On Nov. 25, Kingston city council approved the Kingston Frontenac Public Library budget with a vote of 11-2.
One of the dissenting councillors is Jim Neill because of $100,000 set aside for an extended hours pilot project at the Pittsburgh library in Kingston’s east end.
Neill says he’s concerned because the extended hours won’t be staffed.
“I’m sure that will be problematic to the workers, to the union and may well trigger a strike when negotiations open again,” said Neill.
Kingston Frontenac Public Library’s chief librarian and CEO, Laura Carter, says there will be no loss of jobs or changes in staffing levels.
Carter says the goal of the pilot project is about increasing access, which is what area residents have been asking for.
“We’ve gotten pretty clear direction from the city of Kingston — County of Frontenac, primarily; we do get some money from the province — that we can’t expand our operating budget, so how do we provide extra hours and extra service within the budget constraints that we have?” said Carter, explaining the motivation behind the project.
Neill says the Kingston Frontenac Libarary Board should still have appeared before council asking for an operating budget to increase hours at the Pittsburgh branch.
“I would have supported that and I’m sure other members of council could have supported that. We came in with a budget below inflation this year so I think there would have been some wiggle room to reconsider,” said Neill.
Neill says he also has concerns about security.
“I don’t know how they can ensure that security with no staff on,” said Neill. “There’s already a reduction in the purchase power for new books and that, and the outcome may very much be troubling.”
Carter says areas like Hamilton that have a similar program haven’t seen significant incidents of theft and vandalism.
“There’d be a door key pad and you scan your library card and through a PIN that would gain access to the branch, so it’s not the doors are wide open and everybody can come in, you have to register for the service,” said Carter.
Carter says staff would still be accessible by phone because the extended hours would still occur during the hours of operation at the the main central branch.
Security cameras will also be installed and can be viewed remotely by staff at other branches.
That said, discussions continue, says Carter, pointing out they will also be speaking with police about best practices as well.
Two open houses are scheduled this week for public consultation.
Carter says depending on the success of this extended hours pilot project, it could be applied to other branches in smaller communities that also have limited hours like Sydenham and Sharbot Lake.
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