Memo To:Budget Committee

City of Toronto

From:Josephine Bryant

City Librarian

Date:May 10, 1999

Subject:Transmittal of Proposed St. James Town Branch Report - Capital Budget Project

Attached for consideration of the Budget Committee at its May 25, 1999 meeting is the Proposed St. James Town Branch report adopted by the Toronto Public Library Board at its May3, 1999 meeting. The Board approved the following recommendation:

That:

1.The Toronto Public Library Board approve the report for transmittal to the Budget Committee; and that

2.The priority for the St. James Town Branch be determined based on the outcome of the Library Board's branch review and in conjunction with the results of the Parks and Recreation study.

The report is provided in response to the Budget Committee's request for additional information on how the proposed St. James Town Branch capital project relates to the Toronto Public Library's service delivery model and service equity initiatives.

Attachment

cc:Shirley Hoy

Commissioner, Community and Neighbourhood Services

Adopted by the Toronto Public Library Board

at the May 3, 1999 Board Meeting

To:Toronto Public Library Board - May 3, 1999

From:City Librarian

Subject:Proposed St. James Town Branch

Purpose:

To provide the Board with background information on the St. James Town capital project and to respond to the Budget Committee's request for additional information on how this capital project relates to the Library's service delivery model and service equity initiatives.

Recommendation:

It is recommended that:

1. The Toronto Public Library Board approve the report for transmittal to the Budget Committee; and that
2. The priority for the St. James Town branch be determined based on the outcome of the Library Board's branch review and in conjunction with the results of the Parks and Recreation study.

Comments and/or Discussion and/or Justification:

St. James Town

The proposed new branch would serve the community of St. James Town. There has been extensive needs assessment and community consultation in this neighbourhood during the last 10 years. A number of community assessments undertaken in 1988, 1990 and 1996 have identified the need for additional community facilities in this area. A quote from the most recent assessment is provided here as a summation of the earlier studies:

St. James Town has long been recognized as a community which has special characteristics and needs.... A significant proportion of the residents are families with young children, often headed by single parents. The vast majority of St. James Town residents live below the poverty line; many are newcomers to Canada. The lack of adequate and appropriate community services and facilities to accommodate this changing population has been clearly documented over the past few years... The situation has become further exacerbated by recent increases in population indicated in the 1996 Census data. St. James Town has experienced a 23% increase in population over the last ten years.

In 1997, the former City of Toronto Council approved the report "St James Town 2000 : A Community Action Plan". This report outlined a revitalization strategy which included a public library as part of a multi-service facility which would also provide a recreation centre and daycare.

In March, 1998 a report was prepared for Budget Committee outlining the land acquisition and capital construction costs for the community facility. Subsequent to this report, 495 Sherbourne St. was acquired. Parks and Recreation was provided with funds to conduct a study on St. James Town and other Parks and Recreation facilities to assist that department and Budget Committee in prioritizing its capital projects. The results of this study are expected by June 1999.

The former Toronto Public Library participated in previous community needs assessments and included plans for a branch in St. James Town in previous capital budgets. The new Toronto Public Library included the project in its 1999 five year capital budget submitted to the City. Library staff have continued to participate as members of an interdepartmental staff planning team during the past several months. The Budget Committee has deferred committing any expenditures on this project and has asked the Library to provide additional information on how the new facility relates to the Library's overall service delivery model and catchment areas.

The System-wide Context

In placing the proposed St. James Town branch in the context of the entire 98 branch network of the amalgamated library system, future facility planning is placed in a larger city-wide framework. It must also be considered within the context of the branch planning methodologies and service delivery model developed for the new library.

The service delivery model provides four tiers of service: Research and Reference, District, and Neighbourhood as well as City-Wide services. The St. James Town facility would be a neighbourhood branch and as such should serve a population base of 20,000 to 50,000 people. Branch services would include popular and general reference collections as well as programs and services which are highly reflective of the local neighbourhood with a focus on children's services.

St. James Town would meet the population criteria identified for neighbourhood libraries with a proposed catchment area of 24,470 people (see attached map). A new branch in this area would impact the catchment areas for its two nearest branches: Parliament and Yorkville. The proposed catchment area for St. James Town falls largely within the current catchment area of Parliament Branch, with a smaller overlap with the catchment area for Yorkville Branch.

The current catchment area for Parliament Branch is 55,439 people. The establishment of a St. James Town catchment area would result in a revised catchment area for Parliament Branch of 30,969 people.

The current catchment area for Yorkville Branch is 38,008 people. The revised catchment area would be 35,868 people.

However, the model also states that neighbourhood branches serve users within 1 mile or 1.6 kilometer radius around the branch. The St. James Town branch would be less than 1 mile from either Parliament or Yorkville. Traditionally, branches in the former Toronto have not conformed to the distance criterion identified in the model. The historic development of library service has emphasized smaller branches (i.e. at the neighbourhood level) serving local communities.

As the Board is aware, as part of its current study, the Randolph Group has been asked to review the branch planning methodology work completed to date and to make recommendations on the soundness of the methodology, its comprehensiveness and to suggest refinements if necessary. Based on the outcome of this study, additional work is required to complete the branch review. The Budget Committee has asked that the results of the branch planning work be made available to them by September of this year.

The St. James Town facility should be considered in the larger context of the branch planning work and also in the overall context of service harmonization and equity. The priority for the St. James Town branch should be determined based on the outcome of the Library Board's branch review and in conjunction with the results of the Parks and Recreation study.

Contact Names:

Anne Bailey, Director, South Region, 397-5944

Jane Pyper, Director, Service Planning & Support, 395-5602

Josephine Bryant

City Librarian