Emotions were running high as delegates attended the Annual General Meeting for the Southeast Regional libary in Weyburn on Saturday. Along with the rest of the province, library services in Southeast Saskatchewan are facing a crisis as a result of last month's Saskatchewan provincial budget.

On March 22nd, they learned their budgets are being cut by 58%, retroactive to the beginning of 2017. The total reduction in spending on library services amounted to $3.5 million province-wide, equivilant to one kilometre of new highway, according the chairman of the Southeast Library Region, Kenneth Sutherland,

"We're being asked to make a decistion that we're not in a position to make, thanks to this provincial government." a frustrated-sounding Sutherland told the meeting. "This could all be alleviated on Monday, if they would just return the grant to the provincial libraries."

The chairman accused the government of making a mistake when assessing the Southeast region's reserves. He said the value of the building housing the Weyburn library should not have been included.

"According to the auditing system we have to report the value of our books, the value of everything there, including the value of our building." he informed the assembly. "So no wonder it shows up in the financial statement that we have these reserves, because the auditing system is asking us to do that. And that's why I hope, this provincial government, in all their wisdom, can at least learn to read and understand a financial statement."

The region's newly appointed director, Kate-Lee Nolin, told delegates the reduced provincial grant amounts to $565,493 for the Southeast region. The impact, as she outlined, would be immediate, and extensive.

The first to go was the inter-library exchange system, where books and other material can no longer be exchanged between regions. The One-Card, One Library service had been in place since 2009. Last year, 693,000 holds were filled between libraries across the province. Users in the Southeast can still borrow between libraries, but now only within the Southeast region.

Nolin warned, however, that even more than that was at stake, unless municipalities increase their annual per-capita grants to the libraries. "If we have a 0 per cent from our municipalities, Southeast will cease to exist in a few months." she told the hushed audience. "If we deplete our reserves, which we have looked at, and we have severe cutting along the way, our estimation is keeping the doors open until, we'd say, Labour Day weekend."

She explained in detail the effects of a 58 per cent cut. "Our grant last year was for $961, 723. This year, with our budget cuts, we will be receiving $396,230. A difference of $565,493."

Kate-Lee Nolin, new director, outlined cuts facing SE Library RegionNolin added that the retroactivity of the budget reduction to January 1st was an additional complication. "Because our fiscal year starts on January 1st, we have already spent, as a region, $230,000 on operations and $40,000 on materials as of March 31st. As a result, the funds remaining for April to December of this year, is $126,230 left to come in from the province."

She went on to outline cuts that have already been made, along with others that are imminent. "We'll have savings with limited trustee and executive expenses, that's you, folks. We'll have no more honourariums for our executive members." added Nolin. "The retirement of our director (Allan Johnson), as he announced today, he has offered to be finished as of today, and forego any vacation time or overlap between him and I. We have reduced two full-time staff positions already at headquarters. We have reduced staff professional development and travel, we will be cancelling our janitors, our cleaners, our alarm system, other operating expenses, this is how dire we are."

However, the extensive cuts predicted by Nolin were mitigated, for now, with a vote to increase the bill to municipalities by $5.77 per capita, on top of the $11.01 now paid. 

That decision will impact cities, towns, villages, and rural municipalites, including those which have already set their local budgets.

Delegates vote against allowing wind-down procedures to begin on June 30th.The increase to the municipal grants will help keep the Southeast Region running, with reduced services, but only to the end of the year.

Following the vote, Nolin told reporters that hopefully, the cuts won't be immediate. "But there are still things that we have to look at, going forward." she said. "Because we don't know what next year's budget is going to look like, right?"

A motion that would have given the executive the green light to begin winding down the southeast library service by June 30th was defeated. The move would have authorized that action only if provincial money has not been restored by then. However, the defeat of the motion only delays such action by a few months. Another meeting in October will seal the region's fate.

Saturday's meeting came on the heels of a province-wide protest, Drop Everything And Read (DEAR). Library supporters showed up at MLA's offices across Saskatchewan at noon on Friday, and quiety read books. In Weyburn, government MLA and cabinet minister, Dustin Duncan, met with three representatives of the group inside his office while the demonstration was underway.  

He did not attend Saturday's Annual General Meeting, although one Saskatchewan Party MLA, Lori Carr, of Estevan, was in attendance.

 CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story indicated that Dustin Duncan did not meet with the demonstrators. We apologize for the error.

Interview with Kate-Lee Nolin, following Saturday's vote:

Interview with Allan Johnson, who retired after nearly 25 years as Director of S.E. Library region:

Saturday's meeting also re-elected its board of directors, including chairman, Kenneth Sutherland, Vice-Chair Dianne Sander, Carol Cundall, Donna Hartley, Karen Sinclair, Bill Wilke, and Ida Donovan. Kate-Lee Nolin was confirmed as the new director, replacing long-time director, Allan Johnson, who retired after nearly 25 years with the board.