Year: 2026

The revitalization of the New Glasgow Public Library continues to progress smoothly.

The Town of New Glasgow, in partnership with the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, has been working on the library revitalization project since June 2025.

The project’s goal is to transform the existing library facility into a vibrant Destination Centre, bringing together community partners and providing welcoming, accessible spaces for residents of all ages.

Planned upgrades include modern meeting rooms, creative and maker spaces, areas for youth and seniors, and programming and collaboration spaces for community groups and non-profit organizations.

Mayor Nancy Dicks said once complete, the library’s energy consumption is expected to be reduced by nearly 80 per cent.

“It’s moving along really nicely,” Dicks said of the project.

“We’re hoping to have it done by late fall. We’ve been trying to get this done as a town for nearly a decade now, and it’s very nearly here. This revitalization project will ensure the library continues to serve our community for generations to come.”

Dicks said the project costs about $14 million, and is partially funded through the provincial and federal governments.

The town has launched a fundraising campaign to support the project. It is led by co-chairs Wade and Emily Sullivan, of Sullivan Fuels.

“The library has always been a special place in our community, and this project will help create a space where people of all ages can gather, learn, and connect,” said Emily.

The fundraising campaign has a goal of $4.7 million to help create modern, flexible spaces while supporting major building upgrades that improve accessibility and reduce energy use.

“We’re proud to help lead this campaign and invite others to join us in supporting a space that will benefit our community for many years to come,” Wade said.

“Being a New Glasgow business, my sister and I felt it was important to help out however we could. There is still a lot of money that needs to be raised, we’re not even halfway there yet. We have … received a rather generous donation recently, which will be publicly announced at a later point.”

The renovations are currently underway, and are expected to be finished by late fall alongside the gathering of the necessary funds.

During the renovations, the library service has temporarily moved to the Aberdeen Business Centre at 610 East River Rd.

A digital booklet outlining the project and ways to support the campaign is available on the town’s website.

“It isn’t just a place to find books,” said Wade.

“We need our library for non-profit meetings, reliable internet access, and to just be a community space for all. It’s important that we have that in our community, and we should want to make our downtown the best it can possibly be.”

Source: The News

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library board has voted to use more than half of its remaining reserve funds to keep five branches operating through the summer.

Earlier this year, the library system announced plans to close branches in Hantsport, Kentville, Lawrencetown, Middleton, and Port Williams because of funding shortfalls.

At a special meeting in Wolfville, board members approved a motion to extend service at those locations until Sept. 30, using reserve funds to cover the costs.

The decision provides a temporary reprieve for the branches, which had faced potential closure amid ongoing budget pressures, originally set for July 20.

Board members also voted to renew a request to the library’s municipal funding partners for the full amount of funding originally sought. The board hopes additional financial support will allow the five branches to remain open beyond the end of September.

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library serves communities across Kings, Annapolis, and Hants counties and has warned that reserve funds are limited, making a long-term funding solution necessary to maintain service levels.

Source: YourTricounties.ca

Five Annapolis Valley Regional Library branches that were set to close July 20 have been granted a reprieve.

At a special library board meeting in the Wolfville on July 13, members voted to use a portion of remaining, unallocated reserve funds to keep the doors of the five branches open until Sept. 30.

Board chairperson Janet Ness said all the board’s decisions regarding the potential closures have been made with a great deal of forethought, research, and heart.

“None of these decisions has been made lightly, and we’re in this position because our funding formula has not increased since 2020,” Ness said.

She said the board can no longer afford to operate a full library system that the citizens of the Annapolis Valley deserve. Ness said she never thought she would have to sit around the library board table and make decisions to close branches.

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library announced a major restructuring of library services on June 1, including the closure of the Hantsport, Kentville, Lawrencetown, Middleton, and Port Williams branches on July 20.

At the July 13 meeting, Kentville Mayor Andrew Zebian, who represents the town on the board and requested the special meeting, moved to use remaining reserve funds to keep the five branches open temporarily. The motion was amended to use a portion of the remaining reserve funds.

Zebian also moved to keep the five branches open until late October, but this was amended to Sept. 30 so that more of the funds remaining in the reserve can be maintained in event of an emergency. The regional library currently has about $160,830 left in reserve, but this will be reduced to about $88,800 by the end of September.

The board also voted to go back to the eight partner municipalities to ask that they provide the full increased budget amount requested earlier this year. The library board will restate its initial ask and request that all partner municipalities reconsider the amount given. The municipalities can consider contributing more than the original ask.

If all eight municipalities agree to provide the full amount that was originally requested, all 11 regional library branches could remain open until March 31, 2027. Only three partners, Kentville, Annapolis Royal, and West Hants, provided the full amount requested.

Kings County Coun. Emily Lutz, who represents the municipality on the library board and serves as treasurer, said she would ask that they be kind to the municipal funding partners. They all contributed additional funds this year, even if it wasn’t the full amount requested.

“Every single municipality willingly put their hand up and said libraries are important. Libraries are important to my constituents, and we went to our municipal units and asked them to contribute more than they needed to, and they all said yes,” Lutz said.

She said this was very different than the response from the provincial government, and the municipalities deserve a lot of credit. Lutz said the library board’s decision to grant the pause and ask the municipalities for more funds would put the onus back on the municipalities, “who only own 26 per cent of this problem.”

Following the meeting, Zebian said he’s thankful the board came together to consider a reprieve.

“I would have liked to have a couple more months, but Sept. 30 gives us a little more time. We can go back to the funding partners and the province again.”

Zebian said it’s now up to the partner municipalities whether the five branches will remain open until March 31. He said now is the time to come together in a regional effort to make this happen.

He’ll be reaching out to them, as he’s now wearing two hats, as a board member and a mayor. Zebian pointed out that county residents sometimes use town libraries, and in some cases vice versa, so all the municipal partners are in this together.

He said whether all 11 branches remain open beyond March 31 depends on a new, sustainable provincial funding formula that is fair and equitable for the municipalities and the library board.

The five regional library branches will be kept open until Sept. 30 using a combination of 2025-26 and 2026-27 staffing models. The three branches located in villages would operate under the 2025-26 service model, while the two branches in towns would operate under 2026-27 restructured staffing and hours.

This equates to 8.8 full-time equivalent positions plus casuals. Hantsport and Lawrencetown will have one full-time equivalent position; Port Williams, 1.2; and Kentville and Middleton, 2.8.

In a staff report for the special meeting prepared by CEO Julia Merritt, it says the cost of pausing the planned restructuring and continuing operations at all 11 branches until March 31, would range from $355,336.26 to $537,631.35. These costs would be entirely for employment related to service at the five branches scheduled for closure.

All eight municipal units agreed to increase their 2026-27 contribution to some extent, with two stipulating conditions that could not be met. The use of the funds from the other six municipalities is already accounted for in the 2026-27 library budget.

If the library board was to ask the partner municipalities for the full 50 per cent increase over 2025-26 funding levels, without conditions, the total additional request would be $217,970.

Source: Annapolis Valley Register

The imminent closure of five rural Nova Scotia libraries has municipalities working to find funding solutions to keep the doors open.

Annapolis Valley Regional Library (AVRL) announced on June 1 it would be closing its Kentville, Hantsport, Lawrencetown, Middleton and Port Williams branches due to a lack of sustainable funding.

The libraries are slated to close on July 20, a move that has sparked concern and protests from community members who use those spaces.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Effort underway to save 5 rural Nova Scotia libraries slated for closure” →

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library says talks are continuing on whether five branches scheduled for closure can remain open longer.

AVRL says it met with funding partner municipalities on Monday to review the library’s situation and explore interest in next steps.

The library also says it met with provincial staff Wednesday in what it described as a “solutions-oriented” meeting looking at possibilities to keep branches open for the rest of 2026-27.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: AVRL says talks underway to keep five threatened branches open longer” →

As the closing date for certain library branches in Annapolis Valley nears, the board overseeing them is rallying to explore any remaining possibilities to keep their doors open.

The Annapolis Valley Regional Library (AVRL) board operates 11 branches, five of which are slated to close on July 20 due to a “significant funding shortfall.”

Branches in Kentville, Port Williams, Hantsport, Lawrencetown and Middleton are on the chopping block.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: N.S. library board meets with partners, province, as it aims to keep branches open” →

The closure of nearly half of the public libraries in Nova Scotia’s Annapolis Valley might be put off, at least temporarily, if municipal governments can cobble together about $350,000.

Julia Merritt, CEO of Annapolis Valley Regional Libraries, said the extra money could keep all branches open until the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year. She said the library board is set to meet on Monday to discuss the possibility.

“This is all developing really fast,” she said in an interview, adding that she hasn’t yet formed an opinion on whether this is a good way to keep the libraries going.

Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Annapolis Valley libraries reconsidering imminent branch closures” →

The James McConnell Memorial Library in Sydney, N.S., is trying to bring more young people through its doors. And as the CBC’s Anna Rak reports, the team is using the marketing power of TikTok.

Video at link

Source: CBC Nova Scotia