To meet the rising demand for services, Greater Victoria Public Libraries CEO Maureen Sawa sought approval from Victoria city council for $3.9 million to cover its 2011 operating budget, up 4.62 per cent from last year.
Faster growing municipalities are being asked to bear a bigger share of the increase. For instance, Langford’s share will rise 10.3 per cent.
Victoria councillors complimented the library for embracing new technology, to ensure they are available to everyone.
The library’s five year financial plan forecasts its annual budget to rise from $15.2 million this year to $17.1 million in 2015.
The numbers don’t include plans to upgrade facilities.
A main downtown library should be an iconic building, such as the one in Seattle or Vancouver, said Mayor Dean Fortin.
Sawa said that since taking the job five months ago, she’s been struggling to understand the needs of the downtown branch.
“I think it’s enormously, heavily used and out of a facility that was, I’m told, supposed to be a temporary fix 30-plus years ago,” she said.
rholmen@vicnews.com