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Thursday, 02 August 2007 06:04

Ompah_library

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Feature Article - August 2, 2007

What happened to the Ompah library expansion?

In February of this year, a small group of people in Ompah, including myself, having long ago agreed that our library was ridiculously small, put together a physical and financial plan to expand it. Anyone who has visited our well-used little facility will recognize that it’s the size of a generous bathroom. We quickly realized that there was a political element to the process as well, so we gathered signatures on a petition and letters of support from the local community. I am writing this progress report today because I feel some embarrassment about our performance so far. The ”we” I am referring to is the “Ompah Library Expansion Committee”, and our story follows:

The present library is 225 square feet. Our plan was to tear this building down and build a 600-square-foot space on the same location, for under $70,000. The new space would have double the shelving, plus a sitting area facing to the south. There are a number of funding alternatives we explored, and it looked possible that it might even be done at little or no cost to the township. The library building is owned by the Township of North Frontenac, so we dutifully talked with several councillors and the township employee responsible for buildings. We were told not to talk to the library in Kingston (KFPL) until council had heard a representation from us. Our March 8 presentation to council was described as a “compelling case” by Mayor Maguire, and then we heard about the township’s plan to review all its buildings. It seems that we timed this just when a period of uncertainty and upheaval is happening with all municipally-owned structures.

The Kingston library board was surprised that we hadn’t contacted them earlier, and invited us to make a presentation, which Marily Seitz and I did at their June 27 meeting. The problem the KFPL Board is faced with is how best to serve a small, scattered population in “the north”, and their feeling is that three libraries (Cloyne, Plevna, and Ompah) are too many. The Plevna building is closed indefinitely due to mould problems, so our Ompah space is doing double duty. The board may have been considering closing the Ompah library in the future; however, they now have a delegation suggesting a new, larger space, and not really asking for any help in doing so.

When I first learned of the township’s review of its building assets, I thought this could put a significant hold on any plans of the Ompah Library Expansion Committee. The township has formed a committee which has yet to meet for the first time.

So, to all you people who signed a petition or wrote a letter in support of a larger Ompah library, I offer this short explanation of why nothing has happened. We will continue working with the township and the KFPL Board, but I remain frustrated at how difficult it is to do something which is so apparently simple.

- John Inglis, co-chair (with Marily Seitz)

Ompah Library Expansion Committee

Published in 2007 Archives
Thursday, 07 May 2009 09:45

Cloyne_library

Back to HomeFeature Article - May 7, 2009 Cloyne Library Gets Facelift

Cloyne Librarian Teresa Manion, NF Mayor Ron Maguire, KFPL board chair Claudette Bradshaw, Rural Librarian Pam Harris, and Chief Librarian Deborah Defoe.

The Cloyne branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library re-opened on Tuesday after being closed for two weeks, during which time it was completely made over. Old carpets and old shelving were removed. The walls were painted, the floors redone, and new bookstore-style shelving was brought in.

The result is a brighter, easier to use branch. Cloyne is the first of the 17 rural branches that are the subject of a five-year improvement plan. The Cloyne project was funded by North Frontenac Township and the KFPL board. Photo - right L to R 

Published in 2009 Archives
Thursday, 05 May 2011 13:20

KFPL to Close Ompah Branch

It was a case of “paranoia is total perception” for a group of Ompah residents who were invited to make a presentation to the Kingston Frontenac Public Library Board last week.

Library Board Chair Claudette Richardson phoned to invite members of the group to attend, saying that the branch would be discussed at the meeting.

“We were not told that branch closure was going to be considered,” said Marily Seitz when interviewed afterwards. “We did know that our request for the return of the two hours a week that were taken away from us would be dealt with, but that is all.”

The branch had traditionally been open six hours a week, but for a couple of years it was open 14 hours a week when the Plevna branch had to be closed because of a mould problem. When a new Plevna branch was opened in 2009, the library board decided to open Plevna 10 hours a week and reduce Ompah all the way back to 4 hours. Ever since then, the Ompah users have been trying to get their two hours back.

Seitz, North Frontenac and Frontenac County Councilor John Inglis, and Ompah resident Janice Arthur, all made presentations to the library board last week in support of their branch.

Last April a request to reinstate the two hours at the Ompah branch was put off for a year. After hearing the delegation from Ompah last week, Library Board Vice-Chair Wilma Kenny delivered a report on the request. She pointed out that the Ompah branch does not meet the minimum standards set by the board for a branch, and that a consultant’s report in 2004 had called for the closure of the branch. She also referred to the branch services master plan that was completed last fall, which pegged the cost per circulated item at the Ompah branch at over $30.

Then, Kenny said, “I'm going to put this out there just to see what board members want to do. I move that the four existing hours at the Ompah branch be moved to Plevna. In other words, I move that the Ompah branch be closed.”

John Purdon, a Frontenac County Council representative on the board, moved that Kenny's motion be deferred until the matter is brought to the attention of Frontenac County Council and North Frontenac Township.

Frontenac County provides the funding for rural service to the library board, and North Frontenac Township is responsible for providing facilities.

After some debate, the motion to defer was defeated, and the motion to close the Ompah branch was then passed in a 5-4 vote.

Later in the week, the library staff announced that the branch would be closing on May 29.

“We have been afraid that this was going to happen ever since that consultant’s report came out in 2004. When our hours were cut to four after the Plevna branch opened, we said it would hurt circulation. Now they say circulation is too low and the branch must be closed. There you have it,” said Marily Seitz.

Seitz also questions the calculations that were used to demonstrate to the board that the Ompah branch was too expensive for the library board to operate.

Appendix C of the library branch master plan pegged the cost of running the branch at $40,000. When that cost is divided by the annual circulation at the branch (1,320 items) it costs the service over $30 for each item taken out at the Ompah branch, which is $13 higher than the cost at the next most expensive branch, which is Plevna, and way higher than the mean in the system, which is $6.72.

However, Marily Seitz pointed out in her presentation last week, that the1,320 circulation figure is wrong.

“In appendix B of the report, the circulation at Ompah is 1,920, but whoever did the calculations transferred the wrong figure over,” she said. With the correct figure, the cost per item at Ompah is about $20, still high but not that much higher than the cost at the other small rural branches.

Members of the Ompah users group also asked where the operating cost of $40,000 came from

When contacted on Monday of this week, Chief Librarian Deborah Dafoe explained.

“There are two kinds of costs allocated to the branches, direct costs and a share of what we call core costs, the cost of books, technology, administration, etc., which is shared by the entire system,” she said.

The direct cost of the Ompah branch includes $6,000 in staffing costs, as well as the cost of phone and Internet service, and delivering materials to the branch.

“The county share of core costs is divided by 12 and allocated to each of the 12 rural branches,” Dafoe said.

This means that larger rural branches, such as Sydenham and even Sharbot Lake, are allocated the same amount of core costs as the Ompah branch, which is only 225 square feet. It also means that closing the Ompah branch will merely result in raising the core costs at the 11 remaining branches but will not lower those costs.

Dafoe confirmed that because the Ompah hours, and staffing costs, are being transferred to Plevna, “The savings that will be realized by closing the branch will not be substantial.”

Deborah Dafoe said she did not know in advance that Wilma Kenny was going to propose a motion to close the Ompah branch at last week's meeting, but, “The impetus behind the motion really was the same impetus behind the branch master plan, which was to bring branches up to a minimal standard of service. The impetus really was to bring the Plevna branch the hours it needs, given that it is a branch that approaches the standards of a satellite branch.”

She reiterated a point that had also been made at the library board meeting, that when North Frontenac Council decided to put a new, improved branch in Plevna, it should have known that the Ompah branch would be closing.

She said that a motion to that effect was presented to the library board in 2008.

That motion outlines what the township agreed to do to get the Plevna branch built, and what the library agreed to do. It also contained a third part - “that the library transfer the combined library collections, staff, and hours from Ompah / Plevna to the new facility.”

The third part of the motion was deferred at the time at the request of the then County Board representative, Jim Vanden Hoek.

“We were clear that we were building a branch to serve the Ompah/Plevna area,” Dafoe said, “we left it to the township to decide where to locate it.

Letters were written to North Frontenac Mayor Maguire about it at the time, according to Dafoe, but there was no response.

It's unclear whether Jim Vanden Hoek ever brought the deferred motion to the attention of County Council, or whether it was brought forward at North Frontenac Council. Members of the Ompah users group were not aware of its existence.

“We have made it clear to the library board on many occasions over three years that people in Ompah do not travel to Plevna,” said Marily Seitz. “Our travel pattern is to Perth.” Seitz said she is has enquired into the cost of purchasing a library card for the Perth library now that the Ompah branch of her own county’s library is closing.

Published in NORTH FRONTENAC
Thursday, 17 June 2010 08:34

The Book Club with a Difference

Sharbot Lake’s Summer Book Club with a Difference: (l-r) Christine, Crystal, Sara, Diane, Glenys, Helen and Bee (missing is Shirley Peruniak)

A recent visit to the Sharbot Lake Summer Book Club with a Difference on June 4 was a great help in suggesting some possible summer reads.

Before the Sharbot Lake Public Library’s open hours, eight women gathered around a table at the branch and launched into an informal and interesting discussion of the world of books.

The club is open to everyone and participants are invited to speak about what they are currently reading, which allows listeners to take away ample food for thought regarding their next book picks.

First up was Bee Zawisza who spoke about The Fatherland, a first novel by Robert Harris, a fiction on the outcome of World War 2 in which Germany won and Hitler survived. The mystery unfolds as Detective March, assisted by a feisty young female journalist, discovers the body of a Nazi official. Together they unravel a Nazi conspiracy that began in WW2. In Bee’s words, “I’m not usually into war stories but it’s a very good mystery.”

Gloria Jenkyn, a fan of historical fiction, reviewed The Heretic’s Wife by Brenda Rickman Vantrease, a tale about the selling of books on the Lutheran reformation during the reign of Henry VIII when he is pulling away from the Pope in the hopes of marrying Anne Boleyn. “The book really brings the history to life and I simply can’t get my nose out of it.”

Diane Yerxa spoke next about La’s Orchestra Saves the World by Alexander McCall Smith, perhaps best known for his popular series The #1 Ladies Detective Agency. This story is about a recently widowed woman who starts up an amateur orchestra to "soothe her broken heart" and in the process meets a Polish flautist and refugee who joins the group. The story evolves as the orchestra disbands at the war’s end and La is forced to move ahead in her life. Diane found it a very enjoyable read.

Sharbot Lake librarian Sarah Carpenter, who hosted the event, spoke about Endless Feasts, a collection of food writing compiled by Ruth Reichl, the former editor of the now defunct Gourmet Magazine. “It’s as much a history lesson as it is about food because certain stories date back to prohibition and other periods in history.” Sarah especially enjoyed Madhur Jaffrey’s "magical account" of the huge family picnic excursions that she and her 50 plus member family undertook in India back when she was a young child, a common Indian tradition at that time.

Helen Coulombe spoke about Kane River, the story of five generations of black women in the southern United States in Louisiana and the occurrence of “bleaching”, a term used in the book to describe the interracial relationships between black slaves and the white families for whom they worked. Helen came across the book when she was wintering in Florida and that book led her to another on the same subject called The Help by Kathryn Stockett who writes of her childhood being brought up by a black maid while her white parents lived a high society kind of life. Helen said that both books were fascinating and shocking reads.

The Sex Life of Cannibals by J. Maarten Troost was reviewed by Christine Patterson who usually prefers reading non-fiction. She clarified the fact that the book’s title is somewhat misleading. The book is an account of the two years a husband and wife spent on the Gilbert Islands, which humorously shatters many common idyllic myths about life on the Pacific Islands. Christine described the author Troost as “a young Bill Bryson” and said she will definitely be searching out more titles by the former.

Glenys Bender spoke about Anita Rau Badami’s Can You Hear the Night Bird Call? which traces the lives of three families through the political turmoil and historical events of East India from 1928-1986. Glenys spoke of the way the author allows the reader to become attached to these characters, making the real events in India during that time even more so. She pointed out the fact that the title recalls an old Indian myth where "the night bird’s call is a portent of death”, which adds great suspense as the novel unfolds.

Shirley Peruniak discussed Out Stealing Horses by Norwegian writer Per Petterson, a story about the German occupation of Norway and the plight of two families there involved in the smuggling of secret documents into Sweden. It’s a suspenseful story and Shirley commented, “The interesting thing was the writing and the length of the sentences, which I’m not sure is typical of the Norwegian language, or just this author.” Her description was so enjoyed by members of her book club that many want to purchase the book.

The discussion ended rather abruptly as regular library customers began trickling in. Two more book club meetings will take place at the Sharbot Lake branch on July 9 and August 6, both at 1PM; at the Arden Branch on June 22 (anything goes), July 20 (mystery) and August 17 (non-fiction).

Published in CENTRAL FRONTENAC
Thursday, 14 November 2013 12:44

Fresh And Bright, Hartington Branch Re-Opens

The Hartington branch of the Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL) is a small rural branch located in the Princess Margaret Building on Road 38. A library restructuring report, written several years ago, called for the branch to be closed and replaced by a larger branch in nearby Verona. However, the Township of South Frontenac, which is responsible for library facilities, while the KFPL handles operations, built a library in Sydenham to augment the branches in Hartington and Storrington and has no plans to build one in Verona.

And now, thanks to a $35,000 Trillium Foundation grant and some money from the township, the Hartington Branch has been re-energized.

Laura Carter, manager of branch operations with KFPL, described how the branch, which was closed for the month of October, has been brightened. It has all new shelving, which is not as tall, giving much needed brightness to the room. The room has also been painted; new flooring has been installed, and two new public access computers have replaced one old one. Comfortable chairs, fitted with laptop shelves, have been loaned to the branch from the Central Branch in Kingston because the Hartington chairs are on order. A small room adjacent to the main room, has been outfitted as a media room with magazines, DVDs and CDs.

The Hartington branch is also the first location in the 16- branch library to have an express service for DVDs. Select copies of a selection of popular DVDs, mostly recent movie releases, which can take a long time to access if put on hold at the branch or through the Internet ordering system the library offers, are available only through the branch and cannot be put on hold.

“Some of these popular movies can take months to get on hold, so people can come to the branch and get them on a first-come, first-served basis,” said Laura Carter, “it’s something we have already done in all the branches with books, but this is the first location for DVDs.”

The book return at the branch has also been moved to the south end of the building, where it can be reached from the outside, a more accessible location. Previously the book return was inside the building

When the branch opened at 1pm on Monday, patrons starting streaming in. Most did a double take when they entered the room.

“It is really wonderful that this has happened,” said Katia Jacobs, who operates the branch, “everything is so much better and will be better for the public to use.”

The message Jacobs is most keen to get out to patrons of the Hartington branch is there is now no need to travel to Sydenham or into Kingston to pick up holds, browse the stacks, or to order materials in person.

The Hartington branch is open Mondays and Wednesdays from 1-5 and 6-8 and Saturdays from 1-4.

Published in SOUTH FRONTENAC

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library (KFPL) Board opted for continuity when they chose Patricia Enright as their new Head Librarian/Chief Executive Officer late last fall, replacing Deborah Defoe at the start of this year.

For the past 7 ½ years Enright has been the Director of Children's and Rural Services at the integrated library city/county library, and before that she was the chief librarian at both the Clarington and Port Hope public libraries.

She came to Kingston in 2004 not only to join a larger organization, but also for the opportunity to go back to school and earn a Masters degree in Public Administration at Queen's.

“I really love Kingston, and I have loved working in the county as well, so when the chief librarian job came open I was ready to make the commitment,” she said of her decision to apply for the libraries’ top job.

The KFPL has a financial relationship with the City of Kingston and the County of Frontenac. The individual townships within the County are involved as well as they own and maintain the library facilities within their own boundaries.

“We have worked with the townships quite a lot in recent years, with North Frontenac on upgrades to the Plevna and Cloyne branches, with South Frontenac on the Storrington branch and the new Sydenham branch last year, and with Frontenac Islands for the Wolfe Island branch,” she said.

While there have been no changes in Central Frontenac, there likely will be in the coming couple of years.

“We have a three-way relationship with regards to the branch in Parham, between the library, the township and the school board because the board owns the portable we use, which is attached to the school,” she said regarding the pending closure of Hinchinbrooke Public School in 2013. An upgrade to the Arden branch is also planned for some time in the future.

One major issue that is being faced by the entire world of books and reading is the explosion of e-readers, tablet computers and e-books, and while the KFPL has the technology in place to deliver e-books, the rights situation for e-books is still in flux, and this has an impact on the acquisition budget of the library.

“People think they should be able to download e-books at will, but it is not that simple. The digital rights management system that is available is called Overdrive, and our agreement is that only one person at a time can access the books at a time. And some publishers will only sell the rights for a single copy. So people end up putting holds on the digital versions of books just like they do for the physical version.”

Library staff are also doing a lot of work demonstrating how different e-reading systems work. In fact, two of the Kingston branches are offering weekly e-reading and e-audio help sessions on an ongoing basis.

The challenge of adapting to e-reading is just another of the changes that have been faced by libraries during Patricia Enright's career.

“There have been more technological changes affecting libraries over the last 15 years than in the previous 100,” Enright said. “When I walk around in each of our branches now, I see people using all kinds of laptops to connect to our Wifi service. They do everything from filing EI [Employment Insurance] claims to using Facebook, reading newspapers and magazines that are available in paper and digital form. At the same time we still have people borrowing all kinds of materials to take home. The media might change, but our mission remains the same, connecting people with books, supporting literacy, that remains the same; we are very much a vital service.”

Patricia Enright has heard for many years that libraries are relics from a bygone era, but she points out that the KFPL is busier than it has ever been. Some of the improvements that have been made have had a direct impact on that use.

“When we look at the new Sydenham branch, we see that the use is up about 50% from where it was before, so the investment that was made has paid off and will continue to pay off,” she said.

With Patricia Enright taking on the chief librarian role, there has been a reshuffling of responsibilities. Barb Love is now the manager of Adult Services and Rural branches, and responsibility for Children's Services has gone to Lester Webb, who is also responsible for Systems and Technical Services.

A new position is being planned as well, a manager for outreach and programming.

While the library branches in the city and county and KFPL.ca bring significant access for people, Enright said that the focus on further outreach is all about expanding the reach of the KFPL further into the life of Kingston and Frontenac County.

Published in FRONTENAC COUNTY
Page 3 of 3
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