Local libraries are worried about what lies ahead after the provincial government announced they would be freezing funding until after the budget is finalized.
When the UCP was elected, they took office without a budget in place. In order to cover funding for services such as libraries for the first six months of 2019, the province passed a bill for interim supply.
The remaining funding was to be included in the fall provincial budget.
While the Bonnyville Municipal Library was told they could be waiting to see funding, librarian Ina Smith said they have yet to get confirmation on the amount.
“It just seems like an easy place for them to find money to cut, even though the money that we get from the government is pretty small compared to other places where they could cut,” explained Smith.
The Alberta government will be releasing half of the libraries’ funding by the end of next month, but what will happen with the rest is unknown.
The Bonnyville location receives around $88,600 from the province annually. This makes up 22 per cent of their overall budget. They also receive financial support from the Town and MD of Bonnyville, which is used to pay for services and programs.
While the library does have reserve funds they could use if the provincial dollars don’t come through, changes would need to be made to address the shortfall.
“We run a pretty tight budget to begin with, and most of our biggest line items are always salaries for staff. You can look at cutting staff, which means cutting hours. There’s really not a lot of other places where we can cut,” she said. “You can tighten your programming, but that’s not a big line in our budget – it’s about $5,000, and if you’ve got around $45,000 to make up for, cutting your programming isn’t going to do it.”
Provincial grants represent 19.7 per cent of the Cold Lake Public Library’s funding, which means a $55,000 loss if they only receive half for 2019. Like the Bonnyville library, they also have a majority of the costs covered through dollars provided by local municipalities.
In a written statement, Darren Robson, secretary treasurer for the Cold Lake Library Board, said they’re not looking to cut any programs or staff as “we’re still hopeful that the October provincial budget will deliver on the remainder of the library provincial grant.”
He added, “While it’s possible other sources of funding might be found, the Cold Lake community has always been very generous with donations, and perhaps the city or MD of Bonnyville could provide a small increase in funding, but that is a large loss and without it the library may have to look at reducing services or programs.”
Vicky Lefebvre, board chair for the Northern Lights Library System (NLLS), said other libraries across the NLLS could be greatly impacted.
“Both Bonnyville and Cold Lake are well supported by both of their municipalities and the MD, but we can’t say that for everyone in our system because not everybody’s in the same boat and don’t receive as much. It can certainly have a negative impact on what they’re able to offer and when,” she expressed.
Smith and Lefebvre agreed residents take advantage of everything local libraries have to offer.
“We have different programs that people can go on there and get free training online, these are things that help a place, especially in a recession area where we’ve lost a lot of jobs and people are looking for work,” Lefebvre continued. “They can go to the library and get so many services for free that this helps them in their time of need.”
Along with books and magazines, Smith said they provide assistance “you can’t really find elsewhere in the community.”
This includes free Internet access, inter-library borrowing, and exam supervision, among other services.
While they wait to hear the province’s decision, Smith believes what they offer is vital when it comes to assisting rural residents.
“I just hope that they’ll think about the people that they’re hurting by cutting our funding.”
