Re: Staff-less Libraries

Paige Cousineau | Dec 01, 2021

So many things to comment on in this past issue of Frontenac News [November 25]! And they all have to do with logic, and bureaucracy. 

To take just one on the first page, the Library plan to implement staff-less hours. Laura Carter, the head librarian, says relative to the protests, “Just having the funding does not mean this will go forward. There will be a public consultation before a final decision is made about the enhanced hours.“

Whoever heard of somebody having the money to make a purchase not actually making that purchase! And why, if public consultation was a value, would they not have held a consultation BEFORE hatching the plan in the first place? They were able to consult with other libraries-why not the people they’re trying to serve? And what, exactly, would be the criteria for having the money and not going forward with the project? Would they give the money back? Sure. 

It does sound like there is really no public demand for what she is offering. Why not check it out? And further, if they don’t get the funding, will they still hold a public consultation? I note that the consultation is not on whether or not to do the project, but just, “how you would like to have a decision you don’t want rammed down your throat?”

Given that this is the second attempt by the library to implement staff-less hours, Laura‘s implication that the plan is not already decided is disingenuous at best.  I don’t believe there was any consultation before or after the first 2018 proposal. Carter says it “could” benefit Frontenac County users. And maybe not. But, don’t let the users speak for themselves!

KFPL board has a history of urban bias, and of acting covertly against clearly expressed Frontenac County service needs. - I was one of the 2 North Frontenac board members that were overruled on the closure of one of our rural branches in 2012. In that case two of the township councils had even sent formal motions against the decision. That they have not changed is evidenced by the fact that their one consultation was with the decidedly un-rural city of Hamilton. 

CUPE president Jillann Rothwell and   Frontenac County residents are correct I think, in fearing the one-sided long-term plan of KFPL.  How much more sensible, and less confrontational, would it have been to have done a series of public workshops on how to use digital technology to enhance library service to residents?

I would not vote in favour of such a whopping, over-budget request until the Library has some concrete evidence that it actually has consulted users and meets real community needs. 

Paige Cousineau