Struggling N.S. libraries say their financial books need a $1.6M emergency top-up

Nova Scotia's libraries are requesting $1.6 cardinal successful exigency backing from the state to stabilize the public room strategy and debar reducing services, staff, hours of cognition and collections.

Eric Stackhouse, main librarian of the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, wrote a missive successful February connected behalf of each 9 determination room boards saying they are facing end-of-year deficits arsenic they drawback up with the summation successful the minimum wage and different rising costs.

The letter, addressed to the province's enforcement manager of libraries, besides urged the Nova Scotia government to revise its five-year backing formula. 

Public libraries received $16.4 cardinal successful basal operating funds from the state successful the 2024-25 fiscal year, with the aforesaid magnitude earmarked for 2025-26. But Stackhouse said status quo backing risks harming libraries.

"It conscionable means little access. Less entree to computers, little entree to speechmaking materials," said Stackhouse. "We recognize the challenges the authorities is facing. However, during uncertain fiscal times, radical crook to libraries more."

Julia Merritt, CEO of the Annapolis Valley Regional Library, said some of the 11 libraries successful her portion person already made work and unit cuts to stabilize their budget, which is "a large loss" for the agrarian communities they serve.

She said libraries supply acquisition programs, service arsenic cooling and warming centres, assistance radical link with authorities services, and connection nutrient pantries and assemblage spaces. But with constricted funding, she said communities are losing access to those resources. 

"We've had to trim our programme offerings by 50 per cent starting successful 2024," said Merritt.

She added that her determination libraries person had to trim their unit by 5 employees implicit the past 2 years. Currently, determination are 50 imperishable unit members.

Merritt believes that the further backing would assistance stabilize the strategy successful the abbreviated term, though she besides wants to research semipermanent solutions.

The provincial Department of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage did not marque anyone disposable for an interrogation with CBC News. 

Rob Maguire, manager of communications, said successful a connection that the libraries' funding petition is nether consideration.

'We request to beryllium decently resourced'

In 2024, a room backing reappraisal committee made up of authorities staff, room committee members and municipal councillors recommended changing the provincial funding look to bespeak ostentation and different fiscal pressures.

Stackhouse, who was committee co-chair, said helium expected that recommendations to beryllium reflected successful the latest backing formula, but was dismayed to spot it unchanged. 

Provincial backing for libraries is determined by a look that is reviewed each 5 years. The 2019-24 look marked the archetypal fund summation for libraries since 2009. However, Stackhouse said the 2025-30 backing look needs to beryllium revised to guarantee that libraries tin support up with rising operational costs.

"What we privation to accidental to authorities is we're present to assistance you. We're present to assistance you present your services. We're present to assistance present priorities for the authorities and for our citizens and our communities. But we request to beryllium decently resourced," said Stackhouse.

Maguire said the state is reviewing the committee's recommendations.

Currently, libraries get 71 per cent of their backing from the provincial authorities and 26 per cent from municipalities. Libraries request to fundraise the remaining three per cent. The objection is libraries wrong the Halifax Regional Municipality, which are chiefly funded by the municipality.