Library Layoffs in Canada During COVID-19
/Overview
Last updated: April 19h, 2020. Please kindly note that the views expressed in this post are my own and are based on my experience as an academic librarian who has worked in a variety of positions within the field.
Approximately 3,000 public library workers across Canada have been relieved of their duties as of April 11th, 2020. According to the sources I have consulted, all layoffs are temporary and the public library systems have pledged to bring the workers back on board after the current social-distancing rules are eased and/or no longer in place. The current pandemic has affected all groups of employees (full-time, part-time, and contract staff). Full-time staff generally have greater job security than the other types of employees, and the layoffs has affected part-time and casual staff have been affected to a greater degree. In addition, they are more likely to be redeployed to work in other municipal services and departments. Most of the temporary terminations are in Ontario.
Librarians’ Existing Professional Concerns, As I See Them
I love libraries and librarianship, but the profession and its institutions are not without their own share of long-standing, systemic issues. Increasingly, library work was already experiencing de-professionalization and precarity (to which academic librarians aren’t immune) prior to the outbreak of the pandemic. Professional prestige was already being defined along the lines of specialization within librarianship, with a higher value being placed on work in administration and information technology. Public service (including reference and instruction) are accorded a lower value.
Library and information science and library technician programs continued to graduate a number of new librarians and library technicians disproportionately in relation to the current demands of the job market (and the number of available positions), year after year. Contract work has been the undisputed reality for new graduates for over ten years, if not more. Professional organizations tend to focus on advocating for libraries, not the people who make them work. Despite the central role that librarians fulfill in the institutions of higher education, our academic and professional expertise is not readily understood. The recent changes to the work of library staff across the country have the potential to excerbate our professional concerns.
Working Remotely: Library Staff are Still Here for You, and Safe
Most library staff continue to be employed and we are able to provide our professional expertise and full suite of services remotely: virtual reference and research consultation service, online storytime, synchronous and asynchronous instruction, ebooks, videos, and other services to name just a few. This is not to say that ebooks are somewhat “better” than print books (because they are not), but during a pandemic we work with what we’ve got.
Nonethless, Windsor Public Library staff were delivering print books as recently as April 8th, even though borrowing services aren’t considered to be essential under the current provincial regulations. And South Shore Public Library staff in Nova Scotia are tasked with offering curbside pickup service with a bookmobile. This means that at least some staff are required to be physically present in their libraries, despite the fact that they are considered a non-essential public service, unlike fire, police, and ambulances. I’m sympathetic toward the fact this service aims to ease the feeling of loneliness and isolation among patrons. The vast majority of librarians are genuinely good-hearted, caring people. But a single initiative of this type will not resolve the long-standing issue of digital divide and potentially place the staff in harm’s way.
In addition, there are already some worrisome (and potentially long-term) patterns emerging in the employment of library staff and delivery of services during library closures:
Bruce County offered their library staff (whose positions have been temporarily terminated) to accept positions in the local nursing homes. Library staff don’t have the necessary educational preparation or work experience to do this type of work. They shouldn’t feel pressured to choose between paying for their living expenses and endangering their lives, doing dangerous work in which they have no expertise. This type of decisionmaking also assumes that library staff are easily redeployable to jobs that have nothing to do with work in libraries.
Vancouver Island Regional Library was the first public library system in Canada to temporarily eliminate staff positions. This development was followed shortly by an significant increase in the library card registrations. It must be recognized that it is the library staff who create, license, catalogue, and maintain digital libraries and other online resources. Without them, patrons wouldn’t be able to access the myriad of ebook, streaming, and learning resources available on the VIRL’s website in the time of the pandemic. It is vital that the online library continues to expand to increase its availability and offerings, but librarians (and their expertise) are necessary to do this work, and most importantly, library service should not devolve into self-service, even during this difficult time.
Aurora Public Library laid off twenty-eight out of thirty-three employees, without giving them the option of providing their services remotely, as has been the case with other public library systems.
Library staff across Canada are not “temporarily obsolete” and our expertise is not physically confined to the walls of library buildings. Digital libraries, despite their relative accessibility, are inadequate replacements for print collections.
Alberta
| System | Staff Affected | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calgary Board of Education |
[n/a] | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 9th | CBC News |
| Calgary PL | 550 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 12th | Calgary Herald |
| Edmonton PL | 489 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 14th | Edmonton Journal |
| Edmonton Public Schools | 65 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 18th | Edmonton Journal |
| Lethbridge PL | [n/a] | casual | March 30th | Lethbridge News Now |
| Medicine Hat PL | 35 | full-time and part-time | April 16th | Medicine Hat News |
| St. Albert PL | 43 | full-time and part-time | April 25th | St. Albert Today |
British Columbia
| System | Staff Affected | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Surrey Libraries | 140 | full-time | April 3rd | Surrey-Now Leader |
| Vancouver PL | [n/a] | temporary | April 2nd | Vancouver Sun |
| Vancouver Island Regional Library |
[n/a] | temporary | March 18th | Times Colonist |
Manitoba
| System | Staff Affected | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pembina Trails School Division | 32 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 17th | CTV News Winnipeg |
| Thompson PL | 3 | full-time and part-time | April 16th | Thompson Citizen |
| Winnipeg PL | [n/a] | casual | April 25th | Winnipeg Free Press |
Ontario
| System | Staff Affected | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Aurora PL | 28 | full-time and part-time | April 10th | York Region |
| Barrie PL | 45 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 8th | CTV News & Barrie 360 |
| Bruce County PL | 54 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 2nd | The Globe and Mail |
| Chatham-Kent PL | 47 | full-time and part-time | April 8th | The Chatham Voice |
| Guelph PL | 19 | part-time | April 2nd | Guelph Mercury |
| Georgina PL | 19 | part-time | March 14th | York Region |
| Greater Sudbury PL | [n/a] | part-time and casual | April 9th | Greater Sudbury |
| Haldimand County PL | 180 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 15th | Northumberland News |
| Hamilton PL | 180 | part-time | April 17th | The Hamilton Spectator |
| Idea Exchange | 200 | part-time and casual | April 6th | The Waterloo Region Record |
| Kitchener PL | 100 | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 13th | The Waterloo Region Record |
| Lambton County Library |
[n/a] | full-time, part-time, casual | April 8th | The Sarnia Observer |
| Markham PL | 197 | part-time | April 10th | The Waterloo Region Record |
| Orangeville PL | [n/a] | part-time and casual | April 9th | Orangeville Citizen |
| Ottawa PL | 280 | part-time | April 6th | Ottawa Citizen |
| Vaughan PL | 172 | part-time | March 23rd | York Region |
| Waterloo PL | 53 | part-time | April 13th | The Waterloo Region Record |
| Welland PL | 30 | full-time and part-time | April 3rd | St. Catharines Standard |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville PL | 15 | part-time | March 23rd | York Region |
| Windsor PL | 50 | part-time | April 9th | AM800 |
Quebec
| System | Staff Affected | Type | Date | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bibliothèque municipale de Gatineau | [n/a] | full-time, part-time, and casual | April 17th | CTV News Ottawa |
