COVID-19 and Temporary Public Library Lay-offs
April 22, 2020
Updated: May 18, 2020
Since the beginning of March, the impacts of COVID-19 have been felt across Canada and by Canadians employed in all sectors.
As governments put in place measures to “flatten the curve” through physical distancing and closure of all non-essential services, public libraries have been adapting and transforming programs and services for virtual delivery while the physical branches and bookmobiles are unavailable.
The closure of municipal facilities and the cancellation of in-person programs and services has led to many jurisdictions announcing the temporary lay-offs of employees or pausing the use of auxiliary workers.
Based on media reports, news releases, and emails with officials, the following table compiles numbers of affected library workers:
| Library System | # of Employees Affected | |
|---|---|---|
| Aurora Public Library (Ontario) | 10 full-time and 18 part-time staff | Details (Apr 10) |
| Barrie Public Library (Ontario) | 45 employees | Details (Apr 8) |
| Brantford Public Library (Ontario) | 29 staff on Declared Emergency Leave | (Apr 20) |
| Caledon Public Library (Ontario) | 20 library workers | Details (Apr 20) |
| Calgary Public Library (Alberta) | 550 (approximately) employees | Details (April 1) |
| Central Manitoulin Public Libraries (Ontario) | 2 assistant librarians | (Apr 7) |
| Chatham-Kent Public Library (Ontario) | 47 employees | Details (Apr 6) |
| Dryden Public Library (Ontario) | 3 employees | (Apr 13) |
| Edmonton Public Library (Alberta) | 489 employees | Details (March 30) |
| Fraser Valley Regional Library (British Columbia) | 100 (approx) casual staff | Details (Mar 23) |
| Gatineau, Bibliothèque de (Quebec) | 101 white-collar employees working variable hours | Details (Apr 17) |
| Georgina Public Library (Ontario) | 19 part-time library workers | Details (Apr 10) |
| Greater Victoria Public Library (British Columbia) | 117 regular employees, 51 auxiliary staff | Details (May 5) |
| Guelph Public Library (Ontario) | 120 library staff members | Details (Apr 17) |
| Hamilton Public Library (Ontario) | 180 library pages | Details (Apr 17) |
| Idea Exchange (Cambridge, Ontario) | 39 part-time, casual and student employees | Details (Apr 6) |
| Kawartha Lakes Public Library (Ontario) | 32 library staff | Details (Apr 19) |
| Kitchener Public Library (Ontario) | 100 full-time, part-time and casual staff (approx) | Details (Apr 6) |
| Lambton, County of (Ontario) | 124 library, museum, art gallery and archives workers | Details (Apr 8) |
| London Public Library (Ontario) | 103 Casual, Page and Temp staff | (Apr 5) |
| Markham Public Library (Ontario) | 197 part-time library workers | Details (Apr 10) |
| Meaford Public Library (Ontario) | 3 part-time staff | Details (May 13) |
| Medicine Hat Public Library (Alberta) | 33 employees (approx 64% of staff) | Details (Apr 14) |
| Mississippi Mills Public Library (Ontario) | 17 part-time staff members | (Apr 23) |
| Morinville Public Library (Alberta) | 7 staff members | Details (Apr 19) |
| New Tecumseth Public Library (Ontario) | 20 part-time staff | |
| New Westminster Public Library (British Columbia) | 26 auxiliary staff | Details (Apr 14) |
| Newmarket Public Library (Ontario | 21 part-time jobs | Details (Apr 20) |
| Niagara Falls Public Library (Ontario) | 37 part-time staff | Details (May 18) |
| Ottawa Public Library (Ontario) | 280 part-time employees | Details (April 6) |
| Peterborough Public Library (Ontario) | 33 part-time staff 8 full-time staff laid off or leave of absence | Details (Apr 14) |
| Ramara Public Library (Ontario) | 4 staff members | Details (May 5) |
| Regina Public Library (Saskatchewan) | 100 workers | Details (May 17) |
| Renfrew Public Library (Ontario) | 3 student pages | (Apr 9) |
| Sault Ste. Marie Public Library (Ontario) | 27 part-time employees (a mix of part-time clerks, part-time reference technicians and pages) | (Apr 14) |
| St. Albert Public Library (Alberta) | 43 staff members | Details (Apr 15) |
| Stratford Public Library (Ontario) | 15 employees (12 part-time staff and 3 full-time staff) | Details (Apr 21) |
| Surrey Libraries (British Columbia) | 140 full-time employees | Details (Apr 2) |
| Thompson Public Library (Manitoba) | 3 staff | Details (Apr 16) |
| Vancouver Island Regional Library (British Columbia) | "most of its staff" In 2018, VIRL had 433 employees | Details (Mar 18) |
| Vancouver Public Library (British Columbia) | 600 employees, including 375 part-time and/or auxiliary workers | Details (Apr 4) |
| Vaughan Public Libraries (Ontario) | 172 part-time library employees | Details (Apr 10) |
| Waterloo Public Library (Ontario) | 53 part-time employees | Details (Apr 6) |
| Welland Public Library (Ontario) | 30 employees (22 part-time staff and 8 full-time staff) | Details (Apr 3) |
| Whitchurch-Stouffville Public Library | 15 part-time workers | Details (Mar 23) |
| Winnipeg Public Library (Manitoba) | 195 temporary library workers | Details (Apr 15) |
In some jurisdictions, temporary lay-offs of municipal employees, including library staff, have been announced but without reporting library-specific numbers:
| Jurisdiction | Library | # of Municipal Employees Affected | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Guelph (Ontario) | Guelph Public Library | 601 casual, part-time employees - employees who deliver recreation programs, school crossing guards, some library workers, and others | Details (Apr 2) |
| Haldimand County (Ontario) | Haldimand County Public Library | 107 employees who deliver recreation programs, library & cultural services, economic development services, some facilities maintenance staff, some administrative support functions, part-time staff and others | Details (Apr 14) |
| Jasper (Alberta) | Jasper Municipal Library | 28 positions - mostly due to closed municipal facilities like the activity centre and library. | Details (Apr 3) |
| Kirkland Lake (Ontario) | Teck Centennial Library | 15-20 people - part-time staff at municipal facilities are currently not providing municipal programs and/or services as they had done prior to facility closures | Details (Apr 15) |
| Lethbridge (Alberta) | Lethbridge Public Library | 248 employees, 244 of whom were casual workers - those who work in facilities that are currently closed such as the Lethbridge Public Library’s two branches, the Enmax Centre, Fritz Sick Memorial Centre, and the Galt Museum | Details (Mar 30) |
| Mississauga (Ontario) | Mississauga Library | 2,000 part-time employees - majority of lay-offs impact part-time employees in Community Services, where community centres, libraries and cultural facilities remain closed until further notice. | Details (Apr 3) |
| Orangeville (Ontario) | Orangeville Public Library | 143 casual and part-time employees in the areas of recreation and events, libraries, crossing guard services, and recreation facility support | Details (Apr 3) |
| Penticton (British Columbia) | Penticton Public Library | 22 staff members - All departments will be included, with the greatest numbers being on services that are presently closed to the public, such as parks and libraries. | Details (Apr 3) |
Librarianship.ca will continue to report on temporary lay-offs in public libraries as the COVID-19 pandemic continues
If there are temporary public library lay-offs not reflected in the tables above, please let us know. Email us at info@librarianship.ca
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