TORONTO (Friday, January 25, 2013) – At its monthly meeting on January 21, the Toronto Public Library Board re-elected Councillor Paul Ainslie to the position of Board Chair. Councillor Ainslie has been a member of the Board since December 2006.
“I’m very pleased to be continuing as Board Chair and look forward to working productively with my fellow board members,” said Councillor Ainslie. “This coming year will be an exciting one as the Library moves forward with a new strategic plan focused on delivering the excellent reading, literacy and lifelong learning programs and services that Torontonians have come to rely on from their library, while introducing new opportunities for our customers to innovate, collaborate, and be successful.”
Michael Foderick was re-elected Vice Chair of the Toronto Public Library Board.
Operating and Capital Budget
The Board adopted the 2013 operating budget, which consists of $165.4 million net City funding or $180.8 million gross, representing a 0.4% or $581,000 net increase over the 2012 budget. This budget includes $200,000 recommended by the City’s Executive Committee and approved by City Council for an economic increase for library collections. At its January meeting, City Council also adopted a motion that requests the Library to prepare a cost-benefit analysis of its open hours policy and the economic impact of library services for review prior to the 2014 budget process.
The adopted operating budget allows the Library to maintain branch hours and services, and to make progress on implementing its new strategic plan.
The Board also adopted the capital budget, which consists of $10.9 million debt ($30.8 million gross) for 2013 and $153.7 million debt ($237.2 million gross) over 2013-2022, and meets debt targets. This budget allows the Library to meet its current capital needs while also addressing some of its state of good repair backlog.
Paid Parking Pilot Project
The Board voted to implement pilot projects for paid parking at its Parkdale and Fairview branches. The Library will work with Toronto Parking Authority to implement the program.
The Toronto Public Library Board will meet again on Monday, February 25 at 6 pm at the Toronto Reference Library.
Toronto Public Library is the world's busiest urban public library system. Every year, more than 19 million people visit our branches in neighbourhoods across the city and borrow over 33 million items. To learn more about Toronto Public Library, visit our website at torontopubliclibrary.ca or call Answerline at 416-393-7131. To get the most current updates on what's happening at the library, follow us on Twitter @torontolibrary.
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Media Contact:
Ana-Maria Critchley, 416-393-7212, media@torontopubliclibrary.ca