Latest news with #PeterboroughPublicLibrary
Hamilton Spectator
18-06-2025
- Politics
- Hamilton Spectator
Peterborough ‘pauses' cuts to library staff following immense public backlash: ‘We are glad that the city came to their senses'
The Peterborough Public Library has temporarily halted its controversial decision to eliminate three unionized librarian positions, including the children's librarian. The proposed downsizing was part of an effort to reduce the library's operating budget by $120,000 in the wake of budget cuts made by city council earlier this year. In a statement shared on Monday, the City of Peterborough said that the plan to reorganize the library's staff has been 'paused' so that it can 'consider other options for meeting budgetary constraints.' 'While the approved budget needs to be followed, the City is exploring all options to ensure the most effective means to reduce the budget while maintaining the same level and quality of service, through constructive meetings with Peterborough Public Library staff,' the statement read. The announcement comes after immense pressure from community members to reverse the proposed staff cuts, including an open letter signed by more than 100 Canadian authors and entertainers. Among the letter's signatories were novelists Margaret Atwood and Madeleine Thien , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neil Young , former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and beloved children's entertainer Fred Penner. Hilary Evans, an organizer with Our Future Peterborough — a grassroots advocacy group that launched the open letter — expressed cautious optimism in a phone call with the Star on Tuesday. 'We are glad that the city came to their senses,' Evans said, while noting that the city did not reverse its decision, but only 'paused' it. 'That implies that they can hit play again at any time, and we know the library still has to find savings somewhere.' 'We're also very grateful for the groundswell of public support from writers and artists, because I don't think the city would have listened to us without it,' Evans added. 'In fact, they weren't listening to us without it. So this got their attention, and we're happy about that.' In a joint email sent to the Star, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal and Councillor Matt Crowley, who is a member of the Peterborough Public Library Board, said that the decision to pause staff cuts was made 'to consider ideas and suggestions that have come forward through conversations with Library staff on other ways to achieve the Library's approved 2025 Budget in a less impactful way to the Library and the community that uses the Library.' Bella Jongsma and her brothers Nick and Alec attend a 2022 children's book sale at the Peterborough Public Library. Earlier this year, during municipal budget-setting deliberations, Peterborough City Council voted to cut the library's operating expenses as part of an effort to make savings in all city departments to reduce property taxes. In response, the library announced a plan to reorganize its staffing to reduce its expenses. The plan would result in the elimination of three specialist roles: the adult and teen programming librarian, the librarian who manages information systems (also known as the access services librarian) and the children's librarian. City officials said that two new positions would be created and that library services, including children's services, would be maintained, but 'delivered in a different way to help reduce cost increases.' The news was met with swift backlash from the community. On May 16, around 200 people gathered for a rally outside the main Peterborough Public Library branch, demanding a reversal of the funding cuts, while city council and the library's leadership were inundated with hundreds of letters from concerned residents. An online petition launched in April has already racked up more than 2,300 signatures. Last week, dozens of Canadian authors, musicians and artists signed an open letter calling the move 'a giant step in the wrong direction' and urging the city to reverse the decision. 'Children deserve safe, welcoming, and magical spaces where their imagination and creativity are encouraged and celebrated,' read the letter. 'That the City of Peterborough is considering eliminating these essential roles is deeply disappointing. In a world that feels increasingly indifferent and even hostile toward children's wellbeing, this move is a giant step in the wrong direction.' In their email to the Star, Mayor Leal and Councillor Crowley said that the city 'will work with the Library Board, Library staff, the union that represents Library staff, and management to choose the best path forward while still following the Library's approved 2025 Budget.' 'Peterborough Public Library is a valued, core community service,' the email added, noting that the library's operating budget is increasing by eight per cent this year. Sean McCarthy, the chief steward for CUPE Local 1833, a union representing the library workers, told the Star that the city's decision to pause cuts is unclear: 'As far as we know, these service reductions are still on the table.' McCarthy said the union now considers the cuts a 2026 budget issue. Evans, the co-founder of Our Future Peterborough, said that organizers will be following public consultation meetings for the 2026 budget very closely, and will continue to demand that no cuts are made. 'I think if you value your community, you invest in your library and that's what Peterborough needs to do,' Evans added. 'There are much smaller communities that have many more librarians on staff, and we know that there's a great return on investment when you invest in a library.'
Hamilton Spectator
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Hamilton Spectator
Margaret Atwood and Neil Young sign open letter urging Peterborough library to reverse staff cuts
More than 100 Canadian authors, musicians and artists have signed an open letter urging the City of Peterborough and the Peterborough Public Library to reverse a decision to eliminate three unionized librarian positions, including the children's librarian. 'Children deserve safe, welcoming, and magical spaces where their imagination and creativity are encouraged and celebrated,' reads the letter , organized by a grassroots advocacy group called Our Future Peterborough. 'That the City of Peterborough is considering eliminating these essential roles is deeply disappointing. In a world that feels increasingly indifferent and even hostile toward children's wellbeing, this move is a giant step in the wrong direction.' Among the letter's signatories are novelists Margaret Atwood and Madeleine Thien , Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee Neil Young , former Governor General Adrienne Clarkson and many other luminaries from the arts and literature communities. Children's entertainer Fred Penner also signed the letter, and released an accompanying message: 'When children are born into this world, we have an opportunity to nurture them in every way possible so that they can live up to their potential as caring and contributing adults.' The open letter is part of a larger community response to the library's decision to restructure in the wake of budget cuts . Earlier this year, Peterborough City Council voted to reduce the library's operating budget by $120,000. In response, the library announced that it would be implementing a staffing reorganization to reduce its expenses, resulting in the elimination of three specialist roles: the adult and teen programming librarian, the librarian who manages the library's information systems (also known as the access services librarian) and the children's librarian. The decision to cut the library's operating expenses came as part of the municipal budget-setting deliberations, as council sought to make savings in all city departments to reduce property taxes. According to a statement released by the city in April, the restructuring will result in a net reduction of one position: 'There will be three positions eliminated, and two new positions will be created, for the net reduction of one position. A fourth affected position will be maintained but restructured to expand its role.' City officials also said that library services, including children's services will be maintained, but 'will be delivered in a different way to help reduce cost increases.' The news was met with swift backlash from the community. On May 16, around 200 people gathered for a rally outside the main Peterborough Public Library branch, demanding a reversal of the funding cuts, while city council and the library's leadership were inundated with hundreds of letters from concerned residents. An online petition launched in April has already racked up more than 2,300 signatures. 'There's a reason so many esteemed writers and artists signed this letter,' said Sheetal Rawal, who co-founded Our Future Peterborough with Hilary Evans and Laurel Harris. 'They remember the librarians who saw them and encouraged them. They understand what's at stake.' In a phone call with the Star, Evans said that the cuts to the library were made without any meaningful public consultation. 'It took everybody by surprise,' she said. 'Nobody was really taking ownership of the issue, and there was a lot of deflecting. So in order to bring more attention and awareness to the issue, we decided to write this open letter.' The open letter was published on Tuesday. Two days later, Evans said she had not heard back from any decision makers. Peterborough Public Library CEO Jennifer Jones told that Star that is 'wonderful' to see so many people speaking out in support of the library, but believes that the open letter is based on a 'misunderstanding' of the changes that are being made. 'At the moment, it's only the access librarian position that is not being replaced,' Jones said, emphasizing there will only be a net reduction in staff of one. 'The other two (positions) are changing, or repositioned, for lack of a better word. The job descriptions are changing and the tasks and responsibilities they have are changing.' Evans rejects the claim that the letter is based on a misunderstanding. 'One of the positions they are creating is purely administrative, and the other is an assistant that delivers the programming,' she said. 'This restructuring doesn't take into account the deep community ties that the three librarians have. It doesn't take into account their specialties and their years of experience.' The proposed new positions, Evans added, will be 'disconnected from the actual people who are using the programs.' In a joint statement to the Star, Peterborough Mayor Jeff Leal and Councillor Matt Crowley, who is a member of the Peterborough Public Library Board, noted that the library's operating budget is increasing by eight per cent this year, from $3.8 million to $4.1 million. The two officials reiterated that library services will be maintained, adding that 'the city opened a brand new library branch in a larger community centre this year to improve access to library services for all residents.' Asked to respond to the content of the open letter, Leal and Crowley said they 'completely agree with residents and cultural figures who have expressed support for library services,' but noted that the city is in the midst of collective bargaining with the union that represents Peterborough Public Library workers. 'We want to make sure we respect that process as we move forward.' Sean McCarthy, the chief steward for CUPE Local 1833, a union representing the library workers, told the Star that no one has been laid off yet, and urged city council 'to correct this mess.' Peterborough residents are planning to assemble once again on Thursday evening outside the public budget consultations to rally support against the library cuts. The overwhelming response from the community, according to Evans, is rooted in a frustration over cuts to services that she says are not being made with adequate input from the public. 'Libraries are often described as a non-essential service, but the library has become incredibly essential and they're providing way more than just book-borrowing services,' she said. 'I think a lot of people recognize that and a lot of people are just fed up with having wonderful things being slashed and cut and disregarded.'
Toronto Star
13-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Toronto Star
Margaret Atwood and Neil Young sign open letter urging Peterborough library to reverse staff cuts
More than 100 Canadian authors, musicians and artists have signed an open letter urging the City of Peterborough and the Peterborough Public Library to reverse a decision to eliminate three unionized librarian positions, including the children's librarian. 'Children deserve safe, welcoming, and magical spaces where their imagination and creativity are encouraged and celebrated,' reads the letter, organized by a grassroots advocacy group called Our Future Peterborough.
Hamilton Spectator
25-04-2025
- Hamilton Spectator
Peterborough Public Library to mark Red Dress Day with interactive community art installation
The Peterborough Public Library is hosting an interactive community art installation called 'The Red Dress' during the week leading up to and including the National Day of Awareness for Missing & Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls and 2SLGBTQI+ people (MMIWG2S+), also known as Red Dress Day. The installation will be on display in the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space at the library's main branch at 345 Aylmer Street North in downtown Peterborough beginning Monday (April 28) and continuing through Red Dress Day the following Monday. Community members are invited to participate in the installation by contributing red fabric, yarn, beading, or other textiles to help create a large, collective red dress. 'Our hope is really just that people take a moment to pause and reflect,' the library's community engagement assistant Désirée Kretschmar told kawarthaNOW. 'Every piece of fabric added to the dress represents a life, a voice, and a shared commitment to remembering. This isn't just about the past. The violence and loss continue today, and the conversation needs to keep going.' In Canada, more than six in 10 Indigenous women have experienced physical or sexual assault in their lifetime, with some estimates suggesting that around 4,000 Indigenous women and girls have gone missing or been murdered between 1956 and 2016. According to a 2015 report by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), the proportion of Indigenous women homicide victims has continued to increase since 1991 and, by 2014, was almost six times higher than the homicide rate of non-Indigenous women. First commemorated in 2010, Red Dress Day is meant to honour and bring awareness to the thousands of women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been subjected to disproportionate violence in Canada. It was inspired by Métis artist Jaime Black's REDress Project installation, wherein she hung empty red dresses in representation of missing and murdered Indigenous women as 'an aesthetic response to this critical national issue.' The interactive community art installation at the library will begin at noon on Monday with an opening ceremony and smudge with drumming in the Legacy Space, and smudges will be held every morning at 10 a.m. until May 5. 'Whether someone adds to the dress, comes to a smudge, or just takes a quiet moment to be present, that's part of the message too,' Kretschmar said. 'These lives are not forgotten.' The Red Dress project has been developed in partnership with Niijkiwendidaa Anishnaabekwewag Services Circle and the Nogojiwanong Friendship Centre. 'The Red Dress installation provides a visible, community-based way to honour those who have been lost, hold space for those who continue to seek justice, and foster meaningful awareness,' reads a media release from the library. 'The library invites everyone to visit the installation, take a moment to reflect, and add to the collective dress. Each piece of fabric represents a life, a voice, and a shared commitment to community care and remembrance.' The library's Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Legacy Space was established in 2023 as part of an initiative by the Gord Downie & Chanie Wenjack Fund, founded by late Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie along with his brother Mike Downie and the family of Chanie Wenjack. Chanie was an Indigenous boy who had been taken away from his family home in Ogoki Post, located on the Marten Falls Reserve in northern Ontario, in 1963 and forced to live at a residential school in Kenora. In 1966, the 12-year-old boy died from exposure after he fled the school and attempted to walk the 600-kilometre journey back to his home. The Peterborough Public Library was the first public library to be recognized as a Legacy Space, which is intended to be a safe and welcoming place where conversations and education about Indigenous history and the collective journey towards reconciliation are encouraged and supported.
