Victoria closing Legislative Library

Officially, the BC government is closing the Legislative Library so the building can get a seismic upgrade. But critics are saying there’s more to the story than earthquake proofing. There is speculation that the 90 year old building will be renovated to make room for additional office space in a legislature that will only get more crowded when new riding boundaries are drawn. But does the renovation have to come at the expense of the library?

BC’s Legislative Library Act states: ”the library must be kept conveniently near the Legislative Chamber.” During construction, essential items will be kept in a building behind the Legislature, but most of the million-plus items in the collection are being moved to a warehouse.

Approximately half the 29 library staff will be laid off, but the government says they will be relocated to other positions in the public service.

The Legislative Library has existed for 144 years, with nearly 90 of those years in its present location. It houses millions of items, including a large collection of historical documents, manuscripts and microfilmed newspapers. The core collection, according to the library’s website, includes texts in political science, parliamentary procedure, law, public administration, economics and Canadian history.

Michael Smyth, writing in Sunday’s Province newspaper, said journalists only found out about the closing when reporters were in the library doing research and “couldn’t help noticing all the crying going on.” Bill Barisoff, Speaker of the Legislative Assembly who is also charged with managing the library, told journalists on the weekend that the fate of the library hasn’t been decided yet. But he wouldn’t say definitively whether the library will reopen after the construction. “There will continue to be library services in the legislative precincts” is what he told Smyth. Library services, yes – but what about the library itself?

Former head librarian Joan Barton told the Victoria Times Colonist the space issue has been ignored for years, but “now they’re in crisis mode” so the library is taking the hit. She said that politicians are under the false impression that any reference material they need is on the internet. But that argument makes her cringe, as it would most librarians.

“There’s no such thing as ‘everything is on the Internet.’ When you say that to a librarian, they’re too polite to say so, but their first thought is: ‘I’m dealing with an idiot,’” she told the Times Colonist. (And the Quote of the Week award goes too…)

The Legislative Library houses an important piece in this province’s history. Limiting its access by boxing it up and sticking it in a warehouse would be a shame. Let’s hope the library still has a future.