WHEREAS public libraries are a very important resource to help improve the day-to-day lives of people of all ages and ethnic backgrounds; AND WHEREAS public libraries are essential in educating our children and increasing literacy to give British Columbians the tools to pursue their goals and achieve their dreams no matter where they live in our province; AND WHEREAS public libraries are a critical resource for people wanting to start small businesses, thereby helping to diversify our economy; AND WHEREAS eight of the nine other provincial governments provide vastly more financial support to public libraries as a percentage of library operating costs than the Government of British Columbia: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the Union of British Columbia Municipalities lobby the provincial government to increase its operating grants for public libraries to at least the average level of the other provinces.
Ministry of Education Libraries in British Columbia are generally a locally funded and controlled resource, with the B.C. government funding providing approximately 10 of overall revenues. Individual library boards may have budget increases or decreases, depending on local priorities. In addition to the population-based libraries operating grant, provincial funding is generally targeted in areas where central coordination and partnership is most effective, such as the development of modern computer systems that can provide cross-jurisdictional library services, or services such as the AskAway virtual reference. Provincial partnership with local libraries has been guided by the Libraries Without Walls Strategic Plan, based on consultations with library boards and professionals across the province. As other provinces fund libraries in different ways, a cross-jurisdictional comparison is difficult. The most recent cross-jurisdictional comparison is from 2005, when B.C.s approximately 12 million in total provincial funding for libraries rated as the 4th highest in the country. Since then, the provincial library budget has increased to over 17 million 200708. In 2005, B.C.s libraries were second only to Ontario in total per capita annual funding approximately 37.00 per person per year, compared to Ontarios 41.00 and 29.00 in Alberta. With similar funding systems, Alberta and Ontario best compare to British Columbia.