Notice: Next Lamont County Library Board Meeting
Wednesday, May 29th 2013 at 7:00 pm
County Administration Building
Public welcome
history of lamont county library board
“To access and provide funding to assist the town libraries in the provision of library service to residents within Lamont County”, that
is the mission statement of the Lamont County Library Board. Established in 2007, the initial function of the Board was to access municipal and provincial funding to be distributed among our four local libraries in Andrew, Bruderheim, Lamont, and Mundare. Without a county library, county residents relied on the town and village libraries to provide this service.
For several years the County provided yearly funding to each library according to its school population. As school populations declined, so did the funding. The County did not have access to provincial funding through the Public Library Services Branch (PLSB) of Alberta Municipal Affairs. Funding which is available to a public library board.
A call for board members was made in 2008 with the first organizational meeting held in February 2009. The board was small to begin with – three members-at-large and two County Councillors. Since then it has grown to nine members-at-large with one County Councillor, plus the assistance of the Lamont County Director of Planning & Community Services.
Being a brand new library board, its members had to learn their roles as library trustees attending an Alberta Library Trustee Association (ALTA) workshop in 2009, hosting a ‘Grow as a Trustee’ workshop in 2011, and attending a PLSB ‘Library Board Basics’ workshop in 2012. For the past three years members have attended the Alberta Library Conference as well as the Northern Lights Library Conference.
Along the way policies had to be written and a five-year Plan of Service developed. To initiate the plan, the board carried out a needs assessment which involved visiting all four local libraries, hosting a meeting of library trustees and staff, and developing a survey for County residents. The survey was accessible through the County website with copies available through an insert in a local newspaper, in County tax notices, in the local school newsletters, and in each of the local libraries. With a County population of almost 4000 over a 2474 sq km area, it was challenging to hear the needs of all County residents. From the responses received five goals were developed to be completed between 2011 and 2016.
With the support of municipal funding, the board applied for provincial funding through the Public Library Services Branch. Since 2009, the County Library Board has provided a total of $88,000.00 in funds to our local libraries with an additional $32,000.00 budgeted for this year – 2012. These funds supplement the service and support provided by libraries in Andrew, Bruderheim, Lamont and Mundare to Lamont County residents. The board drafted a Library Services Agreement with each of the local library boards. With the support of each board, these agreements were forwarded to the Minister of Municipal Affairs for his final approval. Approval was granted July 13, 2012. County residents can now expect equitable library service at their local library according to their specific agreement.
The Lamont County Library Board has seen changes and growth over its short life span. It strives to be a strong advocate for libraries and support the library needs of its residents. Meetings are held at the County Administration Building on a regular basis and the public is welcome to attend. For more information, please contact the board by email at lamontcountylibraryboard@gmail.com.
Library Board Trustees
Denise Dorland Chairperson
Connie Forst Vice-chairperson
Rose Konsorada Secretary
Dennis McCartney Lamont County Council representative
Lois Zyla Member-at-large
Shelley Ross Member-at-large
Margaret Webb Member-at-large
Kathy Siracky Member-at-large
Randy Currah Member-at-large
Heather Atkinson Member-at-large
downloadable pdfs
Lamont County Library Board Plan of Service 2011-2016
Policy Manual Lamont County Library Board