Public Library Funding

WHEREAS public libraries enhance the lives of all British Columbians and are an essential resource in all the communities they serve; AND WHEREAS reduced provincial funding impacts the ability of libraries to adequately provide services, materials, and maintain and upgrade facilities; AND WHEREAS local governments, in particular resource based communities, have been hard pressed to maintain existing levels of service due to difficult economic conditions: THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the UBCM lobby the provincial government to restore grants for public libraries to 2009 levels; AND BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the amount of grants be adjusted annually thereafter to reflect changes in the Consumer Price Index.