Fort St John’s public library is pausing book requests as they will not receive any deliveries until Canada Post goes back to work.
Public libraries in B.C. have systems to communicate and share books. These books are sent back-and-forth using Canada Post, and now, are left in limbo. The situation is similar to last winter’s strike. Operations were directly impacted as they could not mail books or receive requests. Now, its director said, the library is readying for the same effects.
“We rely on Canada Post for all of our interlibrary loan requests, because they have the farthest reach and they’re the cheapest option. With the strike, basically we don’t have interlibrary loans for the time being,” explained Matthew Rankin, the director of the Fort St John Public Library Association.
There are two interlibrary programs connecting the local library to the rest of the province – the Sitka Evergreen integrated system and Illume B.C. The ability to request books on both services will be paused until the strike is over.
“We’re just asking that people wait until there’s news about the strike or it ends. Just because we’ll get a buildup of requests – we can still take them, but obviously you won’t be getting your materials any time soon,” Rankin explained.
This interlibrary loan service is relied upon by rural libraries, like Fort St John’s as their resources are in short supply. Its director said inventory is restricted to “whatever is in our collection.”
“There are certain books we just won’t be able to get (due to) our collections budget. We typically end purchasing in October, so we can buy some books, but we’re pretty limited,” he explained.
Residents looking to help boost inventory can donate books.
“(Donations) would be deeply appreciated – particularly something brand new or within the last couple years and in really good condition,” said Rankin. The Friends of the Fort St John Public Library are a separate nonprofit accepting books and fundraising to support their pal.
Moving forward, the director said he will be following the postal strike. In the meanwhile, residents can still access some books the library does not physically have on Libby, an e-book loaner.
