In this time of financial uncertainty, many tough decisions have been made regarding City expenditures. Programs have needed to be cut to meet failing revenues. Tragically, the Calgary Public Library is one of the departments to suffer these cuts, having to cut their budget by $3 million for next year. The result of these cuts will mean fewer services, shorter hours and an all around lower quality experience from the library.
It has been estimated that as many as 40% of Canadians have difficulty reading. This figure is likely to rise in the coming years, driven by increased immigration and an aging population. Libraries in today’s day and age have never been more important. Providing more than mere books, libraries provide the City with a place to gather, meet, learn and teach. Our Public Library provides seminars, classes, Internet and computer access, newspapers, magazines, and most importantly, books, to all Calgarians. Libraries not only loan out materials, they provide people with a place to learn new skills and place to exchange ideas; both essential for personal growth.
But the library budget has nonetheless been cut. With every dollar cut from this essential part of our city, a disservice is being done to all Calgarians, and threatening our ability to remain competitive in education and advanced industries such as engineering, information technologies and other advanced fields. Education is perhaps the most important aspect of a highly developed society like Canada’s, but if we fail to adequately fund library programs, we threaten to lose our status as one the world’s best cities in which to live.
With changes in technology, there have been many that say the idea of a public library is no longer necessary. I would argue that the opposite is true; with the advancements in technology, libraries have never been more important. Modern technologies like the Internet complement libraries, but they don’t replace them. The Internet is a great tool, but some families might not have access to these types of technologies at home. The library provides people with a resource that is so commonplace today, it is nearly impossible to live without. It is important that libraries continue to provide all Calgarians with these resources to ensure our future educational needs as a society.
The Calgary Public Library is already the most cost efficient system in Canada. Despite being the second largest library system in Canada it receives far less funding per capita than its counterparts in other Canadian cities such as Vancouver and Edmonton. Add to this the plans for a new central library, a very much needed piece of civic infrastructure, which has been shelved indefinitely. The last thing Calgary can afford to do is make further cuts to the library services already being provided. It is time City Council started getting its priorities in order, to ensure that the Calgary Public Library is supported to the best of our society’s capabilities, not only funded when there’s a little money left over at the end.
- The Butcher
www.billythebutcher.com
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