- Harrow’s hours increased from 17-42 hours per week,
new Strategic Plan sets vision -
by Sylene Argent, Local Journalism Initiative
The 14-branch Essex County Library (ECL) system had a “dramatic increase” in program attendance last year, members of Essex Council heard during the February 3 Council meeting, where representatives shared highlights from 2024 and detailed plans for 2025.
Between 2023 and 2024, there was a 62% system-wide increase in attendance at Essex County Library programs, going from around 47,000 attendees to 77,000, Adam Craig, Chief Librarian, told Essex Council as part of ECL’s informative tour to each of the seven local municipal councils.
The Essex County Library Board consists of seven members representing all seven County municipalities, including Essex Mayor Sherry Bondy. It is a Board reporting to the County of Essex.
Specifically at the Essex Centre, McGregor, and Harrow branches located within the Town of Essex, Craig said there was a 51% increase in program attendance, going from 8,000-12,000.
“That’s a notable increase and it says that the community still appreciates their libraries,” Craig commented. “We extended staffed hours at the Harrow Branch to improve accessibility and meet the community demand.”
The very first thing Craig heard when he started with the local library system in 2022 was from Harrow residents asking for more hours at their branch. “We were able to make good on that in ’24.”
Staffed hours went from 17 to 42 hours per week, bringing the service-level back up to comparable, and similar-sized branches in the system.
“Before the pandemic, [Harrow’s] hours were cut dramatically,” Craig said, adding mechanisms were put in place to make it a self-service branch, “which the community did not really respond to. We made it a point to get back to a reasonable number of hours, and the response has been overwhelmingly positive.”
In 2024, the Essex County Library started the Green Bench initiative with Schlegel Villages long-term care to create meaningful intergenerational connections, hosted the grand re-opening of the Tecumseh Branch after over $1M in renovations, introduced video games, added a Wonderbooks collection – for youths who may struggle with literacy, and ran the “Pitch-In with ECL” community clean-up challenge.
The Essex County Library has also developed a Strategic Plan, which boasts a mission of being “a space of discovery for all at the heart of our communities.”
It’s vision, Craig noted, is that ECL “strives to be a trusted community partner, enriching the lives of residents by providing responsive services and creating connections to information, entertainment, and knowledge. As a Cornerstone of our County, the library fosters engagement and lifelong learning through spaces and services that evolved to meet the needs of the community.”
“We believe that by adapting to our community’s needs, we can continue to be a cornerstone of the county,” Craig said.
The ECL Stratigec Plan is built on six principles: responsiveness and adaptability, service excellence, community first, accessibility – for every member of the community, empowerment, and life-long learning.
In addition, there are four main objectives, which will drive the ECL’s work over the next five-years: enhance community engagement and relevance, foster a county-wide culture of lifelong learning and empowerment, improve accessibility and inclusivity in services and programs, and transform the library into a vibrant “third space.”
That third space references when community members are not at home or work, “we want to see you in your library,” he said.
The ECL plans to achieve those goals by developing partnerships with schools, local businesses, and community organizations to increase visibility and name recognition, host events in underserved areas, expand adult and digital literacy programs, and partner with local experts and institutions to provide free learning opportunities.
It also intends to expand digital access by providing loanable devices, redesign physical spaces to create flexible welcoming branches, and facilitate community-led initiatives by providing space for activities that promote civic engagement.
“We see this plan as a shared opportunity,” Craig said, noting why he and reps of the ECL were going around to the seven local municipalities to make this presentation. He asked Councillors if they saw an opportunity for collaboration, or if there are community needs that have not been addressed.
“How can we ensure this library system serves every single resident of the County,” Craig asked.
This Term of Council, the Essex County Library Board set out to develop a Strategic Plan, engage in the community, and listen to the residents to learn what their need and wants were.
“I’m very proud to say we have an excellent Board,” Essex County Library Board Chairperson, Joe Bachetti, said. He is also the Deputy Warden for the County and Deputy Mayor of Tecumseh.
“We are moving in the right direction in terms of really putting emphasis on making the libraries a community hub.”
After the municipal tour, Bachetti said the goal is to have all Councillors across the County obtain a Library Card.
“The changes have been visible. It’s really, really nice in the last year or so to see the improvements and the efforts to put out more outreach programs; a lot more community engagement,” Councillor Kim Verbeek said. “It was becoming really doom and gloom for a few years, listening to cuts in hours, cuts in services.”