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
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.
As the Annapolis Valley Regional Library (AVRL) prepares to shut down nearly half its branches due to financial pressures, at least one affected community is refusing to let its library die.
The AVRL announced last month it will close five of its 11 locations on July 20: Hantsport, Kentville, Port Williams, Middleton and Lawrencetown.
In Lawrencetown, N.S., local leaders say they are already taking matters into their own hands by preparing to transition to an independent, volunteer-run model.
Prince Edward Island residents who don’t have internet access can now borrow portable Wi-Fi hotspots from provincial libraries.
The Charlottetown Library Learning Centre Foundation bought the 20 hotspots over the last year through fundraising and a $20,000 grant from the Rotary Literacy Foundation of PEI.
Anyone 16 years or older with a library card can borrow the devices, according to a news release from the province.
“Adding these devices to our collection will help provide Islanders with fair access to the internet,” said Robin Croucher, minister of education and early years, in the release. “It’s a good way to bridge the digital divide so that Islanders without access can better participate in society and enjoy the advantages of being on-line.”
The devices will have content filters to block illegal and malicious content. Overdue devices will have their internet data shut off remotely.
Source: CTV News PEI
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