02-20-2018, 03:08 PM
(02-20-2018, 02:28 PM)MidTowner Wrote: That's the main benefit I see, and I wish that WPL and KPL would do that.
I use both WPL and KPL on a regular basis (for loans, and also children's programming, among other things) and can't see much of a difference in terms of service, though the downtown library is obviously by far nicer.
I understand the argument about specialization, but am not sure how much it applies to delivering library services. Toronto's system serves a lot of different types of neighbourhoods. Hamilton's has branches in very small towns, along with in the city.
This one is truly not a case of "smaller is better," since KPL's budget is more than three times that of Waterloo Region Library's.
KPL's user base is nearly 3 times Waterloo Region Library's user base, (but probably 1/10th the area).
And I agree that big systems can serve different needs, but I think such cases tend to result in less savings than expected, and more problems than expected.