City of Surrey's 2024-2028 Financial Plan

DEPARTMENTAL OVERVIEW SURREY PUBLIC LIBRARY

MISSION STATEMENT We connect people, spark curiosity, and inspire lifelong learning to enhance the lives of Surrey residents. KEY PROGRAMS & SERVICES Surrey Public Library (“Surrey Libraries”) has ten branches, located in the six town centres of Whalley, Guildford, Fleetwood, Newton, Cloverdale and South Surrey, as well as in Clayton, Strawberry Hill, Ocean Park and Port Kells. The Library collects and loans a wide variety of materials in print, audiovisual, and online formats. It also offers home delivery service utilizing volunteers to take library materials to people who cannot visit a branch. Library staff help citizens find information they need in branch collections, online collections, and by referral to other libraries and community organizations. Patrons can ask questions in person, by phone, or online. The surreylibraries.ca website provides 24/7 access to the library catalogue, digital collections and program information. From the website, patrons can download eBooks and eAudio books, as well as access a wide selection of online resources, including articles, courses and streaming media. Partnerships with local community agencies help to further extend literacy programs beyond the Library’s walls. Surrey Libraries offers a wide variety of programs that support life-long literacy and learning, including storytimes for children, job finding and career workshops, reading clubs for children, teens and adults, computer literacy and coding classes, services for newcomers, and support for customers with print disabilities, just to name a few. Surrey Libraries is a member of the Public Library InterLINK, a federation of 18 library systems in the Lower Mainland that allows citizens to borrow directly from all partner libraries and to return materials at their home library branch. The BC OneCard program allows Surrey residents to borrow materials directly from other participating public libraries from across BC when they are travelling.

Enjoying the giant scrabble board at Guildford branch

City of Surrey | 2024—2028 Financial Plan | General Operating Fund | Library

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