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.
The library board asked municipalities for $351,000 in top-up funding earlier this year. All municipalities agreed to give some extra, but some did not commit to the full amount. The contributions ultimately fell short.
Kentville Mayor Andrew Zebian said he and other local leaders did not understand at the time how “dire” a situation the libraries were in. That only became apparent when the branch closures were announced, he said.
He’s now calling on the library board to pause closure plans and give municipal councils time to sort out whether they can meet the full financial ask.
“I don’t want to see shelves emptied,” he said in an interview with CBC Radio’s Mainstreet Nova Scotia.
Zebian said Kentville previously committed to give the full $21,400 it was asked to contribute, but the agreement fell through when its branch was slated for closure. Council will now have to revisit the request, he said.
Long-term funding needed, says board CEO
Merritt said with the full $351,000 from municipalities, the library board would still have to dip deep into its financial reserves, and the solution would only be short term.
“The need is for sustainable funding,” she said.
The library board announced June 1 that it was planning to close five of its branches effective July 20: Hantsport, Kentville, Lawrencetown, Port Williams and Middleton.
The library system had been warning the public about its precarious financial situation for months, and it has been calling for more funding from the province for years.
Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage Minister Dave Ritcey said he hopes to see the branches remain open, but the province will not pitch in to help.
“The budget was passed in April and we’re following with the budget. There’s no more money,” he told reporters Thursday following a cabinet meeting.
All public libraries outside of the Halifax Regional Municipality receive core funding from the province through grants.
The provincial funding formula for libraries has been static since 2020. The province has provided some year-to-year bridge funding, but libraries say it hasn’t been enough.
The Council of Regional Libraries, which represents the province’s nine regional library systems, recently asked for an extra $12.8 million to prevent further branch closures.
Ritcey said there will be a conversation about accounting for the inflationary spike that’s happened over the past six years, but he added, “it’s not happening now.”
Recent gov’t appointment criticized
Opposition NDP Leader Claudia Chender said the Progressive Conservative government has been “starving” libraries for years, and not increasing funding is short-sighted.
“The impact of this, ultimately, will be expensive for government,” she told reporters Thursday, adding that public libraries do more than loan books and promote literacy.
“They are a lending library for assistive devices, they are child-care spaces, they offer lots of language training and computer access for newcomers, they are an internet access site,” she said.
Chender noted the $310,000 salary for Karen Oldfield — the former health authority CEO appointed to lead a new government entity called Accelerate Nova Scotia — would nearly cover the libraries’ shortfall.
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Liberal MLA Becky Druhan made the same observation.
“An easy answer right now would be, instead of appointing Karen Oldfield to a new role that nobody understands the purpose of or the function of, is to divert that money and support the libraries that will be closing in the Valley,” Druhan said to reporters Thursday.
Source: CBC Nova Scotia