Union local president says library services, programming will suffer in the wake of job cuts

Peterborough city council’s search for a $120,000 budget cut has resulted in the layoff of the three of the local public library’s four fulltime librarians, and that isn’t sitting well with its union local.

Positions cut are the children’s librarian, the adult programmer and the access services librarian – each with more than 15 years’ on the job.

According to Patricia Scoffield, the president of CUPE Local 1833 which represents library staff, planned restructuring will see their positions replaced by an outreach coordinator and a programmer. However, she says what has been lost can’t be made up, and that is bad news for library users.

Scoffield is equally concerned for library staff unaffected by the cuts.

Scoffield says the public library is more than just books on shelves.

Schoffield is urging library users to contact their city councillors and protest the cuts, adding she urges city council to reverse its decision and restore the lost funding.

(Written by: Paul Rellinger)