About the library

Strategic plan

• 2018 – 2021 NVCL Strategic Plan
• 2022 – 2023 NVCL Refreshed Strategic Priorities
• 2023 Strategic framework(249 KB)

Community reports

• 2023 Report to our Community(3 MB)
• 2022 Report to our Community(2 MB)
• 2021 Report to our Community(3 MB)
• 2020 Report to our Community(2 MB)
• 2019 Report to our Community(5 MB)
• 2018 Report to our Community(3 MB)

Statements of financial information

• 2023 Statement of financial information
• 2022 Statement of financial information
• 2021 Statement of financial information
• 2020 Statement of financial information
• 2019 Statement of financial information

Other reports

• Technology Access for North Vancouver: A review of how the pandemic has affected our community’s access to technology
• NVCL - 2019 COVID Response

The North Vancouver City Library has existed in some form for more than 100 years. Its roots can be traced as far back as 1869 as the first public library on Burrard Inlet.

The charter to establish a small, fee-for-service library on the North Shore was granted on Nov. 12, 1924. The library we know today was not established until 1964, thanks to a public referendum to support a municipal library within the City of North Vancouver.

Fast facts

• Monthly circulation in 1945 was about 600 items
• In 1950, annual circulation jumped to 20,000 items
• The children’s department first opened in 1966 as a new wing
• The current, 36,000 square-foot building was completed in 2008

The Library Board of Trustees are appointed by the City of North Vancouver to govern the library in accordance with the BC Library Act. In addition to representing citizen interest in the library, board members also serve as public advocates for the library and library services.

Learn more

City Library is a sustainable building on the Lonsdale corridor in North Vancouver.

The library building was completed in 2008 and is LEED Gold certified. With its three storeys housing more than 130,000 physical items for borrowing, there’s a place for everyone at City Library.

Key features:

• Multimedia, robotics and tech lab: the Collaboratory
• State-of-the-art recording studio
• 50-seat silent study area
• Children’s reading garden
• Cafe
• Public art
• Underground parkade
• Automated sorting bins

Sustainability at City Library

Water-to-water heat pump

The building’s heat pump is connected to a geoexchange system. It uses the ground below the parkade as a repository for excess heat in order to cool the building in an energy-efficient manner.

Dedicated outdoor air system (DOAS)

This type of system provides dedicated, fresh air ventilation based on CO2 and temperature sensors throughout the building. In addition, the building also features radiant heating and cooling.

Domestic hot water system

Hot water connectivity to fixtures is generated by local, electric hot water heaters to minimize the use of copper tubing and to deliver hot water on demand.

Auto-dimming lighting

The wired lighting in the building utilizes daylight dimming controls to reduce or turn off electric lighting when low traffic is sensed.

Low flush fixtures

These plumbing fixtures save 32% of potable water.

Roof-mounted solar panels

The solar water heating panels supplement about 20% of the building’s energy use during sunny days.

Solar shades

Roller shades on the south and north ends of the building and the fritted glass windows eliminate 75% of solar heat gain, substantially reducing the cooling load inside the building.

Join us for a sustainability tour!

Architecture

• Diamond Schmitt Architects, Toronto
• CEI Architecture, Vancouver

Landscape design

• Phillips, Farevaag, Smallenberg

All customers have a right to privacy and confidentiality regarding the collection of personal information and the use they make of North Vancouver City Library facilities, collections and website. The release of such information would contravene the BC Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act.

Personal information related to registration, such as name address, phone number, etc., and circulation records, including information that identifies materials checked out by a customer, will not be divulged voluntarily except to the customer themselves.

The library may store information in the customer database where in its opinion the information is required to answer customer questions, or to monitor possible abuse of the library borrowing policy. The library system retains the name of the last customer to check out an item in order to assure that materials are returned in good condition. Every effort will be made to minimize the amount of information stored.

The library will keep no record of questions answered that are linked to a specific customer's name. Work notes used in answering the question will be divulged only to other library employees involved in working on the same question.

When a customer visits the library's website, information collected is used only to measure the number of visitors to different areas of the site. The address (IP) of the computer or internet provider and the date and time that the site was accessed are collected.

Personal information about a child will be released only with written approval from the parent or legal guardian.

All information related to a customer may only be used by library employees working within the scope of their duties.

In accordance with provincial legislation, the library is free to release relevant information to InterLINK libraries or companies acting on the library's behalf for the collection of library property, unpaid fees, fines or other charges.

Library customer addresses and phone numbers stored in our database may not be given or sold to other organizations and may only be used for library-only mailings when appropriate.

The library will honour a court subpoena requesting release of personal information of a library customer.

Policy framework

This policy is interpreted to include, but is not restricted to, maintenance of privacy of the following information and transactions:

• all records identifying the names or ID numbers of Library customers
• all records identifying material the Library customer currently has checked out
• all records identifying Library customer overdue material can be used only for the retrieval of that material
• all reference questions
• all inter-library loan transactions
• all holds placed, trapped, or held
• all online searches and their results
• all items photocopied
• all suggested purchases of Library material submitted by Library customers
• all information pertaining to the identity of anyone conducting research on a particular subject
• any information pertaining to the borrowing of reference material

The same standards for protection of privacy apply to Library staff when they are customers of the North Vancouver City Library.