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Saskatchewan Libraries under siege
Tisdale
Friday, April 14, 2017
by: Timothy W. Shire
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One of the bastions of civilisation throughout history has been our libraries. Not only do we look to them to preserve the present, reflect the future and document the past but they are the window on the world. Therefore it is odd that the Saskatchewan government has decided to cut funding to the library system to the point where they will be closing in some communities and working with reduced operational funding everywhere in the province.
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All provincial funding to Regina and Saskatoon Libraries was axed completely and the rural library system cut by about half.

Libraries have cut their expenses over the past decades to the point they are already marginal in the services they provide but these cuts will be fatal to such things as inter library loans and the expansion of the electronic services of the provincial library system.
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On Friday at noon April 7 seventy-five Tisdale folks gathered in their library to silently protest the cuts to the library’s provincial funding.

At the same time the library held its huge book sale. The library receives donations of books almost continuously and most of these donations are set out for the public to select what they want and donate what they want in return for the books. It is a modest fund raiser but offers the public a marvellous low cost means to building libraries of their own.
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