Antigonish County Council is supporting a request by the Council of Regional Librarians for emergency bridge funding for the 2025-26 fiscal year.
Eric Stackhouse, chair of the Council of Regional Librarians, wrote to Stephanie Smith, executive director for Archives, Libraries, and Museums with the department of Communities Culture and Heritage, asking for the emergency bridge funding and also that the department continue to work towards an equitable funding formula solution.
Antigonish County Warden Nicholas MacInnis said council voted to support the request on Tuesday night for a number of reasons.
Last week, Stackhouse, who serves as the chief librarian for the Pictou Antigonish Regional Library, said PARL’s five-year funding formula ends March 31. The operating budget for PARL and its seven branches is $2.1 million, and Stackhouse noted they are looking at a $190,000 shortfall.
