The provincial government has committed annual funding of $5.8 million to 58 municipal and regional public libraries, Culture, Heritage and Tourism Minister Flor Marcelino announced today.

 

“This funding is an investment in Manitobans,” said Marcelino.  “Public libraries are valuable gateways to literature and information, benefitting Manitobans no matter where they live, work or read.”

 

The announcement of ongoing funding was made today, on the first day of the annual Manitoba Libraries Conference being held in Winnipeg until Wednesday.

 

The $5.8 million will be used for:

·         Establishing new libraries or expanding regional agreements to provide greater access.

·         Supporting existing systems through operating grants.  (The province annually matches municipal contributions up to $8.50 per capita.)

·         Collection development grants to support local acquisition of library materials.

·         Funding for library technologies.

 

Marcelino noted the services provided by libraries have changed over the years and now include access to thousands of electronic resources and specialty databases.

 

As an example, the minister noted the Winnipeg Public Library, in partnership with the province’s Public Library Service, has launched eLibraries Manitoba, a popular service that has more than 10,000 eAudio and eBook library resources. The material has been circulated to library patrons more than 80,000 times. The service is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Library patrons can transfer these resources to their dedicated reading or mobile devices.

 

 

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