City plans to increase number of library branches open seven days a week

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This article was published 23/02/2024 (603 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Seven more Winnipeg libraries will be open seven days a week most of the year under a new budget proposal to expand hours of operation, following long-standing complaints about a lack of access.

The proposal calls for $1.8 million to be spent on increasing security at existing branches and $4.7 million to construct a new library in the city’s rapidly growing northwest quadrant.

“It’s an investment that has been needed for several years now,” Coun. Evan Duncan, chair of the community services committee, said of expanded library hours. “This has been asked for by the public.

“The closures on random days throughout the week and the hours, it just wasn’t convenient. This will bring a lot of clarity to Winnipeggers.”

If approved by council, seven additional branches — Bill and Helen Norrie, Charleswood, Louis Riel, Pembina Trail, Sir William Stephenson, Transcona and Westwood — will be open seven days a week between the September and May long weekends, starting in the fall.

Currently, only three branches — downtown Millennium, Henderson and St. Boniface — are open every day when winter hours are in effect.

The Millennium Library would close Sundays under the plan. Its winter and summer hours will be reduced on some other days, including Mondays.

In the summer, some of the city’s 20 libraries will move to six days a week from five.

Mayor Scott Gillingham’s office said weekly library hours will increase by 12 per cent, with all libraries open on Wednesdays year-round. Sunday hours will increase by 50 per cent in the winter and fall.

“Libraries are far more than just a collection of books. They’re vibrant community hubs where people of all ages can gather, learn, explore and connect,” the mayor said at a Friday news conference at the Bill and Helen Norrie Library in Grant Park, where speakers were flanked by students from Linden Meadows School.

Winnipeg will have to hire more staff to support the expanded hours of operation. Duncan said the city is looking at about a dozen full-time equivalent positions to cover all of the measures proposed for libraries in the 2024-27 balanced budget.

Gord Delbridge, president of CUPE Local 500, which represents about 5,000 city workers, was pleased to hear about the plans to open more libraries seven days a week.

“This is long overdue,” he said. “Libraries play an important role in our communities.”

Delbridge said he is hopeful the city will be able to recruit staff, given some library positions are low-paying. Wages must be competitive to attract applicants, he said.

Overall, nearly $5.9 million is earmarked to enhance library services this year.

Duncan said it will cost almost $1 million to extend library hours.

The changes are possible thanks, in part, to a boost in grant funding from the Manitoba government — from about $2 million to $3.4 million.

“We’re continuing to look to opportunities to be able to fund these libraries so that they can function the way that citizens expect,” said Culture Minister Glen Simard.

Post-secondary students Lily Kyle and Ryan McDonald, who were visiting the Bill and Helen Norrie Library for the first time, welcomed the plan to expand hours.

They said it will encourage and make it easier for people to visit a branch, especially on weekends.

“It makes sense for students who are busy during the week,” said Kyle.

Plans for increased hours, additional security measures and a new library in northwest Winnipeg were initially announced when the preliminary budget was tabled Feb. 6. Some of the finer details emerged Friday.

Duncan said the $1.8 million for security measures will be shared across branches.

“It’s not an issue throughout all Winnipeg libraries… but we need to make sure that library staff are safe and that the patrons here are safe,” he said.

Delbridge said the security plans will be “well-received” by CUPE members. The union would like to see the city’s new community safety officers eventually be used for security purposes in libraries. The officers are currently focusing on Winnipeg Transit buses and stops.

New measures, including a walk-through metal detector and additional security guards, were implemented at Millennium Library, after the December 2022 fatal stabbing of 28-year-old Tyree Cayer.

Further study by city staff will identify which security improvements are necessary and at which branches, said Duncan.

The city hopes to open a new library in northwest Winnipeg in September 2025, he noted.

A location has not yet been chosen. The budget proposes a leased location, said finance chair Coun. Jeff Browaty.

The city is also considering expanding and renovating the West Kildonan Library, which is in a building constructed almost 60 years ago.

The draft budget includes plans to spend a further $462,000 on library materials and $134,000 to boost programming.

Last fall, a city report made a wide range of proposals to improve Winnipeg’s libraries and access to them.

Among them, it called for at least $2 million more in annual funding, about a dozen more full-time staff, while emphasizing employees are already stretched thin covering current schedules.

The report estimated about 85 more full-time positions were needed to raise service levels to be comparable to other cities.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca

New library hours