Editor:
Re: “Tie vote scuttles library funding request,” March 2.
Naturally, the library is disappointed that the funding request for $45,425 for capital items like computers was voted down by the District of Sechelt. The library’s funders fund operating costs but not capital costs; nevertheless, our 2013 memorandum of understanding with our funders does allow the agreement to be opened each year for capital projects or one-time operating projects. So Coun. Doug Wright is incorrect when he says, “if you have a memorandum of understanding you live with it. You don’t come back and say you need this or forgot that…” In fact, the MOU provides exactly that opportunity.
Our computer area and technology were challenged in 2013 when the MOU was signed and now even more so. A survey of 1,000 plus community members in mid-2016 demonstrated that the majority wanted the library to be digitally and technologically relevant. And we are getting busier and busier, with a 19 per cent increase in visits in five years, plus 4,000 more attending programs mostly off site in 2017.
The community defines the library. We have a new technical education coordinator as digital literacy is the new literacy. Libraries are at the forefront as public computer use grows and more is demanded of people, such as the need to have an email address and government account to access a government program. Difficult without a computer. Impossible without the library.
Recent renovations were wholly funded by grants, a legacy and community donations and not by our funders. Renovations were generously supported by the Friends of the Library’s donation of new checkout machines, capital items otherwise beyond the library’s budget. We could not have done this without community support and are grateful to all those who helped. However, no capital support and a less than average per-capita operating budget for a library of our size hamper the library’s ability to meet community needs.
Ann Hopkins, Chair, Sechelt Library Board of Trustees
