Critics want city to reconsider plan to close downtown library on Sundays

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While the city is poised to expand overall library operations, some Winnipeggers fear a proposal to cut some Sunday hours at the downtown Millennium Library will close the door to big events and key social services.

Samantha Beiko, artistic director of the Prairie Comics Festival, said her organization’s namesake event is scheduled for the weekend of Oct. 5-6, but is now at risk of being cancelled. Sunday hours at Millennium presently run from 1 to 5 p.m. between Labour Day and Victoria Day but would be eliminated entirely if a current budget proposal succeeds.

Beiko said that would come at a great loss for artists and the community.

“We’re setting a precedent for what can occur at the library. It can be an event space,” she said.

Beiko said the free-to-attend event is accessible to people in the downtown community, many of whom have less access to vehicles and transportation than those living in other areas. The festival was booked in December 2022 and expected to attract 3,000 to 5,000 people, she said.

Without a second day, many visiting artists won’t find it financially feasible to attend, she said.

“We’ve spent hundreds of… hours measuring and mapping the space. I have contracts in place with headliner guests,” she said.

Beiko said her concerns also extend beyond the festival itself. She said Sunday hours will be nice to have at suburban libraries but the Millennium branch is critical for people who lack other nearby services.

“This just kind of sends a sinister message that some citizens in some areas deserve more resources than others,” she said.

Joe Curnow, a spokeswoman for the advocacy group Millennium for All, said she believes the plan to expand library hours elsewhere shouldn’t be accompanied by a reduction at the downtown branch.

“People from all over the city use Millennium. It’s extremely well used on Sundays. That’s where programming happens, that’s where there’s the largest collection. It’s a really big loss and I think its emblematic of part of a larger trend of gutting resources in the downtown core and then moving them to the suburbs,” said Curnow.

She said Millennium offers an important community space, where vulnerable people can escape the cold, connect to the internet and seek help through the library’s Community Connections hub.

“It’s a really big loss, and I think it’s emblematic of part of a larger trend of gutting resources in the downtown core and then moving them to the suburbs.”–Joe Curnow.

“Certainly, for people who live around there, we know that Millennium is used as a community space for an area that’s quite under-resourced,” she said.

Coun. Evan Duncan, chairman of council’s community services committee, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Last week, Duncan and Mayor Scott Gillingham announced more branches will be open seven days a week between the September and May long weekends, starting in the fall, if council approves the plan in its budget.

But the proposal also includes closing Millennium on Sundays and reducing some of its other hours during the year. The main branch is currently open every day throughout the winter. During summer, all city libraries will remain closed on Sundays, as they are now.

Coun. Jeff Browaty, chairman of finance, stressed the proposal still offers more library hours and rejects a previous call to end Sunday hours for all city libraries. Instead, the plan calls for nine branches to be open Sundays through the winter, up from the current six.

“There’s significant increases in hours… through the system,” said Browaty (North Kildonan).

Several factors led to the proposal to close the downtown library on Sundays, including surges in circulation at other recently renovated or replaced branches, said Browaty.

“We’re seeing a lot of uptake in usage and interest at these improved branches throughout the city, and having a place to go closer to go home we’re finding is a good use of resources,” he said.

He noted the downtown library also costs the most to run.

“Part of the reality is the cost of opening Millennium is expensive. It’s by far our biggest branch… let alone the additional cost of security. Just the number of people we have to have to open the door (costs more).”–Jeff Browaty

“Part of the reality is the cost of opening Millennium is expensive. It’s by far our biggest branch… let alone the additional cost of security. Just the number of people we have to have to open the door (costs more),” he said.

Coun. Sherri Rollins said she will question the decision to reduce hours at the downtown library, though she’s pleased hours throughout her ward will increase overall.

“I want to understand better where this reduction stems from and ideally get (the hours) replaced” unless there’s a clear reason not to, said Rollins (Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry).

joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca

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