Libraries, necessity or luxury?

Here in Calgary, we are in the midst of a civic election that has many people up in arms. One of the more controversial issues is described in the following article from the Calgary Sun last weekend - it says it all!

"Second busiest, but bottom of the pile when it comes to funding.

Such is life for the shoddiest and most shameful public library system in Canada, left out as a neglected wallflower in the midst of an obscene spending orgy by Calgary’s 15 elected servants.

The money, of course, is gone — and with it, any chance of building a downtown library reflective of a city that so desperately wants to be world class.

Instead of an iconic central branch to replace the undersized and crummy structure at the corner of 7 Ave. and Macleod, the city’s library system find itself juggling hours, to deal with budget cuts.

Rather than a proud landmark building full of books and public resources, like Vancouver or Seattle, Calgary has a library system trying to determine whether to shut down Sundays or one weeknight, to save money.

The new central branch, heralded five years ago as a $150-million masterpiece to be built almost immediately, is scrapped, because council wanted bridges, pretty boulevards and nice parks instead.

The embarrassing central branch built in 1963 must suffice for the foreseeable future; thus a library designed to serve 400,000 citizens must handle more than a million.

It’s a disgrace — and those who called themselves aldermen and mayor over the past three years should be deeply ashamed.

Thanks to a city council more concerned with making the right impression on tourists, the citizens of Calgary might soon be denied timely access to their own libraries.

If the citizens want to read, let them read the dedication plaque on Calatrava’s $25-million designer bridge over the Bow, built to satisfy the sycophant insecurities of certain aldermen.

Such is the message to Calgarians, from those who controlled the money, and spent it on things we didn’t need.

There certainly won’t be any library books to borrow in the library-starved northeast and southwest, with the new Signal Hill and Saddletowne library branches now on the chopping block.

Promises must be broken, because all the infrastructure money has been spent.

Instead of cutting ribbons on new buildings, library officials have been told to cut $3-million from a $40.6-million budget that’s already the lowest per-capita allotment of any major city in Canada.

It’s the result of a $60-million revenue shortfall at the city, where all departments have been told to freeze hiring and make cuts.

For a department already working on something less than a shoestring, it’s brutal news.

The national average for library spending is $43.81 per capita, with Calgary’s system receiving half that.

That’s despite the huge demand for library services in Calgary.

Last year, 5,458,397 people visited Calgary libraries, more than any other public attraction or institution, be it the Stampede, Zoo or Calgary Flames.

For good reason too — the library is a source of learning, arts and culture for those who don’t have money for theatre tickets or backstage passes to the best music festivals.

It’s also a hell of a deal, even when you pull up to the doors in the latest luxury Lexus.

DVDs, CDs, magazines, newspapers from all over the world and a collection of 2.3 million books, free for the taking, after paying a small fee for a card.

Then there are the librarians — when not helping to find information and books, you can find these skilled professionals reading to a rapt group of children.

That Calgary’s library has done so much with such a paltry budget is pretty astounding.

To think what they might have done, if the late and not-very-great city council had bothered to include libraries on the list of pet projects, is heartbreaking.

The division between the haves and have-nots is never more apparent than at Calgary’s Central Park, home of the venerable Memorial Park library branch.

Here, culture can be found in the flower beds, benches and automated fountains, looking fantastic after an $11.5 million overhaul, as approved by city council.

The city’s oldest library, meanwhile, soldiers on like a shabby stepchild, hours restricted and its collection a shadow of what it could have been, with decent funding."

michael.platt@sunmedia.ca

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