The Vancouver Public Library is a place for sharing knowledge, information, culture, and ideas, according to chief librarian Sandra Singh.

In a phone interview with the Straight, she also said that the VPL is a platform for lifelong learning, creativity, and innovation.

"So thinking about the role of the organization that does these things in the community—what would it look like in the future?" Singh asked.

That's the vision underlying a 10-minute online VPL survey, which is seeking community input on a new strategic plan for 2017 to 2020.

"We're really looking forward to hearing from a broad range of community members so that we can make the best plan for the future," Singh emphasized.

The VPL 2020 Free Your Mind survey seeks input in a broad range of areas, including ranking the importance of a range of services.

They include whether the library should continue to be free, the importance of access to technology, and the emphasis that the VPL is placing on outreach to diverse communities.

Singh pointed out that many people think of libraries as simply being filled with books on shelves.

In fact, the VPL offers many different platforms, including streaming music and film, downloadable ebooks, and Inspiration Lab, which offers central branch visitors a chance to record music, create oral histories, and edit films, sound, and photos.

"We just launched medici.tv, which is an amazing collection of streaming classical music and concerts from all around the world," Singh said. "It's outstanding."

The VPL also offers IndieFlix, which includes 6,500 titles of independent shorts, features, classic TV, and documentaries from 90 countries.

"One part of our role is [to ensure] that everyone, regardless of their life circumstances, has access to information, culture, and knowledge," the VPL chief librarian said. "But how do the tools that we use—how do the ways that we need do that—need to change as technology changes, as community demographics change, and as community aspirations change?"

She noted that Inspiration Lab arose as a result of public consultations on an earlier strategic plan, which indicated a desire for more technological options.

The VPL 2020 Free Your Mind survey will remain on the library's website until Friday (April 29).