On Nov. 29, the Barrhead Public Library came hat in hand to both municipal councils requesting a per capita budget increase of 90 cents, which would bring their per capita funding up to $18.44.
During that presentation, library board chair Ruth Bohn and director Elaine Dickie expounded on their financial woes, describing how they had to dip into reserves and even call on board members to help re-shelve books.
It’s a sad story, but not unexpected; rural libraries all over Alberta are constantly hurting for funds.
They have most of the same expenses that most businesses have — salaries, heating and power bills, rent and so forth — but unlike business, they don’t have any method of collecting revenue aside from the grants paid out by municipalities or the province, as well as donations and the tiny amount collected through late fees.
Oh, and they have one other option that is unique to Alberta: charging people for library cards. And with that, we come to the topic of today’s editorial.
You see, to cope with their financial woes, the library has opted to increase adult membership fees from $12 to $15. That’s just for single adults, mind you — we don’t know if the fees for families or children will be affected.
That’s not an exorbitant increase; in fact, Westlock’s library still charges more, judging from a glance at the website.
But library card fees will always be a controversial subject because they go against the core philosophy of a library, which is offering books to the general public at low or no cost.
So some may rail at this library card increase, and your grumbling is justified. But it’s an unavoidable situation. The school division and the local municipalities have their own financial woes to deal with, and even provincial coffers are not inexhaustible.
It makes sense to charge members just a little, though pains must be taken to keep library card fees reasonable.
“Well, if the library can’t afford to stay open, maybe it should just close.” Bite your tongue, reader! Libraries are more crucial than ever in this increasingly online age, when half of our lives are now spent staring at a computer screen or a cell phone.
Literacy among teens is in decline, and the patience needed to read challenging books is becoming increasingly rare. E-readers and tablets are not the answer; we need to encourage children to read actual, physical books. There is value in that experience.
But if they have no place to get books when they temporarily set aside their phones and laptops and game consoles, then they’ll go right back to those devices.
