Library won’t shut its doors…yet
by Kristine Berey
Due largely to the will of the community, the beleaguered Fraser-Hickson Library will remain open through the holidays, says chief librarian, Francis Ackerman.
“We’ve postponed closing until the end of January in response to requests from our members and the community in general,” Ackerman said.
But this temporary reprieve has a small price.
“It was suggested that we charge a fee to help the library and that is what we will be doing,” Ackerman said. In January, the yearly membership fee, should the library survive, will be $10 for adults, $2 for teens and $1 for children.
Just for the “bare bones” it costs the library $54,000 a month to operate, Ackerman said. That doesn’t include heating and snow shoveling, necessary in the thick of winter.
Forced to stop operations three years ago, the historic institution is again facing possible closure for lack of funds.
Although it is uncertain the library will continue to operate long term, Ackerman is heartened by the tremendous show of public support. “The publicity generated by the community action groups has focused attention on the problem facing the library and that may attract additional private funding,” Ackerman said.
Raj Ramtuhol has devoted many hours to helping the library. He believes the will of the community will prevail. “The library has so many people behind it, the support on the street is tremendous. In the space of a few weeks, 12,000 people signed the petition to save the library.” Ramtuhol takes the fact that a petition signed by 40,000 failed to stop the name change to Parc Ave., in stride. “It is a fact [city officials] can do what they want, and it is also a fact that the population does not forget. If you can undo mergers, which seems a formidable task, you can undo street names and keep libraries open.”
To learn more, visit www.fraserhickson.qc.ca
