Patrons read and relax at North York Central Library. Inter-library loans will resume in northern Ontario starting in June following an outcry over cuts made by the Ford government.
  • Patrons read and relax at North York Central Library. Inter-library loans will resume in northern Ontario starting in June following an outcry over cuts made by the Ford government.
  • Jody Bressette, right, CEO of the Tay Township Public Library, reads to Joelle and her mother Erin Thibert, of Victoria Harbour in late April.

Inter-library loans to be revived in north after outcry

The Ontario Library Service in northern Ontario will revive inter-library loans starting June 1 - but with southern service still unsettled, it's not known if full service can resume after huge budget cuts.

Inter-library loans will resume in northern Ontario starting in June — but with the future of such loans in the southern part of the province still in limbo, it remains unclear how much of the popular service will return.

And local libraries are also raising concerns about the government's huge funding cut to the two provincial organizations that co-ordinate the book sharing, and the impact that will have on other crucial services and support the two provide.

"It is now clear that provincial cuts to the (southern and northern) Ontario Library Service will impact programs and services beyond inter-library loan," says a recent letter from almost 60 library systems in northern Ontario.

"The diminished capacity of (Ontario Library Service-North) to deliver those programs will negatively impact our public libraries, and we believe that even programs and services that are maintained will operate at a reduced capacity due to extensive personnel cuts.

"We believe these cuts have disproportionately and unfairly impacted libraries in northern Ontario and jeopardize our ability to provide equitable library service in the north."

Last month, the Ontario Library Service-North and the Southern Ontario Library Service learned the Ford government would be cutting provincial funding in half. The move sparked a huge outcry among patrons — and even prompted "read-in" protests — as inter-library loans were immediately suspended as a cost-saving measure.

The two provincial library services also provide support, staff training and resources to local libraries and run a common cataloguing system for municipal systems, along with tech support — vital help that may now be under threat given staff layoffs.

Regarding the two library services' budget cuts, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport Michael Tibollo said the province is working to balance its budget and must spend money efficiently. He also stressed base funding for municipal libraries will remain at current levels.

"Our government is proud to say that OLS-N will be reinstating their inter-library loan program as of June 1st, 2019," he said in a statement to the Star. "We thank OLS-N for working collaboratively with us to protect what matters most and for ensuring that this core library service could be restored for the people in northern, rural and Indigenous communities.

"For libraries in southern Ontario, we are engaging with the Southern Ontario Library Service to ensure there are no further disruptions to inter-library loans."

The library services have said the government is chopping provincial funding by about 50 per cent, with the southern service having to manage a $3.1 million to $1.5 million drop.

(The minister's office, however, has said the southern service is losing 48 per cent of funding, and the northern, 35 per cent. Tibollo himself has been quoted as saying government funding is being cut by 50 per cent, but that does not represent half the services' budgets.)

New Democrat MPP Jill Andrew, her party's culture critic, continues to urge the Ford government to reinstate full funding.

"Not only are libraries community hubs, but they are democratic spaces — families, children, seniors, and vulnerable people can all find programs and support at the library that improve their quality of life," she said, adding smaller and rural communities will bear the brunt of the changes.

Indeed, with the loss of inter-library loans, many were forced to immediately cancel book clubs, given they don't have the budgets to purchase multiple copies of novels, nor the space to store them.

While the northern inter-library loan service was provided via Canada Post, the southern service also included a courier service transporting books and materials across urban areas, which has been cancelled and led to employee layoffs.

Barbara Franchetto, CEO of the Southern Ontario Library Service, said they've "met and spoken with staff at the ministry and minister's office a number of times over the last few weeks as we work towards a collaborative solution that will help our libraries."

She also said "we hope to receive confirmation that our grant is on its way along with our transfer payment agreement. We should then be in a better position to inform libraries how we will be able to support inter-library loan across the province."

The northern service will resume, with the same partial postage reimbursement as last year, in early June.

Dayna DeBenedet, CEO and chief librarian at the Dryden Public Library, said the cost of loans is borne by the lending library, not the borrower.

With the southern service still in limbo, "it feels like, to us, that service will be diminished because libraries will be forced to fit their inter-library loan delivery into their current operating budget."

She's worried some may cap lending based on what they can afford, or may choose to limit the types of items that can be sent.

"Lending libraries will have to decide what they can afford to lend," she said, adding systems in more urban centres typically send out the most.

"Our small libraries are net borrowers," she added. "The impact is a little different on us."

The return of the loan system, DeBenedet added, "is a good development, but does it come at the cost of other services? ... Nothing has changed in terms of the province's position on these cuts."

She's particularly worried about the 133 library systems in the north and rural areas that rely on the common software system used for book checkouts and check-ins. With staff reductions, local libraries won't have any tech support after hours or on weekends if problems arise.

Northern Ontario libraries have since started a website to inform the public about the issue, SaveOLSN.ca.

Kristin Rushowy is a Toronto-based reporter covering Ontario politics. Follow her on Twitter: @krushowy

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