DREW PENNER
Special to the Westerly
Literacy lovers, don’t hold your breath.
A new library branch location is still “a long ways off,” and even then improved hours are not guaranteed, according to the District of Tofino’s representative on the regional library board.
“It’s too early to say it’s even going to happen,” said Coun. Al Anderson, about the possibility of the library moving from its current “temporary” location, which is below the minimum size set for such facilities. “Tofino has always kind of been in this limbo state.”
In 2016 the entire Vancouver Island Regional Library system had 2.6 million visits, as people accessed 5.1 million print and digital items. Library staff say Tofino’s library has also seen increased usage in recent years.
But Anderson says the local branch is caught in a Catch 22. It can only remain open less than half of a regular work week, because of the funding it receives, but that figure is based on how much usage it gets.
“A lot of it’s around union issues,” he said, noting library employees must have two consecutive days off. “We do our best to keep the branches open as much as possible.”
Anderson said the provincial government “stopped funding libraries” around 20 years ago and would like to see more money reinvested in the community resource.
He said that the last time Tofino looked at including a new multi-purpose facility featuring a library, officials found it would cost about $12 million to build—just a few million shy of the estimated cost of building an ice rink by the airport.
“I don’t think the taxpayer can bear that kind of pressure right now with all the other things we have to do,” he said. “There’s what we dream of and what we can afford.”
The District of Tofino has offered part of the parking lot by the district office for the space, but there are other new libraries in the queue ahead of Tofino.
“There’s only so many people that can move ahead,” Anderson said, though he added, “The library right now is too busy for the amount of resources we have.”
Diane Brennan, who represents the City of Nanaimo on the library board, said the regional partners are “holding steady” on their long-term library building vision.
“Everybody has waited,” she said, pointing to similar literary desires in Cumberland and the Cowichan Valley that did come to fruition.
She said if people in Tofino are not happy with the current funding model, it would have to be raised at the regional discussion table.
“This is a funding model that we put in place several years back,” she said. “I think most of us are satisfied with it.”
All the smaller libraries are allotted fewer hours than urban ones, she noted. Local staff say it’s something would-be patrons often complain about. William Sicard, 22, a Tofino resident, recalls trying to visit the library at about 1 p.m. on a Wednesday, only to find out that’s one of the days the branch doesn’t open.
“I thought it was kind of weird,” he said.
While Salt Spring Island resident Gale Buffett, 60, was visiting Tofino with her husband David, 62, she was surprised to hear the Tofino branch is only open 17 hours a week. The Salt Spring Island Public Library is open from 10-5 p.m. six days a week.
“In every community, you need a place where everyone can go where it’s ‘equal opportunity,’” she said. “Whether you’re rich or you’re poor, everybody goes to the library. If you don’t have a computer, you can go the the library and tap into ‘normal society.’”
That’s why she volunteers at her branch, taking on tasks like fixing book bindings.
“It’s like a hub,” she said. “On Friday night they have a games night so you have young people who go there.”
But Tofino’s library isn’t set up to accept volunteers, Christine Lowther, a local author and library assistant, had to explain to someone who offered their services. And, over 12 years at the Tofino branch, she’s seen staffing levels decrease, not increase. She’s also seen the role of the local branch change.
“The library isn’t so much about books anymore,” she said. “I think a lot of people are there for DVDs and free computer-use and printing.”
It serves as a lifeline for people who don’t have any other way to get on the internet, Lowther points out, noting there are only two computers.
“It does get crazy in summer time,” she said. “One or two more public computers would be great.”
Because the Ucluelet library’s partial hours are not set up to alternate with the Tofino location, it can be helpful, because it allows for communication between the branches in real-time, she said.
Lowther said the library is important for both residents and visitors, and she hopes support for it only increases over time.
“I love the library,” she said. “I want everyone in the community to love the library.”