Now, let me be very clear that I am not against the idea of withdrawing from the Regional system. Once I had calmed down from staff and councils attempt to just sneak/rush this through, demonstrating once again that Abbotsford City Hall not only seems to consider citizens a nuisance to be ignored but that they give every indication of inhabiting a completely different reality from those citizens, I could think of good reasons to do follow this course of action.

The major points I found infuriating were the typical arrogant behaviours: City Hall did not feel it necessary to mention to citizens or draw citizen’s attention to the fact that withdrawal from FVRL was under serious consideration; with a solid and active Friends of the Library group they felt no need to consult them on this matter or extend the courtesy of letting them know this was under consideration; they were even less courteous to FVRLibrary as they could not wait for a meeting with senior staff at FVRL, scheduled for later in the week, to bring the matter up and give the FVRL a chance to reply; FVRL senior staff who attended council were aware of this matter through alternate channels, no official communications; Chilliwack is the other major financial supporter of the FVRL and withdrawal has serious implications for them, in fact Abbotsford’s withdrawal has serious implications/repercussions for the small (eg. Yarrow) libraries in the FVRL yet as far as I am aware these other cities or towns have not be notified of this intended withdrawal; the timing of the matter was dictated by the desire to rush it through council and to referendum as fast as possible; that after the disaster that is Plan A, Abbotsford City Hall has learned nothing, has changed none of its behaviours.

As stated there are good arguments for withdrawal. The FVRL administrative offices have become a black hole devouring funds that should be spent to patron’s benefit, not to building a bureaucratic empire. Worse it is a growing black hole consuming more library/patron resources. Arrogant, don’t listen to the needs of those who pay the bills, do as THEY want – sounds kind of familiar. Apparently it is OK for City Hall to treat citizens that way, but not for City Hall to be treated the same way by another bureaucracy.

In the another city’s experience column we have Surrey, which upon leaving the FVRL system about a decade ago went on to build a very good Surrey Library System.

Strongly against withdrawal is that we are speaking of Abbotsford City Hall. Look at what they did to the Whalers Swim Club and the incompetence reflected in their entire handling of the Centennial Pool tank replacement. Their behaviour on Plan A shows an inability to: plan, budget and provide good financial management; to understand the needs of Abbotsford or its citizens; to see the reality of Abbotsford, think or use common sense; to be worthy of citizens trust.

If they can turn something as straightforward as a pool tank replacement and what should be an open and financially sound capital building plan into disasters why would library patrons want to let them anywhere near the Library? In a broader context, given their demonstrated incompetence with simple material objects (facilities) what rational, even semi-intelligent citizen is going to want Abbotsford City Hall anywhere near something as vital to our community as the Library?

To underscore and highlight this point City Hall proposes the withdrawal, not on the basis of improving Library services to the City, but as a way to save $500,000 a year to feed into their wasteful spending behaviours. Just how much money, how many services and books, will they cut from the Library over time? The FVRL is at least a known evil, we may not get the service levels we should but at least we do get a given level of service. Abbotsford City Hall’s past performance, attitude towards service delivery and its apparent lack of understanding or passion for how vital the Library is to the City – all raise serious doubt as to City Hall delivering even the levels the FVRL does.

So, where do I stand on this question? I have no faith in the abilities of current senior staff or council in planning or handling a transition from the FVRL system to an Abbotsford Library system. (They expect to save money, but do not the books belong to FVRL which would require a large expenditure to stock the new AL?) Further, based on their actions, I would place no trust in any statements or claims made by current senior staff or council about the transition and especially the future of an Abbotsford Library under their direction and care.

So where does that leave me/us? On the horns of a dilemma. Either we need to force major reforms on the FVRL or we need to create the Abbotsford Library system. Given the bureaucratic nature of the FVRL I have strong doubts about the ability to achieve the needed reforms, especially in light of the demonstrated incompetence of City Hall. BUT there is NO WAY that I want Abbotsford City Hall in charge of the transition and the direction and governance of an Abbotsford Library system.

Aside: A major concern I have about the entire question is the well demonstrated and documented bigotry and intolerance, inquisitional and prosecutorial behaviours, hate-mongering carried on by a portion of the population of Abbotsford. Despite their claims, the repugnant behaviours of these groups demonstrate a darkness of spirit that is frightening to contemplate. To be clear: any group that takes a portion of a declaration of children’s rights to twist to its own ends and refuses to adopt the entire declaration of children’s rights because in part the declaration protects the rights a children not to be raised in an atmosphere of prejudice, bigotry and hate-mongering is not a group I want anywhere near my rights. Unless we can come to some guarantees about the need for a Library’s independence and openness being sacrosanct – then we must stay in the FVRL. The minute we allow censorship to enter our Library is the moment we sound the death bell for freedom of thought or expression.

My home town had a Library board, an unpaid Library board to provide direction, planning and fiscal oversight. But it had no input or decision making ability as to content or censorship. Patrons were personally responsible for their own reading choices. If you did not like a book – don’t read it. A Library’s independence must be sacrosanct. In fact I would argue that if somebody is not upset about a book or books in a Library, then that Library is failing in its duty.

Back to the question of Library governance: the bottom line is that independence from the City is a must. I also feel that in this instance we are speaking about two separate governance needs. The first need is to address the transition from the FVRL into an Abbotsford Library. The second need concerns the “Hows” of ongoing guidance/governance.

Library patrons and the Friends of the Library group need to come together and be willing to volunteer their time, knowledge, abilities and passion for the library to frame answers to these needs. As I have stated I have no faith or trust in Abbotsford City Hall to handle this matter. I want any Library’s future to be in the hands and under the care of those with a demonstrated commitment to the library (Friends) and those whose interests will be affected by decisions – the patrons/users. We need an open and public process to ensure any Abbotsford Public Library properly gets its doors open – and that it has a bright future.

To avoid turning this into a novella and because public input and ideas are a necessity I will raise a few of the points I think we need to address and think about only as a starting point for discussion. Given my passion for this question I have no doubts that I will be writing more.

Transition: we had better start with the question of books – what if any books will the new system have? The current contents of the library belong to FVRL – remember that the library’s stock is fluid, ever changing with requests in transit to and from? What kind of access will we have to other materials from outside library sources – FVRL may not be to friendly; Vancouver is currently subject to uncertainty vis-à-vis request materials (I have had requests turned down and so have a Vancouver Library card)?There is also the question of internet access and equipment: new server, internet stations, access/connection to the web, turning the library into a working internet hot-spot; the need for a data-base and programming to run a library – not to mention the labour in entering all the start-up data; staffing;

Operation: we need to replace MSA library and plan that replacement; a modern library rums on its computers and provision of internet access for the community – we need to constantly increase/improve this facet of the library; need to set the hours of operation; need to plan book purchases – we will no longer have assess to large catalogue that currently serves so many communities; need to plan and budget for the expansion into the basement; increasing library services are needed as the community grows and changes; there is the MUST for independence for the Library – that is not easy to ensure; at the same time you need to provide for community input; Staffing;

I was told that I could get a copy of the report that recommends withdrawal from FVRL the – all two pages of it. I have barely scratched the surface of points we need to think about and consider in regards to withdrawing from the FVRL and I’m halfway into page four. Senior staff and council apparently thought rushing into this was a good idea, or more probably didn’t think.

I started to write a short letter to the editor about the actions of senior staff and council with respect to this proposed withdrawal, but it grew into this short story because once I started to think about it there were so many things to consider. Even at this length I know there are many points I have missed or not thought of, which is why I feel we need lots of participants and their thoughts/questions/ideas/concerns.

Rather than throw my hands up in disgust with the terrible business and management practices of Abbotsford City Hall I have chosen to stand up and work for positive changes to benefit all the citizens of the City. In a similar way the best action for Abbotsford on the FVRL may be to enact the needed changes, rather than storming off. Keep in mind that our actions will have major effects on our neighbour communities and that we are all part of the larger community that is our region.

We may find that reform is not possible and we need to decide about withdrawing. In any case what is clear is that this is a very complex situation which, regardless of Abbotsford City Hall’s opinion and rush, is a matter that deserves and requires a lot of careful consideration with any timetable for deciding being driven by the information and nature of the situation under deliberation – not City Hall’s arbitrary timetable.

Libraries are vital to their communities. Thus a change of this magnitude will have vital and far-reaching effects on our community. It is imperative that we all take part in the discussion, share ideas and questions, think carefully about what comes out of our public discussions and all participate in making a thoughtful, informed decision.