Chester opens new library branch as other Nova Scotia communities face closures
As five library branches in the Annapolis Valley face closure due to funding pressures, Chester is taking a different approach.
South Shore Public Libraries has opened a new branch in the community, expanding access to library services at a time when library systems across Nova Scotia are warning about financial challenges.
The contrast is not lost on CEO and Chief Librarian Ashley Nunn-Smith.
Speaking days after the Annapolis Valley Regional Library announced plans to close five branches, Nunn-Smith said Chester’s new location became possible because local officials stepped up to help fund it.
“The Village of Chester Commission has agreed to pay 100 per cent of our staff salary,” Nunn-Smith said.
She said the municipality recognized the value of having a strong library presence and chose to invest in the service despite the financial pressures facing libraries province-wide.
Different communities, different outcomes
Nunn-Smith recently described the Annapolis Valley closures as the result of years of flat funding and rising costs, warning that library systems across Nova Scotia are facing similar challenges.
She noted that South Shore Public Libraries has so far avoided branch closures but has already reduced hours at its Greenfield branch and condensed bookmobile service in order to balance its budget.
Against that backdrop, the opening of a new Chester branch represents a rare expansion of service.
“The municipalities are building these spaces and they want to see more libraries because they understand the value,” Nunn-Smith said.
She said libraries have become much more than places to borrow books, serving as community hubs where people access computers, internet service, government forms, virtual healthcare appointments and educational programming.
Funding remains a concern
While celebrating the new Chester location, Nunn-Smith said the broader funding challenges facing libraries have not disappeared.
She said library systems across the province continue to seek a return to recommendations contained in the province’s 2024 library funding review, arguing current funding levels are no longer keeping pace with inflation and growing demand for services.
For now, Chester is bucking the trend.
While communities in the Annapolis Valley are fighting to save existing branches, Chester residents are welcoming a new one.
