ORL Board Meeting | February 16, 2022

At the February 16 meeting of the Okanagan Regional Library Board of Trustees, the Board held elections for the Board Officer positions. 

Board election results:

· BOARD CHAIR: Re-elected Sherry Philpott-Adhikary, Keremeos 
· BOARD VICE-CHAIR: Erin Carlson, Summerland 

Board members also volunteer to sit on standing committees which will be led by:

· FINANCE COMMITTEE CHAIR: Doug Findlater, West Kelowna 
· POLICY AND PLANNING COMMITTEE CHAIR: Loyal Wooldridge, Kelowna 
· PERSONNEL COMMITTEE CHAIR: Subrina Monteith, RDOS 

The Board welcomed Jeremy Feddersen, ORL's new CFO, who reported that the financial results to November 2021 show the Library generally operating within budget. 

The Board received updates from the CEO and staff, highlighting the ORL Team's continued effort to maximize Library service while conforming to external and internal safety procedures. 

"Our Libraries have been adapting to covid through continuing virtual programs, take and make projects that people can do at home. People are happy to start to see the beginning of in-person programs in many of our branches as covid concerns start to decrease," said Don Nettleton, ORL's CEO.


Additional Highlights

West Kelowna Library Construction Progress

The Board was provided with an update on the progress of the new West Kelowna Library, which is being constructed adjacent to the Johnson Bentley Recreation Centre as part of the new City Hall project.

Revelstoke RevLab Update

The Board was excited to hear about the long-awaited Revelstoke RevLab construction getting underway with anticipated completion in May.

Peer Navigator Program Update

The Board heard an update on the Peer Navigator Pilot project, which is based out of the Kelowna Downtown Library Branch in partnership with Urban Matters and the People Employment Agency. The navigators assist and interact with marginalized community members by providing a wide variety of services. The Board agreed to continue funding to support this project being extended to the end of 2022

Library Champions Project 

The Board heard a report on the Library Champions Project, a three-month volunteer program for new immigrants. The ORL is a partner in the pilot extension of this program which was formerly only run in the lower mainland to the interior. Libraries across the province are a part of the project, supported by numerous immigrant-serving organizations and community agencies that assist with project promotion and referrals.

Library Champions are trained to conduct outreach to other new immigrants during the project. The four training sessions focus on building communication, presentation, and outreach skills and on understanding the range of programs, services, and resources provided by libraries and immigrant and community service agencies. After the training, Library Champions will develop an outreach plan to help assist other new immigrants to BC. 

About the ORL

Established in 1936, the Okanagan Regional Library (ORL) is Canada's 16th largest library system, serving over 400,000 residents through 30 branches. It covers 59,600 square kilometres of some of the most beautiful territories in BC, stretching from Golden in the Rockies to Osoyoos in the heart of the Okanagan wine and fruit growing areas and Princeton in the Similkameen. The system is staffed by energetic and committed people who have begun shifting to a more learning and technology-focused service.