Library system warns flat fund may affect service

The regional library system serving Crowsnest Pass is warning municipalities that flat funding and rising costs are putting pressure on shared library services across southwestern Alberta.

Robin Hepher, chief executive officer of the Chinook Arch Regional Library System, presented an update to Crowsnest Pass council during its June 23 meeting.

Chinook Arch provides shared services to 40 municipal members, including Crowsnest Pass. Those services include book purchasing, cataloguing, digital resources, information technology, internet service, interlibrary delivery, e-books, audiobooks, consulting services and access to a shared collection of about 800,000 items.

Hepher said the system allows local libraries to provide a broader range of services than they could on their own.

“The goal is that for the same amount of money invested that you have a much richer library service in your community than you would going it alone,” Hepher said.

Hepher said public libraries continue to provide a strong return on public investment. He pointed to a 2025 Canadian study that found every dollar spent on public libraries generates $6 in community, social and economic benefit.

He said Chinook Arch also helps reduce duplication by centralizing services that would otherwise have to be managed separately by each local library.

That includes bulk purchasing of books and other library materials. Hepher said Chinook Arch spends between $700,000 and $800,000 annually on materials on behalf of its member libraries, allowing the system to negotiate discounts that can extend local collection budgets by up to 40 per cent.

A portion of the municipal levy paid to Chinook Arch also returns directly to local library boards through a $2 per capita book allotment.

The system also provides internet service, email, website hosting, firewalls, cyber threat protection and IT support to member libraries. Hepher said a newer voice-over-internet telephone service has saved participating libraries about $20,000 collectively each year.

Interlibrary delivery remains one of the most visible benefits for patrons. Hepher said Crowsnest Pass library users borrowed about 45,000 items in 2025, with about 9,500 of those items coming from other libraries in the system.

Crowsnest Pass Library also lent about 9,000 items to patrons in other communities.

Hepher said overall circulation has rebounded to pre-pandemic levels and continues to grow. Chinook Arch moved 591,000 items between libraries in 2025.

Use of OverDrive, the system’s e-book and audiobook platform, has also been growing by about 15 per cent year over year.

However, Hepher said the system’s budget has been under strain.

The Chinook Arch operating budget is about $4 million a year. Most revenue comes through municipal member levies, supported by a provincial operating grant of about $1 million.

The current municipal levy is $7.76 per capita. Hepher said the Chinook Arch board approved raising the levy to $8.17 per capita for 2027, returning it to the pre-pandemic level. The levy had been reduced during the pandemic and has remained flat since.

For the increase to take effect, it must be approved by two-thirds of member councils representing two-thirds of the system’s service population.

Hepher said the City of Lethbridge appears unlikely to approve the request, meaning the levy will likely remain at $7.76 per capita in 2027.

Councillor Dean Ward asked what impact the failed increase would have.

Hepher said the system is already about $130,000 to $140,000 short of where it expected to be when its current four-year budget was prepared.

He said Chinook Arch has managed the pressure through internal reorganization, some staffing reductions and use of reserves.

“We’ve seen our reserves over the last five years decline by about 30 per cent,” Hepher said. “So it’s getting to a point where it’s a bit worrying.”

He said further reserve use, staffing reductions or service reductions may be considered, but the system is trying to limit impacts to patrons.

“We’re aware that as we reduce services, the value to the community is also reduced,” Hepher said.

Hepher also said provincial operating grants have not kept pace with inflation or population growth, with the system still funded based on 2019 population levels.

Councillor Doreen Glavin, who represents Crowsnest Pass on the Chinook Arch board, said the municipality benefits from being part of the regional system.

“I’d hate to think that we would revert back to just having a library that can’t access all these services and not being part of the regional library system,” Glavin said.

Hepher said Chinook Arch plans to extend its current service plan through 2027 before preparing a new plan and four-year budget for 2028 to 2031.