Libraries have a future: FVRL
The Fraser Valley Regional Library led a delegation before Delta council Monday, indirectly responding to controversial remarks made by a councillor two months ago.
Coun. Ian Paton suggested in a January council meeting that libraries may be going the way of the video rental store, hinting they may become outmoded by technology and the rapidly expanding Information Age.
“When people say, will there be libraries in the future, I talk about the libraries of the future,” said Gillian McLeod, library manager for the FVRL. “They will exist as a space, as a service. That tool that we use—whether it be an iPad or a computer or a book—may change.”
McLeod said libraries will still be used as gathering places regardless of changing technology.
“I do believe the services will change and we are trained in recognizing those trends of the future and being ready for that when it does happen,” she said.
Paton thanked the delegation and said the information was enlightening. He also applauded the programs the library runs for seniors, children, teens, and new residents of Delta.
He said he intends to take Coun. Jeannie Kanakos up on an offer to take a tour of Delta’s libraries in the near future.
“I really see that libraries play a fundamental in our democratic process in that access to information is important when we’re in a voting or decision-making process as a community or as a province or as a nation,” said Jeannie Kanakos.
Coun. Sylvia Bishop said the public library is about relationships, not only between staff and customers, but between customers themselves.
“I think that bodes well and supports a healthy community,” she said.
This year marks a milestone for all three Delta libraries. The George Mackie Library in North Delta is celebrating 30 years, while the Tsawwassen Library celebrates 40 years, and Ladner Pioneer Library is turning 50.
October of 2013 is Libraries Month and there will be events held at each library in Delta, with a party scheduled for Oct. 26.
Tsawwassen Library faces 16 per cent rent hike
The Tsawwassen Library lease renewal will cost the Corporation of Delta an extra $20,000 a year, according to documents released from a closed council meeting on Feb. 18.
The library, located in the Tsawwassen Town Centre Mall, had a five-year lease agreement with Century Group which expired at the end of 2012. The terms were $15 per square foot per year at 7,920 feet, or $118,000 a year.
The new terms of five-year lease will see the Corporation pay 16 per cent more, or $17.50 per square foot per year, raising the rent to $138,600.
Delta’s total costs over the length of the lease will be $693,000.
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