Parham library to be put on probation

Jeff Green | Jan 13, 2016

Central Frontenac Council has received a letter from Kingston Frontenac Library Board Chair Claudette Richardson, which sets out the way the library sees the future of the Parham branch. The letter was based on a meeting held between Mayor Frances Smith and library staff and Board members on December 11.

Not only does the letter outline who will pay for what as the branch is set up in an extra room that was built into the new Parham fire hall, it also makes it clear that the branch will only stay open if it meets “performance benchmarks” set by the library board.

The township needs to provide not only the space but all furnishings and equipment as well, and will also be responsible for facility costs such as utilities, snow clearing and insurance.

The library will supply all computer equipment and related costs, and will cover the costs of Internet and phone service, library materials and staffing for six hours a week.

Richardson said that not only will the board set benchmarks that need to be met by Parham branch users, they will also set out a timeline for those benchmarks to be met. She said they would close the branch and transfer the hours to a new branch in Mountain Grove if those benchmarks are not met. The fact that a new branch in Mountain Grove has not yet been approved in any Central Frontenac budget is also referred to in the letter.

“If the Mountain Grove branch is not built within the time frame specified, the Library Board will work with the township to determine the next steps,” Richardson wrote.

Finally, the letter gives the library board an option to remove service from Parham, perhaps even if the usage benchmarks are met.

“The continued operation of the Parham branch will depend on the availability of resources and funding within the budget targets imposed by our funders,” said Richardson

At a meeting of Central Frontenac Council on Tuesday (January 12) Mayor Frances Smith said that the shelving that needs to be put in place will cost about $28,000 and that a drop box will cost another $3,000.

She said that the meeting that took place in December had been a good one, and that “the library board is really trying to establish a reasonable target for usage given the size of the community and other factors. We will be able to engage with them on the benchmark and our two county representatives on their board, John Purdon and Annie Peace-Fast, will play a role in monitoring how the library handles the matter.”

She added that it is a “beautiful space” that has been created for the library at the back of the new Parham fire hall.

“I'm not convinced they haven't already made up their mind and are just stringing us along,” said Councilor Philip Smith.

Councilor Bill MacDonald said that in his recollection it was the Library that provided shelving when the branch in Sharbot Lake was upgraded in the 1990s.

When the Frontenac Public Library was originally established, each of the Frontenac townships committed to establishing a branch, and when four townships (Olden, Oso, Hinchinbrooke and Kennebec) amalgamated to form Central Frontenac, the new township inherited four branches.

The Kingston Frontenac Public Library, which was created after municipal amalgamation in 1998, has continued to provide staffing and library materials to the four branches, but in a report tabled in 2006, it was proposed that one larger branch in Sharbot Lake be built to replace all four existing branches.

Since then the Arden branch has been upgraded and is included in the long term plans of the library, and the existing Sharbot Lake branch has remained busy, but the status of the Parham and Mountain Grove branches has been precarious.

While the letter from board chair Richardson creates doubt about the continued viability of the Parham branch, the reference to supporting a “new facility in Mountain Grove” is the first sign of a long-term commitment to a third branch in Central Frontenac.

Mayor Smith said that if the Parham branch is forced to close, the new shelving can be used for an upgraded Mountain Grove facility.

The commitment to a branch in every former Frontenac Township was broken by the KFPL Board when they closed the Ompah branch in the former Palmerston - Canonto township five years ago.

A community group has established an independent library where the KFPL branch used to be located.