Alayne McGregor
It’s not clear when Ottawa Public Library (OPL) branches will return to regular hours. OPL staff told The BUZZ this month that there’s no firm date to restore the hours, which were chopped by more than one-quarter in January.
But at the same time, the OPL is surveying users about their preferences for changed or expanded hours, and it will increase Sunday hours starting in September.
The library is currently only open two evenings a week and has reduced morning hours as well. Donna Clark, the OPL’s Division Manager, Branch Operations, said the reduction was “due to the uncertainty of the pandemic and staffing pressures.”
“The change in hours provided customers with consistency in opening hours by avoiding the need for sudden closures to respond to fluctuating staffing levels. Because we continue to work through staffing challenges, we have not yet been able to resume regular open hours.”
The OPL has had user complaints about the reductions, Clark said. “We are trying very hard to resume regular hours because we know how important they are to our customers and employees.”
Centretown resident Diane Bassett wrote to OPL management in June saying the reduction in hours was unacceptable and “greatly limits meeting the needs of the OPL Patrons.” In her letter, copied to The BUZZ, she said this disenfranchises patrons without access to computers or high-speed Internet.
Clark said the OPL faced “staffing challenges,” made worse by higher educational and language requirements, and had increased its job promotion. “Once staffing shortages have been resolved, we will be able to resume regular branch open hours.”
Ontario Library Association executive director Shelagh Paterson said the pandemic has affected recruitment for Ontario libraries. “I am hearing from some public library employers that they are not getting as many candidates applying for some of the jobs that are currently available, and that’s possibly just part of the overall employment trend that’s going on right now.”
She said that the OPL’s bilingualism requirement may also limit the number of candidates. However, “the numbers are still really good in terms of [new library school] graduates.”
Clark said any funds saved from fewer hours would go to reserves. The OPL Board allocated $5M of its 2020 surplus caused by pandemic shutdowns to funding the new central library.
Starting in September, Clark said, the OPL would increase Sunday hours to be the same as Saturday hours at 10 branches, based on a 2017 user survey.
The library is currently “refreshing” that survey in light of the pandemic to determine hours that “best meet community needs.” The survey asks patrons what they do when visiting the library, what days and times they would use most frequently, and whether they want more Sunday hours.