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Canadian public library statistics by province or territory and nationally and links to sources

Canadian public library statistics by province or territory and nationally and links to sources

(January 25, 2012)

Compiled by: Leah Jones, Research Assistant and Mary Cavanagh, Assistant Professor, School of Information Studies, University of Ottawa, Canada.

Contact: Mary Cavanagh, (613) 562-5800 x 7376 or by e-mail mcavanag[at]uottawa.ca

“Introduction

There is no single source providing information on the total number of library systems and library branches across Canada. Previous unsuccessful attempts (by the researcher) have been made to gather these data without enough time and persistence. There are many types of public library systems in Canada – municipal, county, regional, First Nations, etc., organized differently across all provinces and territories. Quebec and First Nations communities have perhaps the most distinctive public library histories reflecting their unique cultural and historical traditions within Canada.

This information has been gathered from provincial and territorial government sites and other sources as indicated. It appears that without access to internal networks and documents, the only way to determine the number of public libraries in Canada is to actually go their provincial and territorial departments and then “count” entries listed there. That is the method we employed to compile these data. These figures are only a snapshot. We take full responsibility for any errors.

As of this date, our research indicates there are 625 public library systems and 2996 public library branches in Canada.

Sources

Government of Canada links to provincial and territorial governments

http://canada.gc.ca/othergov-autregouv/prov-eng.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Alberta

Source: Directory of Alberta’s Public Libraries (2012)

http://www.municipalaffairs.gov.ab.ca/mc_public_library_directory.cfm

Method: Tallied by list of 7 regional systems, 16 municipal systems

Totals:

Library Systems: 24

Branches: 314

British Columbia

Source:

http://www.bclibraries.ca/contacts

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Tallied libraries listed

Totals:

Library Systems: 77

Branches: 285

Manitoba

Source: Manitoba Public Library Statistics (2012)

https://mb.countingopinions.com/memberlist_details.php

Method: Tallied libraries listed on site

Totals:

Library Systems: 52

Branches: 132

New Brunswick

Source:

http://gnb.ca/0003/regions/alpha-list.asp

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Site lists Public Libraries by community

Totals:

Library Systems: 5

Branches: 65

Newfoundland and Labrador

Sources:

http://www.nlpl.ca/index.php

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Site lists totals

Totals:

Library Systems: 4

Branches: 96

Northwest Territories

Source:

http://www.nwtpls.gov.nt.ca/CommunityLibraries.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Site lists community libraries

Totals:

Library Systems: 1

Branches: 20

Nova Scotia

Sources:

https://www.library.ns.ca/content/nova-scotia-public-libraries

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

https://www.library.ns.ca/files/Lib%20Map%20Brochure.pdf

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Tallied libraries listed (brochure: March, 2011) within 9 regional libraries

Totals:

Library Systems: 9

Branches: 78

Nunavut

Source:

http://www.publiclibraries.nu.ca/communities.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Site lists community libraries

Totals:

Library Systems: 1

Branches: 11

Ontario

Source: Annual survey of Public Libraries (2010)

http://www.mtc.gov.on.ca/en/libraries/statistics_2010.shtml

Method: Added totals of 8 population groups plus county libraries

Totals:

Library Systems: 315

Branches: 946

Prince Edward Island

Source:

http://library.pe.ca/libraries

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Libraries listed by location

Totals:

Library Systems: 1

Branches: 26

Quebec

Source: Statistiques en bref (2010)

http://www.stat.gouv.qc.ca/observatoire/publicat_obs/pdf/Stat_BrefNo58.pdf

Method: Statistics listed

Totals:

Library Systems: 125

Branches: 692

Saskatchewan

Sources:

http://www.education.gov.sk.ca/Provincial-Library/Public-Library-System

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

http://www.reginalibrary.ca/locations/index.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

http://www.saskatoonlibrary.ca/

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

http://www.pnls.lib.sk.ca/english/aboutus.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Tallied branches through links to regional libraries; locations listed on city and

Northern sites

Totals:

Library Systems: 10

Branches: 316

Yukon

Source:

http://www.ypl.gov.yk.ca/libraries_directory.html

Retrieved: January 25, 2012

Method: Site lists community libraries

Totals:

Library Systems: 1

Branches: 15

NATIONAL TOTALS

Library Systems: 625

Branches: 2996″

Stephen

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Posted on: February 19, 2013, 7:19 am Category: Uncategorized

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