When Newmarket Library’s Chief Executive, Tracy Munusami, presented her 2023 Report to the Community to councillors on 8 April 2024, she was warmly congratulated by the Library Board Vice Chair and Town councillor, Kelly Broome: 

“We’re extremely proud of the level and where we are with the library in terms of our brand and our reach. It’s significant. If we had the annual reports lined up you would see the significant increase since you joined us (3 August 2021)…

“We’re definitely at a point now when measuring data is critical and (it’s) great we have some really great data to share.”

Personally, I find the “great data” coming out of the Library to be contradictory and confusing, bordering on useless. 

On Friday (4 July) Ms Munusami sent me “a chart to outline the data”:

 

 

 

 

 

It shows a 76% increase in new membership cards between 2023 and 2024. It also shows that 6,234 people didn't renew their Library membership in 2024. (18,992 + 9,476 = 28,468 – 22,234 = 6,234).

The Library’s most recent Reports to the Community do not give total membership at year end. Instead, the entire focus is on new memberships and percentage increases which distort the true picture.

Reporting to the Province

Every year, the Library Chief Executive must send a statistical report to the Province giving data on membership, Library usage, activities and programs offered and so on. The Province claims:

“Ontario’s public library statistics are one of the most comprehensive and current data sets in North America.”

 So when people turn to the Province’s data-sets – as I did - they expect statistics that are accurate. 

Ms Munusami told the Province there were 24,136 members (or “active Library cardholders”) in December 2023. (See table right)

This figure was subsequently revised sharply downwards to 17,893 – a decrease of 26%. The Chief Executive has revised it yet again to 18,992. 

Shrunk 

I relied on the figure filed with the Province when I claimed membership had in fact shrunk and not grown – from 24,136 in 2023 to 22,234 in 2024. 

But it was the supposed increase in the number of “new members” that allowed the Library Chair, Darryl Gray, to trumpet in his foreword to the 2024 Report:

“This past year has been extraordinary for the Newmarket Library, marked by significant growth in membership and an expanded presence throughout our community.”

After I highlighted these contradictions Ms Munusami told me on 16 April 2025:

“The number you received from the provincial annual survey (for 2023 - 24,136) is incorrect. The Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Gaming does have an updated figure from us. We have been informed that the reports on the province’s site from 2023 will not be updated for the public, but the province does retain the record of the revised number from us.”

Revision

In the light of this, a couple of months ago, I filed a Freedom of Information request with the Province asking for sight of the correspondence between Ms Munusami and the civil servants responsible for maintaining the annual data-set from libraries across Ontario. I wanted to know the revised number for 2023. And I wanted sight of the library's communication making the request for revision, the date it was received and the official response.

The Province is willing to let me have this information but they must first consult Ms Munusami. If she objects, she has a right to appeal the decision to the Information and Privacy Commissioner.

If there is no objection I shall get this information by 23 July 2025. 

New Members  

The Library Chief Executive says she now uses a new definition for “Active Library Cardholders” (or, in my shorthand, Library members). She says the change:

“still aligns with the Provincial definition.”

Ms Munusami told councillors in April:

“The definition of an “active library user” is someone who's used the library in the last 24 months… We do a survey every year to the Ministry. It's called the annual Public Library survey and that's the definition that they use.”

In her email to me of 4 July 2025 Ms Munusami stated:

“We now define an active cardholder as someone who still has access to the library collection. If your card expires, you no longer have access to the library collection and are no longer an active cardholder until you return to renew it.   

o   The old way of defining an active cardholder was to take the existing active cardholder and add the new cards issued in a year, not considering that expired cards no longer have access. 

o   The Newmarket Library’s ‘new users’ data does not include users who simply renewed their card. However, it may include people who were users a few years ago, were inactive for a period (e.g. didn’t renew right away) and came back for a card.” 

Clear as mud. 

That said, I take this to mean the old system merely added new cards to the number of expiring cards and that any database clean-up did not remove all the expired cards.

Where did the 9,476 new members come from?

So, how did the Library get to 9,476 new members in 2024? We are told a “new user” may include people who didn’t renew their membership right away. Which leaves me wondering what period of grace people are given before being registered as a new member.

Complicating the picture further, the Library Board at its meeting on 21 May 2025 was presented with a statistical dashboard giving "new membership" numbers for 2023 and 2024 which are completely different from earlier ones. (see slide right)

If the figures are cumulative, these total 5,249 new members in 2023 (not 5,357).

But, manifestly, the 2024 figures are not cumulative. 

If they are not cumulative we are talking about 6,692 new members in 2024 but how does that square with the 9,476 new members that Ms Munusami repeatedly insists is the correct number?

The Library Board and the Public Interest

This disastrous reporting of basic information over the four years of Ms Munusami’s tenure cannot just be laid at her door. She signs off on all the reports presented to the Board, the Town and the wider public.

But what about the Library Board’s oversight role? Clearly, it has been lamentable.

The Board is responsible for hiring the Chief Executive and for monitoring her work. Her salary in 2024 went up 17.5% compared to her salary in 2022 at a time when sand was being thrown in our eyes with claims of spectacular membership growth. Her annual performance review will be conducted by the Board's Executive Committee next month.

Ms Munusami has tried to answer questions I have put to her – but only after I got nowhere with the Board Chair, Darryl Gray.

Darryl Gray

Almost three months ago, I tried to get hold of him as I was concerned about the accuracy of the Library’s Report to the Community 2024. 

On 14 April 2025 I was told:

“...that Tracy Munusami, CEO, is best suited to provide comments on information in the report as it relates to numerical data as she has direct access to this information and can respond in a more timely and effective manner.”

So that’s what triggered my email correspondence with Ms Munusami. (Click “read more” below for Ms Munusami’s email to me on 4 July 2025)

But after our exchanges I am really none the wiser.

The answers I get only beg further questions.

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

4 July 2025

Dear Mr. Prentice,  

Thank you for your questions, and I’m happy to provide you with the additional information you have requested. As you are aware, we are working with a new process for capturing ‘Active Library Cardholders.’ The change is for better accuracy on our users so that we can make better decisions to meet the community’s needs. The change still aligns with the provincial definition of an “Active Library Cardholder.”  With the introduction of the new definition, going forward, we will report membership numbers based on a process that will consistently remove expired cards. I acknowledge that we have reported some numbers in error during the transition to the new definition. We are working to correct this going forward. 

We have identified two errors in the information provided for the article:  

• The first error was with the count of Active Library Card Holders as of December 31, 2023. The correct number is - 18,992 (Using our new definition) 

• The second error was in the report to the Board on May 21, 2025. Staff found an error in the formulas. We will correct it and report the error to the board next quarter. 

Information to answer your questions and some background: 

• Newmarket Library cards expire every two years. This means a user will need to renew their card to access library services. 

• Definition of Active Cardholders: We now define an active cardholder as someone who still has access to the library collection. If your card expires, you no longer have access to the library collection and are no longer an active cardholder until you return to renew it.   

o   The old way of defining an active cardholder was to take the existing active cardholder and add the new cards issued in a year, not considering that expired cards no longer have access. 

o   The Newmarket Library’s ‘new users’ data does not include users who simply renewed their card. However, it may include people who were users a few years ago, were inactive for a period (e.g. didn’t renew right away) and came back for a card. 

• 5,357 is the number of new memberships for 2023, and new memberships for 2024 was 9,476. 

• How is the database cleaned-up: A report is run to capture all the expired cards, then we delete most expired accounts. There is one exception – for auditing purposes we are required to keep accounts in our system where money is owed; this is a small amount.  

Here’s a chart to outline the data 

Year	Existing Active Cards	New Cards Issued in year	Total number of active cards at year end
2023	Not collected/reported	5,357	18,992
2024	18,992	9,476	22,234

Some of these changes in reporting are based on direction from the library board. Our focus for the last 3 years has been to show people how the library has evolved, and new members gave us an indicator that our outreach efforts were reaching people outside of the walls of the library. Now we want to build on that by making sure customers have a great experience using library services so that they return, so we can continue to support life-long learning and building community. Retention is a focus this year.

I hope this information helps.

Kind regards, 

Tracy