An enthusiastic Ron Schuler announced $36,500 in provincial funding for the Ritchot Library on Friday.

“Reading is to the brain what food is to the body,” shared the MLA for Springfield/Ritchot during his address. “You can’t really do anything if you don’t know how to read, you can’t be a mechanic, you cant be a lawyer, you can’t be an electrician and that’s why these libraries are so important.”

Schuler says he is happy to be part of a government that supports literacy. Sharing Schuler’s sentiment, the municipality bolstered the annual funding with $30,000 of their own.

The total sum of $66,500 will be split between three physical buildings that together make up the Ritchot Library. This trio of book nooks service the communities of Ile Des Chenes, Ste. Agathe, St. Adolphe, and Grande Pointe and, in each case, are connected to a school.

“What’s beautiful about this is that the school gets access to the library but so does the community,” comments Schuler, “so it has a much broader appeal than just being a school library.”

Ritchot Library Director Michelle McEwan says the money will go towards sustaining existing programs and purchasing more books. She stresses that this kind of funding is essential for their ongoing operations.

“We offer activities at all three libraries and everything is free,” she notes, “people who don’t have a lot of money can still have fun at the library.”

Meanwhile, also on Friday, Schuler announced a grant of $5,140 to the Springfield Library for similar purposes.

Michelle McEwan addresses a small audience at École/Collège régional Gabrielle-Roy.