The Issues
Public libraries need the proper resources to provide the services that Nova Scotians expect.
- Nova Scotians want better book and material collections.
- Nova Scotians want improved open hours.
- Nova Scotians want 21st century buildings and services that are accessible to everyone.
From: Nova Scotia Provincial Library Consultation 2006. Department of Education, Province of Nova Scotia. Read it here.
But we know that public libraries are not only books, bricks, and mortar. They are staffed by professionals who need adequate pay and professional development opportunities.
- Public library staff recommend the best materials to use when looking for a job, starting a business, or researching a health concern.
- Public library staff develop programs and services that stimulate minds, from day one to old age in the pursuit of lifelong learning.
- Public library staff offer access to new technologies and help make sense of the online world.
- Public library staff nurture learning by creating spaces that bring people together.
- Public library staff contribute to the overall well-being, socially and economically, of communities.
The Province of Nova Scotia, municipal councils, and library boards all contribute to the operation of public libraries. Municipal governments pay for the cost of physical branch facilities and, with the library board, arrange for their improvement. It’s a three way partnership that needs to be fair and long ranging.
Currently there is no long range funding strategy. The Library Funding Task Force Report has made recommendations that have yet to be implemented by the Government of Nova Scotia, although they have been approved by LBANS and the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities.
We need you, the user of Nova Scotia Public Libraries, to ask your MLA, the Minister of Communities, Culture and Heritage, and the Premier of Nova Scotia to implement the Library Task Force Report.