OUR VISION & MISSION

Your library makes an impact We help you demonstrate it

Our Vision

To provide every Ontarian with convenient local access to technology they want and need, and the comfort and confidence to use it so they can access economic, educational, social, health and civic opportunities to achieve prosperity, advancement and overall well-being.

Our Mission

Partnering with libraries across Ontario, Bridge helps public libraries:

  • Measure equity and demonstrate impact to drive digital inclusion and respond to community needs.
  • Provide critical feedback to manage technology resources more efficiently and effectively, fostering continuous improvement and data-driven decision support.
  • Empower advocacy and accountability in reporting requirements, with implications for meeting strategic priorities and securing sustainable funding
OUR DATA SERVICES

Perfect solution for your library technology data

Bridge consists of three essential components that collect, measure and evaluate the impact of technology services on digital inclusion in public libraries:

Patron Survey

This component involves collecting feedback directly from library users regarding their experiences with technology services...

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Staff Survey

The staff survey component allows library staff members to provide their perspectives on technology services. They can offer insights...

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Availability & Usage Indicators

This component involves tracking data related to the availability and usage of technology services...

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OUR DATA BENCHMARKING

You’re in good company!

When you use Bridge you are in control of your library data and have the competitive edge through standardized comparable data and benchmarking.

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55+

Ontario libraries

Libraries By Region

  • 12 Northern Ontario
  • 15 Southwestern Ontario
  • 08 Eastern Ontario
  • 16 Central Ontario
  • 04 GTA

Libraries By Size

  • 17 Small
  • 28 Medium
  • 10 Large
51224+
Patron Survey Responses Collected to Date
OUR DATA REPORTS

Published reports for collective Advocacy

We invite you to review these published reports with detailed data findings from the Bridge data solution platform showing libraries’ significant contribution to bridging inequities of access to technology.

Bridge 2021/2022 Report
Bridge Beta 2019/2020 Report
Bridge Pilot 2017/2018 Report
Bridge Discussion Paper 2016
WHY CHOOSE BRIDGE

When you choose Bridge, you gain access to advanced data solution features tailored to your library:

patron-survey patron-survey

Patron Survey

  • Quantitative Data
  • Standard & Customized Survey
  • Qualitative Data
  • Custom Report Dashboard
  • Equity Snapshot
  • Flat File Download
  • Benchmarking
  • Resources
  • Multiple languages
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staff-survey staff-survey

Staff Survey

  • Quantitative Data
  • Standard & Customized Survey
  • Qualitative Data
  • Custom Report Dashboard
  • Flat File Download
  • Benchmarking
  • Resources
Read More
Availability & Usage Availability & Usage

Availability & Usage

  • Quantitative Data
  • Data Input Dashboard
  • Custom Report Dashboard
  • Flat File Download
  • Benchmarking
  • Resources
Read More
HOW IT WORKS

Getting started is easy

Bridge is straightforward and practical. Our platform is developed by a library for libraries. Regardless if you're a small library system or a large one, a data novice or a full deep-dive data expert, Bridge can help you help your customers. Customize our services to get what's most relevant to you.

Activate your account

Update your profile

Administer your surveys

View and leverage your data

LIBRARY PARTICIPANTS

Published reports for collective Advocacy

Participating Ontario libraries have effectively leveraged the services offered by Bridge, utilizing data to inform action plans, needs assessments, and digital strategies.

The following Ontario participating libraries serve as notable examples, showcasing how Bridge has shaped their technology services and empowered data-driven decision-making.

Markham Public Library

Markham Public Library has been a proud contributor to the Bridge Project since 2019. Bridge directly speaks to Markham Public Library’s outcomes with our Digital Literacy Strategy and allows us to support those important goals in our reporting and communication with stakeholders...

Milton Public Library

The Bridge Toolkit provided us access to Patrons' and staff Surveys that guided our future technological needs and helped us understand where we stand compared to other library systems. I am particularly impressed by how various meetings and workshops were organized to educate library...

Oshawa Public Library

Participating in the Bridge Project has given Oshawa Public Libraries valuable insights and important data in order to help us make better decisions. We appreciate the user-friendly design of the Dashboard and the ease with which we can quickly toggle between looking at our own data and our data...

Marathon Public Library

As a rural library, the Bridge program has helped us better understand patron experiences with our technology services. Bridge is an invaluable resource for small and rural libraries, which are often limited in what services they can offer; providing clear insight into what is working and what needs improvement.

Guelph Public Library

We are grateful to be a participating library in the Bridge Project. The Bridge Toolkit has done the majority of the planning, research and implementation of the project which makes utilizing it for our community very simple and worthwhile.If libraries and the communities they serve are to make a meaningful...

Wikwemikong First Nations Public Library

We can already see the benefit of this data-collecting program. We can see the technology services that our Patrons seem to gravitate around the most.

Perth & District Union Public Library

We will be looking to continue to evaluate this in the future, and guide our future training, equipment and program offerings based on community needs and the outcomes we are trying to achieve.

Mattawa Public Library

[The] pilot had a great impact on our library and our staff. It really showed us how so many people, in and around the community, depend on us for their everyday needs.

Innisfil Public Library

Staff are now better aware of technology and services offered to the public and feel more comfortable speaking about them and working with the public.

Kitchener Public Library

Previously, the importance of access to e-government in the library was only available in anecdotal form, and we now have numbers and percentages that support the need for that critical access...we can use this information to advocate to maintain or even increase the library's budgetary funding.

Windsor Public Library

This toolkit will be invaluable in reassuring staff, administration, board members and city administration that the access to technology - in its many forms - we offer to citizens is money and staff resources well spent.

HAVE QUESTIONS? WE HAVE ANSWERS

Frequently asked questions

01Why should I sign-up?
  • Our services help you collect, analyze and report the positive impact your technology is having on the well-being, development and confidence of your library customers.
  • Our services help you understand the relationship between your library and the services you offer.
  • Our services highlight the vital role libraries play within the communities they serve.
  • Our services empower you to make informed decisions about the technology services you provide, fostering continuous improvement of these services and advancing digital equity.
  • Our services extend your reach and connect you to ‘like' libraries to identify gaps and leverage data to increase your service offerings by tapping into collective comparable data.
  • The more libraries that register, the better our data. The better the data, the more we're able to demonstrate the collective impact we are having.
  • Our services provide maximum benefits to your library with minimal effort and time through advanced automated features and support that do most of the work for you.
  • It's free! It's flexible & supportive. It's authoritative and accessible.
02I'm not that knowledgeable about data. Is this complicated?
03Once I sign up, how long can I keep my account? Is there a limit on the data storage?
04Is my data private and secure?
05I don’t have a lot of staff capacity or time, how will I be supported if I sign up?

Ready to sign up today

Fill out our registration form to join Bridge today. Activate your FREE subscription and gain access to data that will maximize your library benefits, while minimizing your time collecting and measuring data to advocate for library sustainability and growth

Sign Up Here!
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Send an inquiry

Have questions or want to get more information on how Bridge can benefit your library?

Special thanks to the Ontario Government for their funding and ongoing support.

Visit our project website:

www.tpl.ca/impact

Have a question or need support?

bridge@tpl.ca

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