By Anna Patanao
Maxine Urquhart, a Grade 12 student at Glebe Collegiate, uses the Ottawa Public Library on Metcalfe Street because of its easy access and the selection of reference books.
But Tannis Yankewicz, chair of the Ottawa Public Library Board, is worried about their ability to continue serving the community.
The library’s board of trustees is asking for more money from the Ottawa transition board so it can extend its services to the expanded City of Ottawa.
Yankewicz says there are 11 library systems in the region with a budget of $26 million.
But the transition board wants a budget of $24 million when the systems combine to form the new Ottawa Public Library.
“The reduction in our budget means less money to spend (on our collection) but more people to serve in a larger area,” says Yankewicz.
“We’re losing (around) $2 million and we’re asking the transition board to give back at least $500,000 to help us buy new materials.”
Yankewicz says she’s worried about falling behind.
“If we have less money to spend, the collections will suffer and it’s what people depend on the most.”
Yankewicz says the library system isn’t suffering now, but the board worries about the future because Ottawa continues to grow and more people such as Urquhart rely on library services.
“We’re fine now, but we have to make some noise and let the public know what’s going on,” she says.