BarrieToday welcomes letters to the editor at [email protected] or via the website. Please include your full name, daytime phone number and address (for verification of authorship, not publication). The following letter is in reference to 'City council tightens down on library spending as reserves swell' and 'Barrie library officials bite back on council's spending restrictions,' both published June 20.
I attended the June 19 council meeting and was disturbed to witness council’s discussion and motion regarding the Barrie Public Library.
As a regular library user of the downtown branch, I am continually impressed by its level and breadth of service, range of programming and community engagement. However, council’s discussion and acceptance of the motion leaves uninformed members of the public with the impression that Barrie Public Library is a poorly managed institution that requires council scrutiny.
Presumably, council understands that reserve funds are used both for specified purposes and as insurance against unbudgeted significant expenditures, such as equipment failure. Building up a reserve fund is good financial management, especially if long-term projects, such as the erection of new buildings, are contemplated.
The greater concern is that this matter was brought forward by a councillor sitting on the library board without first seeking clarity from the library board and without library board representation to address the issues raised.
The library board operates at arm’s length from the municipality and is responsible for its own governance, including policy development and financial management (within the constraints of municipal funding). It is not under the purview of council to make decisions about the quality of “appliances, furnishings” or other aspects of their services, nor does council have the expertise to make day-to-day operational decisions for library service.
However, I would expect that council would understand that a public-facing service that sees significant in-house annual usage would invest in the highest-quality materials both in the public and staff areas in order to ensure that residents see the maximum benefit from our tax dollars and ensure that capital replacement costs are minimized.
As a resident, I expect that council would appoint knowledgeable, dedicated residents to sit on the library board and then to trust them to manage policy development, planning, financial oversight, community relations and advocacy. If there were concerns about financial management, I would imagine that any shortcomings would be flagged in the annual auditor’s report. I did not hear any reference to problematic auditor reports at the meeting.
Councillors who are appointed to the library board have a difficult role as they have fiduciary responsibility to both organizations. Councillors should provide a conduit to maintain a two-way flow of communication and provide insight and strategic advice regarding the unique aspects of the library-municipal relationship through their familiarity with both organizations. I did not observe a successful demonstration of this balancing act at the council meeting.
Rather, I witnessed a public discussion where the library’s financial management was disparaged without the opportunity for immediate clarification from library staff. It was a disappointing attack by council on a municipal institution that supports information skills development, early literacy development, business development and entrepreneurs, newcomer adaptation to Canadian society, career development and employment, government and community services, and much more.
I believe that investment in the library results in good value for money based on their breadth of services and their impact on the community. Libraries are, in fact, community assets, which can, with increased investment and municipal support, renew post-pandemic social cohesion, economic well-being and community resilience. Libraries are trusted institutions that provide a broad array of critical services to our community, which support knowledge distribution, culture, health, reconciliation, belonging and democracy.
Rather than viewing the Barrie Public Library as an over-funded organization, I would urge all of council to arrange for a library tour and to pursue ongoing conversation and collaboration with library staff to better understand the library’s role in the community and how library services both benefit the residents of Barrie and the municipality's strategic goals.
Susan Baues
Barrie
