THUNDER BAY – The Thunder Bay Public Library says it faces serious impacts to service after the province halved funding to Ontario Library Services North.
The Doug Ford Conservatives slashed about 50 per cent of the money annually allocated to the program, which supports libraries across the region, including in rural and First Nations communities.
Ontario Library Services North helps facilitate the now-shuttered interlibrary loan service, one of the first casualties of the cuts, which affect Ontario Library Services South in a similar fashion. The agency also helps cover cost of professional development opportunities and consultation services to library staff and boards.
It is helps facilitate the purchase of e-books through a consortium, ensuring costs are kept low.
The interlibrary loan program will be closed until at least May 31, said TBPL spokeswoman Tina Tucker, in a release issued on Thursday.
"This will impact TBPL patrons, as they make excellent use of this service, borrowing 1,076 items from other libraries in 2018. If TBPL purchased all of these items, instead of borrowing them from other libraries, our collections budget would have to increase by at least $32,000,” Tucker said.
“Library members across the province, particularly in Northern Ontario, borrowed 2,145 items from Thunder Bay Public Library in the same year.
“Interlibrary loan service helps to supplement collections for all libraries as they simply can’t afford to buy every new book or audio visual item in every format desired by library members.”
Other impacts are unknown at this time, Tucker added.
