Public Library Services Branch Update

Hello Everyone,

We have some information to share with you about the lifting of health restrictions, preparing for the next operating grant cycle, the Minister’s Awards for Municipal and Public Library Excellence, and other items of interest.

Lifting of Public Health Restrictions

We sent out an email on Wednesday February 9^th about the Premier’s recent announcement on  Government’s plan to lift Covid19 health restrictions.

Libraries are no longer subject to capacity restrictions. Mandatory masking for children under 12 are no longer required as of February 14^th under the Provincial mandate.

Other measures, including the Provincial masking requirement and work-from-home order, remain in place and are targeted to be lifted March 1^st if current trends continue.

Here are some answers to some frequently asked questions we’ve received in the past few days:

-          Are there any restrictions that remain for library programs?

o   Distancing requirements have been lifted (along with the discontinuation of REP) in Stage One

o   Masking is required indoors for people over twelve at least until March 1^st Stage Two; masking is not required for people under 12 as of Feb 14^th under the Provincial Order.

o   Municipal mask bylaws may remain in effect and would continue to impact libraries within those municipalities.

o   A library board may choose to implement a mask policy as part of a code of conduct for your facility. We strongly recommend any library board choosing to do so consult with your partner municipality and with school administrations/recreation facilities if you are co-located.

-          Can a library offer food as part of activities/programs? ie) A coffee station, after school snack programs, Teen Pizza & Movie Nights

o   Food and beverages can be offered as long as mask-wearing is observed where appropriate while the Provincial mask mandate is in place/observing any Municipal mask bylaws.

-          Should libraries remove plexiglass barriers and distance between computer stations? Is offering hand sanitizer and optional masks still permitted?

o   Decisions around PPE can now be made at the local level. Although these measures of protection are no longer mandated, they do provide additional safety and some operators may choose to leave them in place for now.

February 24^th is Budget Day

Budget 2022 will be made public on February 24^th. Please watch your email for information about library funding. Budget needs to receive full Legislative approval and PLSB needs to receive your complete grant application before funds can be released. Just a reminder, we usually begin paying out operating grants in late April/early May.

Public Library Survey and Annual Report

A reminder that the deadline for the 2022 Public Library Survey and 2021 Annual Report is February 28. If you are experiencing challenges with meeting the deadline, please notify Jen Anderson at jen.anderson@gov.ab.ca. Also, there is still one more “Completing your Survey and Annual Report using LibPAS” webinar to take place (Thursday, February 17^th  at 9:30 am). You can contact Jen if you need the link to the webinar. For more information, please visit the Survey and Annual Report webpage.

Budget and Statement of Receipts and Disbursements Templates

The 2022 Budget and 2021 Statement of Receipts and Disbursements templates are available by emailing libgrants@gov.ab.ca. The 2022 Application for Financial Assistance will be made available on our website when enter our new fiscal year as of April 1, 2022, signaling that you can submit your application package for the 2022 Library Operating Grant. The 2022-23 Library Operating Grant amounts will be determined as a part of the 2022 Provincial Budget. Payments will be made after the 2022 Provincial Budget receives legislative approval during spring session (and once your grant application has been approved). The deadline for grant application packages is June 15. Please direct all grant questions to libgrants@gov.ab.ca.

Minister’s Awards for Municipal and Public Library Excellence 2022

You will have received a separate email about the revitalized Minister’s Awards for Municipal and Public Library Excellence but we are so excited about it, we are including it in this update as well.

We are pleased to announce a new awards program designed to acknowledge and celebrate the excellent and innovative services provided by public libraries across the province.

New for 2022, the Minister’s Awards for Municipal and Public Library Excellence combines two awards programs under a single umbrella, allowing public library boards to be recognized alongside their municipal partners. For more information on the new program, including details on the program guidelines and nomination process, please visit the Awards program website.

Nominations are open now with a deadline to submit of March 31, 2022. We’re excited for this opportunity to formally recognize the great work of Alberta public libraries and look forward to receiving your nominations.

Opportunity to partner with St. John Ambulance

St. John Ambulance is working with Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) and Health Canada to provide Naloxone training and nasal Naloxone kits free of charge to agencies in the homelessness-serving sector nationwide, including public libraries. The program is geared toward frontline staff and volunteers that may be required to respond to on-site opioid poisonings and who would otherwise lack access to training or nasal naloxone kits.

The program involves a 90-minute interactive virtual training, which includes information on harm reduction, responding to a suspected opioid poisoning, and self-care following a traumatic incident. Following the training, St. John Ambulance will arrange for a shipment of nasal naloxone kits to be delivered to the library for use in case of an opioid poisoning on-site. For more information on program details please visit the St. John Ambulance Naloxone Training webpage.  

PLSB Office Move

A reminder that our physical office has moved from Standard Life to Commerce Place and our mailing address is different. Please do not send mail to Standard Life.

Please use the contact Information below to reach us:

10155 – 102 Street

17^th Floor, Commerce Place

Edmonton, AB

T5J 4L4

We are currently working remotely and will let you know when we are fully back in the office.  Our main line remains the same: 780 427 4871. You can also email libraries@gov.ab.ca.

Please feel free to get in touch about any of the information in this update.

Thank you,

Public Library Services Branch