The Pictou Antigonish Regional Library is trying to find ways to make up a shortfall of around $190,000.
Eric Stackhouse, chief librarian for PARL, explained its five-year funding formula ends March 31, noting they had to make a few one-time operating grant requests over that time due to Covid and the ensuing inflation. The operating budget for PARL and its seven branches is $2.1 million. While some people think Libraries are government or municipal employees, Stackhouse explained they are employees of an independent board.
All told, PARL is looking at a $190,000 shortfall, which Stackhouse said they will have to find somewhere, either through government and municipal assistance or they will have make cuts to services. He said they made requests to the province for emergency funding, noting they have also been working on a new funding formula for over a year. If they don`t receive the emergency funding, he said they will have to look at cuts to programs and services, noting $190,000 in a budget of $2.1 million is quite a bit.
Stackhouse said libraries are here to help and people want more libraries, not less.
