Remember that editorial we wrote in August about how important libraries are to our communities?
Unfortunately, it wasn't persuasive enough.
In September we learned that hours would be cut at the Chemainus library, and as of Sept. 21 it is now closed on Sundays and Mondays.
In a letter to the Municipality of North Cowichan, the Vancouver Island Regional Library’s interim executive director Eileen Gillette said the Chemainus branch operated 55 hours per week, serving approximately 3,000 residents, which exceeds the typical standard for small branches that serve 4,500 to 6,700 residents and operate 35 to 44 hours per week, usually Tuesday through Saturday.
She said that under the standardized model, the Chemainus branch will transition to 42 hours per week, aligning its schedule with other branches of the same classification.
So we've now adopted the lowest common denominator. It's not only very disappointing, it's a bit scary to contemplate just how many cuts and closures they may be willing to make in the future to Cowichan's library branches. Are Mill Bay, Duncan, Lake Cowichan and Ladysmith branches safe?
The Municipality of North Cowichan has written a letter to the VIRL advocating for the lost hours to be restored to the branch. While it is heartening that the municipality sees the importance of this facility, we don't expect VIRL will reverse its decision.
It all comes down to money.
Libraries are such a vital part of our communities, they should be something in which we invest the necessary funding to keep up and running.
The people who work at our libraries are also an important component. Their ability to curate diverse and relevant collections, as well as help patrons is invaluable.
From repositories of books and newspapers, video games, music and movies, to providing a place for people to go to get warm or cool depending on the season, libraries are important spaces in our communities that are open to everyone.
Libraries also expose people to new things that many wouldn't otherwise encounter, like different cultures and ways of thinking, art and history and imagination from around the world.
They have computers people can use, and allow us to collectively hold more knowledge than any one regular person can hope to acquire as an individual.
Libraries make sure that people of all income levels have access to information, entertainment and learning. We would all be much poorer without them.
They're also an important underpinning of our very society. Democracies depend upon an educated populace, and libraries help to achieve this end. There is truth to the saying that knowledge is power, and libraries make sure everyone has equal access to knowledge, regardless of income.
It's part of a basic philosophy that everyone of every age in our communities deserves access to ideas and learning.
