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.
Continue reading “Nova Scotia: Board grants reprieve for five AVRL branches scheduled to close”
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.
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.
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.
Some changes have been made to the NL Public Libraries’ e-library app in hopes of reducing waitlists for certain materials.
Starting in August, the number of books users can put on hold in the Libby app will be reduced to 10 from 30.
Emma Craig, regional librarian for St. John’s, says ideally the changes will force users to be more selective with the books they put on hold, and free up space for someone else who may have been waiting a long time.
Craig hopes the changes will encourage readers to go through their hold-lists.
“We all forget the books we put on hold,” said Craig. “Even I’m guilty of that.”
Source: VOCM
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.
Source: CBC Nova Scotia
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A last-ditch effort to avert closures at five Annapolis Valley libraries has cleared the first hurdle.
Kentville Mayor Andrew Zebian asked July 6 for a special meeting to be held to consider pausing the Annapolis Valley Regional Library board’s decision to close the Hantsport, Port Williams, Kentville, Middleton, and Lawrencetown branches effective July 20.
Kentville’s mayor says a key meeting to pause five Annapolis Valley Regional Library branch closures still has not been scheduled, and he is worried time is running out.
Branches in Kentville, Hantsport, Lawrencetown, Middleton and Port Williams are still slated to close July 20.
Mayor Andrew Zebian has been pushing for a special AVRL board meeting to pause the closures and give funding partners more time to secure the money needed to keep the branches open.
