Library federations, an essential part of the province’s library ecosystem, are established under Part 5 of the Library Act. As per the Act, Federations exist for “the cooperative provision of library service”. Each library federation is governed by a board consisting of appointees from the participating library boards. Federation Board members work on behalf of the federation, and are not considered representatives of their “home” library.
Federations are organizations comprised of member libraries in geographical proximity that work together to leverage the power of the collective to share resources and expertise. Each federation is managed by staff who report to the Federation’s Board. Federations focus on cooperative projects such as staff development and consortial purchasing, which can extend the purchasing power of member libraries.
Federations also work cooperatively with each other, as well as with other library organizations (BC Library Trustees Association, BC Library Association, the BC Libraries Cooperative, Association of BC Public Library Directors, etc.), to further extend the reach and impact of their programs and services.
There are six library federations in the province:
- IslandLink Library Federation
- Kootenay Library Federation
- North Central Library Federation
- North East Library Federation
- Northwest Library Federation
- Public Library InterLINK