Hamilton Public Library
  • Kingston Frontenac Public Library
  • Kitchener Public Library
  • Lethbridge Public Library
  • London Public Library
  • Mississauga Library System
  • Oshawa Public Libraries
  • Ottawa Public Library
  • Red Deer Public Library
  • Regina Public Library
  • Saskatoon Public Library
  • Surrey Libraries
  • Vancouver Island Regional Library
  • Vancouver Public Library
  • Vaughan Public Libraries
  • Waterloo Public Library
  • Whitby Public Library
  • Winnipeg Public Library

For questions, please contact InfoService by phone at 613-580-2940, by email at infoservice@biblioottawalibrary.ca , or visit our website at biblioottawalibrary.ca.

Brought to you by Canadian Urban Libraries Council / Conseil des Bibliothèques Urbaines du Canada 

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