Last Saturday’s Hallowe’en Hunt was just one of a multitude of programmes that MV Library is instrumental in bringing to the Valley. During her annual update to Madawaska Valley Council in September, Madawaska Valley Public Library CEO Natalie Barrington pointed out that as well as lending out nearly 15,000 resources (books, e-books, DVDs, etc.) in 2023, Library staff and volunteers dealt with 7,896 visits (often providing information for tourists), and connected with all age groups in the community in ways ranging from pre-school programmes to job-seeker assistance to Service Canada outreach pop-ups. In addition to special programmes and craft kits for kids, MV Library events and resources support local artists and writers, the elderly, genealogy researchers, and students of all ages engaging in homework assignments and online learning. Museum passes are available, as is free WiFi for your own devices plus several computers with internet access to conduct your research, job-seeking, and more.
What’s all this worth to you?
Using the Valuing Ontario Libraries Toolkit provided by the Ontario Library Service, Barrington’s presentation demonstrated the economic benefit of MV Public Library and its services to the community. The figures below were derived from a Social Return on Investment (SROI) analysis specific to this public library with support from the Ontario Library Service.
Based on an analysis of the impacts made by the library in 2023, across more than twenty
unique indicators in seven unique domains, including education, culture, inclusion and
wellbeing, entertainment and leisure, economic development, civic engagement, and physical
space, Madawaska Valley Public Library has calculated its overall economic benefit to the
community as standing at $1,654,874.
This works out to $421.41 per permanent resident or $964.94 per household.
For every one hour that it is open to the public, Madawaska Valley Public Library generates
$634.05 of economic benefit.
Therefore, for every $1 invested into the library, Madawaska Valley Public Library generates $9.76, or a return on investment of 975.56 percent.
Where does Library funding come from?
Barrington told The Current that according to the Federation of Public Libraries (FOPL), “there has been no new investment in public library funding by the province since 1992, over 30 years ago. The PLOG has depreciated in value by 60 percent since then due to inflation and cost of living.”
This means that Madawaska Valley Public Library’s provincial Public Library Operating Grant (PLOG) has remained at $19,729.00 per year since 2001. Barrington points out, “Because of the ‘decrease’ in provincial funding, we depend more and more on municipal funding for the bulk of our operating funds – and grants, fundraising and donations.” She offered the 2024 Library budget figures below:
- $19,729 from Provincial grants 9.1 percent of total operating revenue
- $173,873.82 from Madawaska Valley municipal funding 80.1 percent of total operating revenue
- Total operating budget is $217,191.28
- This leaves a shortfall of $23,588.46
That means the fund-raising efforts by Library staff and volunteers, such as the Used Book Sales and Trivia Night, provide essential income to cover this shortfall and keep your Library viable.
Show your public Library that you care
Whether it’s making a cash donation, donating and buying some used books, or signing up for a fun evening at Trivia Night, every penny you give to the Library comes back to this community at an incredibly impressive return on investment. And somehow all of this is accomplished from such a tiny space. Remember that every $1 you contribute to the Library brings $9.76 value back to your community. So what are you waiting for? Sign up for Trivia Night now!
