Rally held to back downtown library

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This article was published 10/03/2024 (587 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Library-goers rallied against a city budget proposal that would see Winnipeg’s downtown library shuttered on Sundays.

With a giant “Save Our Sundays” painted sign, protest songs and impassioned speeches, about 20 to 30 supporters of community advocacy group Millennium For All made their voices heard in Millennium Library’s lobby. The rally began just after the library opened at 1 p.m. Sunday; there were already dozens of patrons waiting in line at the entrance to get through security and use library facilities, and many more library-goers continued to pass by while the rally was ongoing.

“We hadn’t really accounted for that, but it shows how well-used this space is,” said Joe Curnow, an organizer and spokesperson for Millennium For All.

Attendees were taking a stand against a municipal proposal, introduced in this year’s City of Winnipeg budget, that would end Sunday hours for Millennium Library while keeping libraries open on Sundays in other areas of the city. Overall, the budget proposal includes an expansion of library hours, but advocates said they want to see services at all libraries expanded, and don’t want the downtown library to have to close on Sundays in favour of keeping suburban libraries open. The Donald St. library is currently open from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. September through May.

“I mean, look around. There’s people here,” said Jenn Still, a supporter of the cause. “And where are we going to go? There’s no other nearby library.”

Eva Hagel MacPherson and mom Erika MacPherson spent their weekends in the library throughout Eva’s childhood and they still use the library now.

“As a low-income family and also as readers, the library was a home for us,” Erika said.

It’s important for people to have access to a public, non-commercial space to get out of the cold in the winter or stay cool in the summer months, Eva said.

People work during the week, and if you want to bring your kids, if you want to bring your family, it’s a perfect weekend thing to do. It seems to me kind of a no-brainer. It’s not, like, a plumbing supply store (that can shut down on Sundays).”– Erika MacPherson

“It’s also a convenience thing. People work during the week, and if you want to bring your kids, if you want to bring your family, it’s a perfect weekend thing to do,” Erika added. “It seems to me kind of a no-brainer. It’s not, like, a plumbing supply store (that can shut down on Sundays).”

Organizers circulated a petition calling for consistent, year-round hours at all city libraries, including on Wednesdays and Saturdays, more funding for technology, collections and programming, more support for the community hosts and community connections space at Millennium, and corresponding staffing increases.

Curnow said the petition and its collected signatures will be presented to the city’s executive policy committee later this week.

“This budget does not go far enough in terms of staffing to address some of the long-term under-staffing in the system.”

Sunday’s rally was the latest of several events Millennium For All has held to push for changes at the library. Previous rallies pushed back against increased security guard and police presence at the library in favour of a community space staffed by “community hosts.” There are now 12 community safety hosts working at city libraries trained by Mary Burton, co-founder of Fearless R2W.

“I think that there has been a change. The budget does reflect a very different commitment to libraries than previous budgets, and we know that they can do better. And that they can do better by Millennium,” Curnow said.

katie.may@freepress.mb.ca