If additional funding doesn't come in from either the Town or RM of Ste. Anne, The Ste. Anne community library is in danger of closing. 

Michelle Larocque, president of the Ste. Anne library board, says they already run on a tight annual budget of $71,000, which she adds isn't much considering they themselves own the library and have to pay for maintenance, cleaning, staff, and books. Larocque notes they get $23,000 in grants from the province, which is based on population, and a combined $31,000 from the Town and RM of Ste. Anne. She says for the past three years, the town has granted them an extra $8,000 but this year council told the library they weren't able to spare the extra funds so Larocque adds now they're in a bit of a pinch.

"Either we get the $8,000 from the RM or the Town of Ste. Anne or they can work together and split the difference and each gives us $4,000 in addition to their already base grants and sustain that ongoing or the library will more than likely close," says Larocque, noting their statistics show that the number of people who come to the library from the RM is relatively equal to the number of people who come in from the Town.

She adds the only two variable expenses in their budget would be books or librarian wages. "If you look at that situation, if you don't have a librarian you can't open the library and if you do have a librarian, you don't have any money to buy any books." Larocque says if the library were to close, the likelihood of ever having a library in Ste. Anne again is slim to none adding it takes an incredible amount of money to start a library. She explains the Ste. Anne library is a busy place and why it's such an essential part of their community.

"It really is a hub in the community. Not everybody is able to come to the library so we provide a mobile library service to the seniors home in Ste. Anne. We also provide reading clubs during the summer for kids and teens. We've partnered with Southern Health and with every baby that's born in the RM of Ste. Anne and the Town of Ste. Anne, the public health nurse takes them a bag from the library that gives them books to read to their young children." 

Larocque says she has heard many great suggestions from people in the community to do things like walkathons and various fundraisers to keep the library open. She notes although it's amazing to see people's enthusiasm towards the cause Larocque says it just not a sustainable long-term solution. 

"If we're relying on fundraising to actually open and run the library and that becomes part of our operating budget, I mean it would be the be the same thing as the provincial government saying 'listen, we will give you 50% of what you need to run your schools and then you must fundraise the rest in order to be able to facilitate your children going to school and having a school in your community'. Unfortunately, that's just not the way the world works. It's almost impossible to run a public service on fundraisers."   

Larocque will be making presentations to both the council for the Town and the RM of Ste. Anne in the next two weeks and hopes members of the community can come along for support to show how important the Ste. Anne library is to them.