- by Anne Finlay-Stewart, Editor

On October 10, 1855, 102 citizens signed a charter "to establish a Mechanics' Institute and Library Association at the Town of Sydenham (which officially became Owen Sound in 1857), in the County of Grey, under the name of "The Owen Sound Mechanics' Institute".  That reading room and library was paid for by annual subscriptions of the members.  In 1904, the Carnegie Foundation provided funds for a Free Public Library building in Owen Sound, but the City Council would take eight years to approve its construction, so loathe were they to make the political commitment to maintaining it.

We find ourselves in a similar political stalemate today.

Sydenham Township residents became founding members in 1994 of the original Union Public Library, Owen Sound and North Grey, the largest in the province.  The other members were the towns and townships which became, after municipal amalgamation in 2002, Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth.  Sydenham became part of the Municipality of Meaford, but were assured of access to, and municipal support of, library services at their familiar Union Public Library.

The most recent ten-year Union Library agreement was written to cover the years 2012 to 2021.  It was signed by the then-mayors of Georgian Bluffs, Chatsworth, Owen Sound and Meaford (for services for the residents of the former Sydenham Township.)  The Meaford Library Board was unwilling to sign the agreement on behalf of Sydenham residents, and this November it announced its intention to cancel the agreement if it could not re-negotiate a set fee for a single year.

The contribution each municipality makes to the annual operating budget of the OSNGUPL is based on a three-year average of its percentage of the total library membership. It sounds a little cumbersome, but simply put it is designed to protect municipalities from any real surprises caused by unusual spikes in numbers of card-holders.  Owen Sound pays, on average, 60 percent of the Library's operating budget, Georgian Bluffs 21 percent, Chatsworth 10 percent and Meaford about 9 percent.  The capital expenses for the building are borne primarily by the City of Owen Sound - all but $3000 annually according to the Union agreement, which is divided, proportionate to their card-holders, by the three other municipalities.

Library contributions from the municipalities have never been based on a per-cardholder fee, nor on the number of times residents borrow materials or use other services of the library. Library services are provided for all residents of the geographic area. The degree to which services are used by members is assumed to be both the individual's private business and more or less equivalent for each municipality. There is no reason to think that residents of Chatsworth are heavier borrowers than those in Georgian Bluffs, or vice versa, and that has never been the basis of the agreement. 

The Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library (OSNGUPL) does not collect data on individual users' habits, nor is that consistent with its principles.  The number of members with former-Sydenham addresses is known, and published regularly - 902 as of last month - and addresses of members are provided to the Clerk's office in Meaford only for auditing purposes. No members of the OSNGUPL have been asked for permission for their personal information to be given to the Meaford Library Board.

If Meaford withdraws from the Union agreement, the OSNGUPL Board would have the challenge  of making up the budget shortfall or reducing services for everyone.

Sydenham library members are not "non-resident users"; a term that usually refers to a relatively small number of people who don't pay local taxes to support a library, but want occasional use of it.  Sydenham library members have represented a constant 8.5 to 10 percent of the membership of the OSNGUPL since its founding, and none are more than a twenty-minute drive from the library.

When the Meaford Public Library was flooded, the OSNGU Library offered full services to anyone holding an up-to-date Meaford Library card. The Board has extended that on-going offer, based on the current funding formula, but it has been declined by the Meaford Library Board.

The elephants in the room?  There are three from where I sit.

• The Meaford Public Library, which has dealt with structural issues for a decade or more, is looking at options for re-building/re-location - a considerable capital investment. 
• The councillors of Georgian Bluffs and Chatsworth, who do not have a library to maintain but already participate in agreements with both OSNGUPL and other library boards  for their residents, would face considerable political pressure if Meaford were to receive the same services but pay according to a different formula. Ratepayers of Owen Sound would be similarly concerned.
• The Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library has had almost no increase in staffing since 1972, in spite of rising membership and service levels. The Library Board has kept its budget increase for 2017 below 3 percent by digging significantly into its reserves - money primarily donated and bequeathed by library patrons.  A sudden drop in revenue and possible shift of the burden of Union municipalities will create an instability that cannot help but have an impact on services and working conditions in our library. 

This is my library. I'm an unabashed enthusiast.  But more importantly, public library services are the great equalizer that offer opportunity, education, entertainment and possibilities to everyone in their community.

The Owen Sound and North Grey Union Public Library has more than a century of this tradition of equity, and it must be maintained.