Funding cuts to school libraries in Anglophone West has prompted a local used bookstore to send a letter to the government.
Emily Dean is the co-owner of Fablefern Bookshop, which provides used books for a lower cost and supports local initiatives that encourage literacy and charity.
She said when she first heard library workers were being laid off she thought it couldn’t be true.
“I think the first reaction we all had was shock, but then it quickly transitioned to being frustrated and upset because libraries, of all things, it just seems so far-fetched to us that that’s where we would choose to cut funding,” she said in an interview with The Courier.
Paul MacIntosh, the communications director for Anglophone West, confirmed the district was asked to target a $9.2 million shortfall in the budget.
Superintendent David McTimmoney told CBC New Brunswick (CBCNB) it has begun the process of finding how it can meet that amount.
It reported the elimination of library jobs would account for 6.7 per cent of the $9.2 million it needs to target.
“It’s really a difficult decision,” he said in an interview with CBCNB.
MacIntosh said it will impact 62 libraries and 32 library workers were laid off.
Dean, alongside her daughter Hayden, and business partner, Elizabeth Stockall said they felt they couldn’t stand by, fearing cuts to other districts like Anglophone South where Dean lives.
The first question Dean’s daughter asked was what they could do.
“She immediately was outraged and wanted to know how we could help,” Dean said. “We sat down and we drafted a letter outlining all of the concerns and all the reasons why we think this decision should be reversed, and we addressed it to the Premier, and the superintendent of the school district affected – Anglophone West – and also the Minister of Education.”
She said the post to social media, hoping it would pick up some traction, to make more people aware of what was happening.
“At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whose school district it is,” she said. “We’re here to support all schools in New Brunswick and all of our libraries and librarians.”
The local bookshop already what it calls the Educator Program – which provides in-store credit for books for teachers and librarians to purchase books for students or their schools.
“This has made us rethink how we approach our support as well, because it’s very clear that they need more help from us and everybody,” she said.
To date, Dean hasn’t heard from anyone from the district, the province or the Premier’s office.
She remains concerns about those kids who consider the library a safe space from them during school hours.
“I was also that kid. The library was a safe, quiet space,” she said. “If I needed to get away from what was happening, I can remember spending lots of lunch breaks hanging out in between the stacks of the library.”
She said this is a different world that kids are growing up in and any space that provides refuge is on that should be protected.
“They need that quiet, safe space sometimes to step away from what’s going on around them,” she said.
MacIntosh said it is likely too late to make any direction change on this decision for this year, but it could be revisited in the future.
Anglophone South said it hasn’t made any decisions about staffing for 2025-26 yet, including library workers.
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