May 12, 2016
 |
| The library on Fogo island is one 54 slated to close. The head of MNL says municipalities can't afford to take on the cost of running them. (Chris Ensing/CBC) |
The head of Municipalities Newfoundland and Labrador (MNL) says small communities don't have the resources to take over the libraries being cut by the province.
"Many of these municipalities are struggling now to try and provide the basic infrastructure and services to residents with their tax base," said Karen Oldford, MNL president and mayor of Labrador City.
"And if they take on providing library services, it's often a regional service in a sense that other communities wouldn't be contributing to, and that just puts an unfair expectation on the council to provide that service."
The province is cutting more than half the libraries in the province, all in rural areas, to save about $1 million.
Many of the libraries are housed in town buildings and the province says it's open to turning over those facilities for the towns to run.
But Oldford said towns barely have enough money to provide roads, sewer and water collection.
"We really are struggling to provide what we're mandated to provide," she told the Central Morning Show.
Oldford said some towns are dependent on the rent received from the province to pay for town infrastructure, others offer the space up in the building for free for the libraries.
She added the savings will be minimal in many areas.
 |
| Parents and children sign a petition to keep the Fogo Island Public Library open. (Chris Ensing/CBC) |
In some communities, Oldford said the library is the only place for people who don't have or can't afford internet access to complete school work or check email.
She's hoping the province will listen to municipalities and find a way to keep the libraries open without downloading all the costs onto the towns.
"Those kinds of consultations will be really important — and ideally should have happened before the decisions were made."
Source: CBC.ca
No comments:
Post a Comment