The fastest-growing demographics in Saskatoon, including newcomers and youth, tend to be the most frequent users of the Saskatoon Public Library’s services.
CEO Carol Cooley says to date, the SPL has had over a million patron visits year-to-date and over 58,000 people have attended library programs. The City’s Governance and Priorities committee heard the Public Library’s preliminary budget report on Wednesday, which included an increase of 3.49 per cent next year and 3.54 per cent in 2025.

Board Chair Jim Siemens explains that next year’s increase would work out to about $8.17 a year for the average household and $8.57 a year in 2025. The budget includes three Full Time Equivalent positions and a scheduled $210,000 reserve contribution for the new central library. That same amount would also be contributed in 2025 and 26, and then that part of the library levy is done. Siemens estimates the $210,000 works out to about $1.60 per year for the average household. Deliberations for the city’s two-year budget plan for 2024 and 2025 are November 28th through 30th.

Cooley notes that the SPL is being challenged with the number of people with complex needs they are dealing with, so their budget includes additional security resources. “As a public library we are not equipped to meet the complex social, mental health, wellness and addiction issues that we are presented with daily. While it’s not our capacity or mandate to resolve these societal issues, we are required to respond to the associated behaviours we are increasingly witnessing within the library.”

The preliminary budget includes a security manager to support the libraries on evenings and weekends and a Full Time Equivalent position for both an outreach worker and for public services at the Dr. Freda Ahenakew branch, where these services are needed the most.