Raise Your Voice for APL for Ontario Public Libraries Week

Brock Weir, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Auroran

The Aurora Public Library kick-started Ontario Public Libraries Week on Saturday with a cavalcade of entertainment in its Living Room space, including live music, circus performances, and much more.

The party was a far cry from the era when libraries were typified by a sharp “Shh!” from a librarian when they thought you were being a bit too loud – but it was very much in keeping with the theme of Ontario Public Libraries’ Week: “Loud for Libraries.”

Saturday’s celebration was the start of the commemorative week, which underscores “the vital role libraries play in bringing people together and enriching lives” – and it’s a theme that struck a chord with Jodi Marr, CEO of the Aurora Public Library (APL), who has been at the forefront of refining what APL means to the community and highlighting the value of each and every dollar invested in it.

“Libraries aren’t your typical spaces anymore. They are so much more for residents,” says Marr, noting that the Saturday party was a way to showcase that APL is about more than just books – although that remains a critical component of what they provide to patrons and the community as a whole.

“In 2025, we welcomed almost 400,000 people – 393,180 visits – and we circulate 646,000-plus books,” she continues. “We delivered 1,886 programs with almost 40,000 participants and our membership grew by 13.9 per cent. In a single year, that story is more compelling. Library visits have increased almost 50 per cent since 2019 and, at the same time, our cost per visit has decreased. Residents aren’t just telling us that libraries are relevant; they’re showing us they’re relevant by coming and showing up. They want what we have to offer, whether that’s technology, learning a new skill, experiencing a cultural program, a welcoming place to work or study. We’re doing a little bit of everything. Libraries are about books, of course, but today’s public library is also about learning, technology, creativity, culture, access, and just connecting with one another.”

Using the Valuing Ontario Public Libraries Toolkit, Marr estimates that every dollar invested in APL translates to a value of $6.42 to the community. She estimates that in 2025 APL generated approximately $27.8 million in community benefit.

“It sounds like a crazy-big number, but think about everything that a library card can provide: your physical and digital collections, your programs, your technology, learning opportunities, access to shared spaces, pooled community resources so that everyone can have access and opportunities that could be much more expensive or simply unavailable for every household to get access to individually.

“It’s so much easier for a business to translate something into revenue…whereas all of the benefits that come from what we do are about the stories that people tell. ‘I learned to read with my reading buddy at the library.’ That isn’t seen until a few years down the road. ‘I’m a retiree and I can no longer afford the internet or a newspaper, so I come to the library and use these resources, and that [improves] my quality of life, my access to information,’ and it’s those stories that people tell that really resonate.”

These are the stories Marr says she wants to hear “loud and proud” as Ontario Public Libraries Week continues through October 24.

“Tell us how a public library has changed your life and tell the people that will invest in us so that we continue doing the wonderful work that we do,” she says. “If you haven’t visited the Library recently, please come. Discover what we have to offer from our Library of Things, to our Discovery Passes, our wonderful partnerships with the community. We partner with over 45 different community partners, so the work we do is not in isolation. We want to be seen as that trusted partner. We are that person, that place that you can go to, and we’ll help put you in on the right path and find the direction you need to go. We’re just happy to be here and be well used for entertainment, leisure and everything else.”
And, yes, there will be some noise.

“Guaranteed, I will get called out on the floor sometime this week [by someone] who says, ‘I want to complain because the teens are too loud and the libraries are supposed to be a quiet space.’ My answer is, I don’t agree with you. Libraries are a well-used space and part of that usage comes with a little bit of noise,” she says. “If you would like to go for quiet study, then go to your school library, go to an academic library [but] we are a public library. We’re going to have events, we’re going to have things happening for the entire community so they can connect and celebrate.”

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