At its October 27, 2016 meeting, the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library Board (OSNGUPL) received assent from its union partner municipalities to offer library service to all of the residents of Meaford, under the same terms service is provided to the residents of Owen Sound, Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth. A letter was forwarded on November 4th to the Chair of the Meaford Public Library Board inviting a meeting to achieve this goal.
Yesterday at a special meeting, the Meaford Public Library Board passed a motion to "terminate the current Library Services Agreement with the OSNGUPL effective December 31, 2016."
The letter went on to state that it had formed a negotiating committee, but that negotiations must be completed prior to November 16, 2016.
The net effect of the announcement will be to end membership for card carrying residents of the former Sydenham Township in the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library as of December 31, 2016.
"In its Meaford Public Library Issue Paper, the Meaford Public Library Board suggests it should pay less than taxpayers in Owen Sound, Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth for the same service—in essence, it wants the union partners to subsidize their use of our library. That is completely unrealistic," said Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library Board Chair Richard Thomas.
Sydenham Township had been a member of the Union Public Library before amalgamating with Meaford and St. Vincent Township, and continuing that membership was included in the amalgamation agreement signed by all three municipalities. Five years ago the Municipality of Meaford signed a 10-year agreement for library service at OSNGUPL.
"By creating a list of demands we can't possibly satisfy, and setting a one week negotiating period, the Meaford Public Library Board has moved us from offering service to the entire municipality under the existing contract, to the possibility that no-one in Meaford will have access to the Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library. It's really unfortunate." Thomas said.
The Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library will be posting notices this week warning Sydenham residents that their membership in the library is in jeopardy. If the situation is not resolved, Sydenham residents will be unable to sign out materials after December 12th.
