At Carleton Place council’s committee meeting last month, Library CEO Meriah Caswell provided a report on the value that the public library provides to the community.
Using a newly developed VOLT, (Value, Outcomes, Learning and Transformation), report from the Ontario Library Service, Caswell and her staff were able to put hard numbers to the value of library services as if the private sector provided them.
Some of the numbers Caswell provided were staggering.
In addition to the value of public library services, Caswell gave the dollar value of wages and grants.
Councillor Sarah Cavanagh said she and her family, as well as many other residents receive excellent value from the library’s free pass program
Caswell noted that, as of yet, there was no central port where all library VOLT reports could be accessed for comparison, but reported that anecdotally, CP’s popular facility was higher than most in communities of similar populations.
Story by Brian Turner
