Staffing in Public Libraries

Public libraries can be staffed by librarians, library technicians, and regular staff members. The minimum and ideal numbers of these staff members in Alberta has been described in the Best Practices 2018 released by the Alberta Government in July 2018.

Towns and cities with populations over 3,000 are required to have a minimum of 0.5 FTE per 1,000 residents. If the surrounding population is over 10,000, then a library is required by law to have a librarian holding an MLIS degree on staff. Towns with a population over 5,000 should have at least one library technician on staff, but it is not required by law.

Links:
Best Practices 2018
This article describes the best, or ideal, practices for libraries in Alberta. It was released in July 2018, and it indicates the minimum best practices for libraries in a variety of categories.

Legislation
This website covers the relevant legislation for public libraries in Alberta.