The city of Steinbach contacted neighboring municipalities to transform the Jake Epp Library into a regional library.

Board President Jenn Funk says this initiative is actually under the direction of the Steinbach City Council. She believes the city presented the idea to nine municipalities in southeastern Manitoba.

“This proposal is intended to bring together several municipalities that are really willing to work collaboratively to draft some sort of agreement in accordance with the provincial guidelines for the creation of a regional library,” says Funk.

Funk says this plan has actually been discussed by the library for many years. However, due to increasing demands on the library, she says this topic has become more urgent in recent times. This led the city to open up to neighboring municipalities.

“Now that the town of Steinbach has launched active conversations, the province is providing the information and support needed for collaborative dialogue in the process,” she adds.

Funk notes that there are two very successful examples of library regionalization in southern Manitoba. She says the Gaynor Family Regional Library in Selkirk is an example of a library serving multiple municipalities. There is also the South Central Regional Library which has branches in Winkler, Morden, Altona, Miami and Manitou.

According to the province, regionalizing libraries has many benefits, including streamlining operations and better use of staff time and skills. The province says regionalization also provides more purchasing power and access to better resources while reducing costs.

Funk says another benefit of regionalization is that additional provincial funding is available. This funding can help increase book services for senior living communities, reading programs and book collections. It can also benefit partner libraries by providing collaborative access with staff.

According to Funk, the cost to join this regional partnership varies from municipality to municipality. She notes that much depends on the population of a municipality.

“That becomes the cost per resident, that’s the number you end up looking at,” she says. “But these will be determined collectively by all communities willing to participate in this conversation.”

Funk says that, legally speaking, it only takes the partnership of two municipalities to form a regional library. However, she points out that due to the provincial funding model, it only makes sense for Steinbach to pursue this path if at least three municipalities are involved; that means, Steinbach and two others.

Among the nine municipalities contacted by the City of Steinbach, Funk claims to have received a very positive response from several of them. However, she acknowledges that it will take more time for communities to determine the commitment they are willing to make.

The rural municipality of Hanover is one of those that have been approached. Reeve Jim Funk says their municipality currently spends a little over $30,000 a year on services provided by the Jake Epp Library. According to him, Hanover was not informed of the amount it could expect to pay if it became a partner in the regionalization plan.

That said, Hannover decided not to join. Funk says not only is it too early in the process for Hanover to commit, but it is also a very difficult time financially for the municipality.

“We’re looking to see where we can cut and where we need to spend,” he says. “And we’re being very cautious this year.”

Funk says Hanover is certainly open to the idea of ​​being part of a regional project, even if, as in this case, the library falls outside its borders. However, he believes that the plan must make sense for the municipality.

Meanwhile, the City Council of Ste. Anne agreed to explore the idea of ​​a regional library. And the rural municipality of Ste. Anne passed a resolution to appoint an advisor to the task force being created to create a framework for a southeastern Manitoba regional library.

The province suggested that a working group be formed, made up of representatives from municipalities interested in exploring plans for a regional library. And that this working group begins to meet in early 2025.