Brownsburg-Chatham residents protest to save library

Residents of Brownsburg-Chatham gathered in front of the municipal library on Saturday, June 4 with one message for their council: do not merge library services with those of Lachute and keep our library here.

The Citizens Action Committee of Brownsburg-Chatham (CACBC) organized the protest, of which about 70 residents attended, after council announced last month that $6,000 would be spent to study the possibility of merging services with Lachute.

CACBC representative Cynthia Dubé said that according to the Quebec Ministry of Culture, the merger means that Brownsburg-Chatham has no possibility "going back" for another 15 to 20 years.

"This means my children will grow up without a library," she told those in attendance. "What will connect them to their town? Also, why let Lachute profit from our grants to enlarge its library? Why encourage people to visit downtown Lachute and put our local businesses at risk?"

The CACBC has noted on multiple occasions that the municipality would lose its library-related grants to Lachute, while local residents would have to travel longer distances to access library and internet services.

"Maintaining our own library is to allow our young and not so young to go there by foot," the group noted. "It is to improve the image of the city. It is helping to attract new residents. It is retaining our rights to subsidies. It is keeping an authority over the budgets to be allocated in the future, and the possibility to expand or provide other service points."

In her speech, Dubé applauded Mayor Georges Dinel for announcing council's commitment to the municipal arena, and said the same must be done for the library. She reiterated the need to relocate and construct of the current library, a proposal put forward by a municipal library committee in recent years.

A study done by the committee last year said the library's size - at 24 per cent of the provincial standard - was insufficient, as well as the lack of study space, conference space, a proper collection of books and materials, human resources and staff, an access ramp, and a location free of arena-related noise.

Furthermore, the study said the per-capita spending on the library should be increased to at least $25, as per the provincial standard, or closer to $30, which is the figure suggested by the Réseau Biblio des Laurentides.

Dubé told The Review the CACBC's next step is to submit a petition to both municipalities, while "keeping a close eye" on the conclusions of the joint municipal study, which is expected next month.