This report shows why investment in public libraries is essential to Canada’s post-pandemic recovery, competitiveness and resilience. It makes the case that Canada’s public libraries enable governments to meet their obligations and strengthen the common good.
Canada’s libraries are an untapped national network of social infrastructure which includes 652 library systems and 3,350 branches. For example:
- Canada’s libraries are visited over 100 million times per year
- Every month, 204,000 Canadians get job-seeking help at their public library
- 540 Canadian libraries provide free Wi-Fi and support
- More than 300 libraries offer technology training classes, attended by nearly 16,000 people each month
Libraries provide Canada’s communities with:
- Equitable access to knowledge and services
- Access to culture and opportunities to share and exchange ideas
- Better access to health outcomes, by providing programs and services that touch on essential indicators of the social determinants of health
- Programming and collections that elevate Indigenous voices
- A boost for neighbourhood and downtown revitalization
- Multiple opportunities for residents’ socio-economic needs to be met
- A place to belong, find refuge, make friends, and form connections
- An embodiment of the democratic principle that citizens can freely inform and educate themselves
Published By: Canadian Urban Institute
Publication Date: 2023
Click here to access Overdue: The Case for Canada’s Public Libraries
