The Ontario Public Library Association says it’s time the provincial government increased the subsidy for their members.
Marj Poirier is chair of the Association and says they haven’t seen an increase in years.
“Most of our money does come from the municipality, but the extra money that comes from the government has decreased by 60 percent,” Poirier told Ontario’s Standing Committee on Finance recently.
“It’s been staying the same but has decreased 60 percent just because of inflation.”
Poirier says their grant from the province hasn’t changed in the last 25 years.
“That is a generation that this has not changed. So, our librarians across the province are stretching their money to the extreme.”
Poirier says they are also lobbying for funding to create the Ontario Digital Public Library to ensure residents in smaller municipalities have the same access to materials as people in large, urban centers.
