The Chief Executive Officer of the Dryden Public Library is welcoming news the province-wide Interlibrary Loan program has been restored by the government.
The service was originally discontinued in April as part of PC budget cuts.
Dayna Debenedet says “Last year we borrowed over a 1,000 titles for our patrons, so it is really a valuable service to the Dryden Public Library and for our patrons and we are very happy to be able to offer it again.”
She is asking the public to be patient as the library may be faced with a higher volume of requests.
Debenedet also points out that they may not have the same availability to some titles from Southern Ontario libraries as they did before.
“Around 40 libraries in Southern Ontario are not participating at this moment and several libraries have also said they will be revising their policies about how many titles they can loan.”
Debenedet adds the fight isn’t over quite yet.
“The funding has not been restored for Interlibrary Loan. In fact, the 50% funding cut to Ontario Library Service North and the Southern Ontario Library Service remains, and the funding for Interlibrary Loan is coming out of those reduced budgets. So it’s coming out of the cost of other valuable programs and services.”
She is asking patrons to continue the campaign by writing to their MPP and the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Sport.
You can also visit www.saveolsn.ca
To hear more from Dayna Debenedet, visit the Audio link below.
