Studies suggest patrons are going to larger branches with more services
Adam Bramburger
Beaver Staff
After receiving a reprieve from County council last year due to uncertainty with the Yarker Family School facility, the Camden East library branch will officially close as of April 29.
According to Lennox and Addington director of community development services Stephen Paul, the County conducted a study of library branch usage and facilities in 2016 that led to the closures of the South Fredericksburgh and Odessa branches the following year. The Camden East branch was also slated for closure but the County recognized the Limestone District School Board was planning to close the Yarker Family School — site of a branch there, and that building’s future was in jeopardy.
Last May, the previous council voted to put off the closure until they had more certainty about Yarker. Since, the County has agreed to purchase the facility on Stone Mills’ behalf through a child services reserve, with the township eventually repaying the $150,000 costs for the purchase. It will continue to house a library branch as well as a daycare centre.
“As we move forward, we have a better understanding and the plans for the community hub have cleared up that situation. As a result, we’re bringing it back to council based on the May 2018 motion,” Paul said.
Paul shared circulation statistics that Camden East circulation was down 14.8 per cent in 2018 to 2,092, a change that seemed to coincide with a 12.5-per-cent increase in Yarker to 12,323. Another study tracking users who checked out an item in 2018 revealed just 44 users for the Camden East branch.
“It’s been in decline, but I’d say over a five-year period it has been fairly consistent. The largest drop was in 2017 versus 2018,” Paul said. “When you look at the stats for other libraries, Yarker, in particular, increased. The services we can provide that customers want today is in a more modern library facility.”
He added that the advent of digital services has typically impacted smaller branches more than larger ones.
Staff also completed GIS tracking of residents living within 20 km of the Camden East branch and found significant traffic is going both to Yarker and to the full-service branch in Napanee already.
Stone Mills councillor John Wise spoke up against the closure.
“Local services in little villages are being eroded constantly. I appreciate that not only is the Camden East library not used as much as the others and it’s not a great space either — It’s very small and it’s dark. On the other hand, for the people there, many are seniors who mostly walk. They just want a place to continue to get books.”
While Wise admitted he saw the closure as rational from a corporate perspective, he views it as a low-cost service.
Greater Napanee’s Max Kaiser also wanted to keep the site open.
“I think municipalities are not in the business of making profits, necessarily. Yes, we have to pass balanced budgets, but we’re about providing a lifestyle for our residents and services for our residents,” he said. “I was very directly involved in the closure of a small school in this community, that being H.H. Langford — it was also Westdale at the same time. It was a very tough fight we fought and lost. I think this library in this community is a little piece of identity for that small community. I’m going to stand in defence of it.”
Loyalist’s Ric Bresee disagreed, stating he supported the professional analysis in the previous reports and recognized that Stone Mills would still have two active libraries. For him, it came down to where people access services compared to the cost to provide them.
“We know Bath is likely going to be on that hit list at some time or another with a long-term projection of just Napanee and Amherstview. I’m not sure we want to go that far, but with the very small libraries with the very short hours available for service, people are going to look to other services,” he said. “From a corporate and cuts perspective, I can’t justify the continuation of that particular facility.”
Marg Isbester, of Greater Napanee, agreed. She pointed to declining usage in South Fredericksburgh and council’s decision to close of a better-used facility in better shape despite it being a fair distance from the Napanee branch geographically and in people’s perceptions.
“We have to follow the on path we started,” she said. “I agree with Coun. Kaiser in that it doesn’t look good… but at the same point, t’s a service we’re providing at a great cost. Locally, I’m hoping they will find some kind of alternative.”
Bresee, Isbester, Loyalist’s James Hegadorn, and Addington Highlands’ Henry Hogg and Tony Fritsch voted for the closure. Warden Eric Smith joined Wise and Kaiser in opposition.
The County’s operating budget includes $15,484 to support the Camden East branch for six months. That funding will allow time after the closure to redistribute collection materials and remove furnishings and equipment.