They’re back.
After a brief hiatus, the popular interlibrary loan service at both the Huntsville Public Library and at the Lake of Bays Township Public Library branches in Dwight in Baysville will resume July 2.
The service had been suspended in April due to a $1.6 million cut in provincial funding for the Southern Ontario Library Service (SOLS) which oversees the program.
Since then, libraries across the province have been looking for ways to maintain the service, which allows library patrons to borrow books from other libraries within the province when they aren’t available at their own branch.
Although the budget cut is still in place, SOLS has agreed to provide partial reimbursement to libraries for delivery costs of materials through Canada Post, with libraries bearing the remainder of the cost. Previously, SOLS employed drivers to deliver materials between libraries.
To compensate for the additional cost of providing the services, Huntsville Public Library will be limiting the number of interlibrary loans permitted per user each month to five.
The Lake of Bays libraries have not yet set a limit, and said in a statement that “We are hopeful that this added financial stress will not result in service reductions but we may need to restrict the number and type of items borrowed to stay within our current budget.”
Related:
Interlibrary loan service to return, but funding questions remain
Popular interlibrary loan service cancelled at Huntsville Public Library due to government cuts
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Who ever decided to stop that service, certainly didn’t consider the outcome. I am so grateful it is a much needed service that has been revived. Thank you.
Ellen
Good!
.
Congrats and thanks to everyone in Huntsville and elsewhere in Ontario who kicked up a fuss. The government with its typical Tory imperative of weakening education didn’t listen, but library management did. Not a total victory but at least we get to borrow out-of-town books again!