Latest news with #NLPL
CBC
11-05-2025
- Business
- CBC
Budget boost to N.L. libraries a welcomed surprise, says director, but questions linger
Public libraries across Newfoundland and Labrador got a surprise in this year's provincial budget — an extra $500,000 added to the funding. The province earmarked $13.5 million in April's budget announcement for the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board, a Crown corporation established under the Public Libraries Act to oversee the operation of public library services in the province. The budget has not yet passed in the House of Assembly. "It was very good news for us. We're very pleased to see it," said Fred Whitmarsh, director of library operations with Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL). However, Whitmarsh says there's some uncertainty around the money. "We're still in the process of parsing it out because one of the things that's unknown … is this a permanent boost to the funding or is it one time money?" he said. Some of that funding could go toward facility maintenance and improving accessibility in libraries across the province, Whitmarsh said, as well as updating servers so they run smoothly. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries put a pause on late fees. Whitmarsh said he'd like to see that become permanent. "The big thing for us is our collections, whether it's the physical collections on the shelves and the branches or some of the digital resources as well," he said. He said books are becoming more expensive, so libraries are being strategic in what they acquire, and he doesn't know why the government decided to increase the budget this year. "My personal perspective is that the library is wonderful, it's great. We can do great things with the funding," he said. According to a briefing note prepared for government officials, released via an access-to-information request in 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries saw a jump in clients using Libby, the library system that lets patrons access e-books and audiobooks, in recent years. Whitmarsh says the increase in people using the online services hasn't gone down. "You can't put that genie back in the bottle," he said. "We've seen a continued demand for those online services." In an email, Department of Education spokesperson Lynn Robinson told CBC News the budget increase is in recognition of the vital work libraries carry out. "Library staff and volunteers work diligently to support public library services and programming throughout Newfoundland and Labrador," Robinson wrote. "Funding for the [Provincial Information and Library Resources Board] supports the operation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library system and fosters improved literacy in our province." NLPL was established in 1935 and provides public library services through a network of 94 locations across the province.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Budget boost to N.L. libraries a welcomed surprise, says director, but questions linger
Public libraries across Newfoundland and Labrador got a surprise in this year's provincial budget — an extra $500,000 added to the funding. The province earmarked $13.5 million in April's budget announcement for the Provincial Information and Library Resources Board, a Crown corporation established under the Public Libraries Act to oversee the operation of public library services in the province. The budget has not yet passed in the House of Assembly. "It was very good news for us. We're very pleased to see it," said Fred Whitmarsh, director of library operations with Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL). However, Whitmarsh says there's some uncertainty around the money. "We're still in the process of parsing it out because one of the things that's unknown … is this a permanent boost to the funding or is it one time money?" he said. Some of that funding could go toward facility maintenance and improving accessibility in libraries across the province, Whitmarsh said, as well as updating servers so they run smoothly. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, libraries put a pause on late fees. Whitmarsh said he'd like to see that become permanent. "The big thing for us is our collections, whether it's the physical collections on the shelves and the branches or some of the digital resources as well," he said. He said books are becoming more expensive, so libraries are being strategic in what they acquire, and he doesn't know why the government decided to increase the budget this year. "My personal perspective is that the library is wonderful, it's great. We can do great things with the funding," he said. According to a briefing note prepared for government officials, released via an access-to-information request in 2023, Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries saw a jump in clients using Libby, the library system that lets patrons access e-books and audiobooks, in recent years. Whitmarsh says the increase in people using the online services hasn't gone down. "You can't put that genie back in the bottle," he said. "We've seen a continued demand for those online services." In an email, Department of Education spokesperson Lynn Robinson told CBC News the budget increase is in recognition of the vital work libraries carry out. "Library staff and volunteers work diligently to support public library services and programming throughout Newfoundland and Labrador," Robinson wrote. "Funding for the [Provincial Information and Library Resources Board] supports the operation of the Newfoundland and Labrador Public Library system and fosters improved literacy in our province." NLPL was established in 1935 and provides public library services through a network of 94 locations across the province. Download our free CBC News app to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Click here to visit our landing page.
CBC
28-02-2025
- Business
- CBC
N.L.'s public libraries are ditching X, while other groups weigh pros and cons of Musk-owned platform
As organizations consider leaving a controversial social media platform owned by Elon Musk, Newfoundland and Labrador Public Libraries (NLPL) is making the move as of March 1. On Wednesday, the organization announced it was leaving X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, but would remain on Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook. "As an organization, we no longer felt that it was a good fit for us," director of library operations Fred Whitmarsh told CBC Radio's The St. John's Morning Show. There are a number of reasons behind the decision to leave X, he said, pointing to how the discourse on the platform has shifted and the drop off of user engagement the library has seen on its account. For several years, he said the number of followers on NLPL's account hovered around 4,000, but in recent weeks it has dropped. When the library posted its decision to leave X on that platform, he said they got 20 comments and shares as opposed to the same announcement on Facebook, which got more 100 comments and shares. "As a community organization, we need to be where the community is," said Whitmarsh. He said that level of engagement, compared to other platforms like Instagram, has helped the library determine where they could put their focus on. "We're a lean organization. We don't have staff who are exclusively dedicated to social media and communications. These are other library staff who are doing this work in addition to their other assigned duties," Whitmarsh said. City considering leaving X The platform launched in 2012 and was bought by Elon Musk in 2022, who renamed it X soon after. Musk is now a member of U.S. President Donald Trump's inner circle and is accused of giving two Nazi salutes at the presidential inauguration in January. In recent months other government bodies and organizations have either left X or are considering it. St. John's Deputy Mayor Sheilagh O'Leary brought forward a motion to council on Tuesday, asking them to look into closing the city's X account. "It has become a vessel certainly of vitriol," she told CBC News in a recent interview. CBC News recently asked the provincial government if it was considering shuttering its multiple X accounts. Executive council spokesperson David Sorensen said it was a vital way to get information to the public. When asked if he was planning to move away from X, Premier Andrew Furey gave a broad warning. "I urge everybody, when making their decisions on what media platforms to use, what cars to buy, to look at what the people behind them actually represent — the values that they are very open about, the values that they espouse," Furey said. "Do those values reflect who we are?" Fighting disinformation X has become a source of online misinformation, says Whitmarsh, and NLPL thinks about that problem. "We want to meet that disinformation, or misinformation, with reliable, accurate and vetted resources," he said. The library provides accurate information through its programs and collections, he said, like subscriptions to services like the worldwide newspaper database PressReader as well as OverDrive Magazine.
