visual laurel

Half of public libraries in Newfoundland to close in wake of budget cuts

allthecanadianpolitics:
xuut:
allthecanadianpolitics:
The library board in Newfoundland and Labrador announced sweeping changes to its services Wednesday, adopting a regional library model which will see 54 branches close in the next two years.
The board met Tuesday to discuss how best to deal with a $1-million loss in its annual budget, a cut announced in the provincial budget.
“It’s tough on everybody,” said chair Calvin Taylor.
He said the board is just doing its part to help reduce the province’s deficit.
“And also in the long run, to improve the library services in Newfoundland by going with a regional library-type [of] system.”
Continue Reading.
Isn’t there a drastically low literacy rate in this province already? Like 50%?
Yes:
More than half of the populations of Newfoundland and Labrador (56.8%), New Brunswick (53.5%), Quebec (53.2%), Northwest Territories (63.8%) and Nunavut (83.1%) had literacy scores below Level 3.
This is level 3 literacy:
Level 3: The individual is able to meet the demands of everyday life and perform work-related tasks (often associated with earning a secondary school diploma).
Half of the libraries in the system - 54 libraries - will have to be closed. In budget terms, a million dollars is a small amount but the impact on the system will be huge - it leaves only $650,000 - 1/3 of the original funding. The fact that a government would allow 54 libraries spread across the province in different communities to close for that relatively small amount of savings indicates that both communities and promotion of literacy are a low priority for them. Their position on literacy is made even clearer with another move - they will also become the first province in Canada to tax books.