The Terrace Public Library is considering writing a request for a letter of support from the City of Terrace to back calls made for a provincial task force.
The request was brought up by the Burns Lake Public Library after they cited concerns that the current per-capita grant model does not consider the increased use of libraries, rising costs and population influx over time.
David Tremblay, head librarian, said the $70,000 grant given by the province has remained static for years.
“If your population has increased due to large project underway, the funding may not reflect that,” he said.
While Tremblay said the library hasn’t had to cut back on any of their current 213 programs, he said it becomes difficult to expand services for more people when the financial responsibility is split between the city and regional district.
“Most libraries are funded by their municipalities so there can be more of a cost for them, while the provincial government hasn’t increased their amount.”
In their report to the province, the library said they saw a 31 per cent increase in the number of in-person visits between 2013 and 2017. Last year the library loaned out 148,113 materials including books, magazines, DVDs, and online subscriptions. There were also 52,136 wireless connections made through the library’s Internet service.
“There is a section of the population we could serve more, or serve better,” Tremblay said, mentioning the need for more adult-based programming.
“A lot of our programs are family based, like after-school and teenage programming, but for other sectors of the population we just don’t have the time to do these programs.”
News of the resolution came after the Terrace Library was told the volunteer-based Friends of the Library Society would disband after five years of fundraising because of administrative costs.
Tremblay said the library has asked council for an increase in funding in the past for staff wages and programming after hitting a plateau a couple years ago but was told the municipality would only cover the cost of necessities. He said the proposed letter of support will be brought up at their upcoming society’s board meeting in two weeks.
The resolution is expected to be endorsed by two larger groups that represent local governments, first the North Central Local Government Association in May and the Union of B.C. Municipalities in September.
If the endorsements are given, then the Minister of Education would need to make a decision about whether or not to launch the task force.
– with files from David Gordon Koch
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