Through the fall, Vancouver Island Regional Library is running community workshops, focus groups and an online survey to collect input on the direction of the library system over the next five years.
The library system covers 42,000 square kilometres and 39 branches, 20 of which are considered rural or remote as defined by the province. Since 2016 nine libraries have either been built or renovated. It also delivers remote delivery such as books by mail, which is “resurfacing as an effective library service,” VIRL's strategic planning webpage notes.
VIRL's board of trustees extended its 2016-20 strategic plan through 2022 due to the pandemic. The next strategic plan will build on the previous one “while moving us forward to respond to changing needs in the communities we serve,” David Carson, VIRL's director of communications, told the Sounder. “From compound crises to affordability and changing expectations for digital service delivery and programming, there are many exciting opportunities ahead, and many complex challenges also.
Themes like inclusivity and diversity, safety, accessibility and connections are all on the table during the planning process.