BC General Employees Union launches petition in support of public libraries 

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The BC General Employees Union (BCGEU) is calling on the provincial government to increase funding for public libraries in the province.

According to a news release from BCGEU on June 19th, funding from the province’s public libraries has been “frozen” since 2010, while the population has increased by 27 per cent. 

“Something has to give,” the release said. “Workers are stretched thin, some libraries are cutting back hours and the services communities count on are at risk.”

“That’s why our union is launching a new petition calling on the provincial government to provide sustainable funding for our public libraries,” BCGEU said. 

Stacy Haddrell-Flotre, director of library services for the Fort St. John Public Library Association, said she completely supports the petition.

“Libraries are part of your community,” she said. “It’s part of what helps keep and retain people within your community.

“Funding these sources to ensure these resources are available to members of the community are vital to ensuring you have a strong, educated and healthy community,” said Haddrell-Flotre. 

According to Haddrell-Flotre, the library has been forced to make changes due to funding constraints. 

“We have had to reduce the new books that we’re bringing into our collection as we have not had the funding to be able to purchase those books, as the cost of them has gone up,” she said. 

Haddrell-Flotre also said the library has had to reduce staffing and the number of activities it hosts due to a lack of funding to purchase items. 

She also said people should support public libraries by signing the petition, because the government needs to recognize libraries’ importance to people in the province and ensure they have adequate funding to cover operational costs.  

Tanya Boyd is the chairperson for Local 710 of the BCGEU, which represents the Peace River. Boyd also works at the Fort St. John public library. 

Boyd explained the library offers a variety of services.

“I do the computer technology training,” she said. “Folks come in with all sorts of needs…people come into the library to ask about scams…’is this something I should click on?’”

Boyd said the petition seeks an increase in annual provincial funding from $14 million to $30 million.

“Why sign it [the petition] is because they’re going to disappear, right?” she said. “Libraries are being defunded through a lack of investment.”

Boyd explained it doesn’t take much for her to convince people in Fort St. John to sign the petition.

“It’s been amazing the support that Fort St. John has had for the Fort St. John public library,” Boyd said. “I don’t really have to convince anybody, right?” 

“They just know that it has value, and I think it’s just a matter of asking,” she said. “A matter of saying ‘hey, we need you, we need to show the provincial government that it matters to you.”

According to Boyd, the goal of the petition is to surpass 5,000 petitions. 

“We’re going until October,” she said. “October is libraries month, and we’re hoping to bring the petition to the provincial government in October as a demonstration of why they need to fund [libraries]. 

Boyd said the purpose of bringing the petition to the provincial government is to “reinforce that the voters of BC also want funding for libraries.”

As of June 19th, the petition is at 2,397 signatures.