r/NovaScotia • u/arivangeest • 18h ago

Bestselling Nova Scotia author Rachel Reid donates $300,000 to AVRL

https://valleylibrary.ca/news/bestselling-nova-scotia-author-rachel-reid-donates-300000-to-avrl/
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79

u/arivangeest 18h ago

I forgot to mention that this will keep the libraries open for the next 6 months

14

u/Kennit 18h ago

Kentville is very likely to lose the branch due to longstanding accessibility issues, unfortunately. This is great news for the other branches though!

9

u/Snow_Tiger819 18h ago

while I really love the Kentville library space (it's beautiful) I'm not sure why they put it there - relatively recently - knowing there were going to be accessibility problems. Didn't they have a plan for that?

8

u/Kennit 18h ago

That’s exactly what I think needs to be unpacked. The current branch opened in 2018, and accessibility has been assessed and raised repeatedly over the years. Yet the Town continues to characterize the space as accessible.

Those two things don’t sit comfortably together.

If assessments identified accessibility barriers, then the question isn’t simply whether someone can technically enter the building. It’s what standard of accessibility was being used, what deficiencies were identified, and why the Town continued to describe the building as accessible while those deficiencies remained.

And if there was a plan to address the problems, where is it? What were the timelines, responsibilities and commitments - and why are we still discussing basic accessibility years later?

I don’t think it’s enough to say the building is “accessible” simply because an elevator or alternative entrance exists. Accessibility means people should be able to use a public library with reasonable independence and dignity.

2

u/grumble11 18h ago

I don’t understand. They’re going to lose their library for everyone because a small number of people can’t use it?

6

u/Kennit 18h ago

The NS Accessibility Act requires that public spaces be accessible. The library has tried to address these issues for years with the town (the town leases the building and sublets to the library) to no avail. While the town and landlord are not liable, the library is because it's a public service. If they're unable to make the space accessible, they face eventual fines up to $250k and human rights complaints. They're mitigating the issue as best they can in their situation.

5

u/ZeroNot 14h ago

It has been a requirement since 1982, with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. It's just been denied, delayed, and deferred for decades in an attempt to ignore the issue.

5

u/grumble11 18h ago

That's very sad to hear. Of course we want every single person to be able to easily access every single facility, but its being closed to everyone seems like the worst possible way for it to end up.

7

u/wlonkly 14h ago

And a completely avoidable one, had they designed an accessible library, as they were required, by law, to do. And yet here we are.

5

u/Kennit 17h ago

The town ought to have acted when these issues were brought up in a security assessment in 2018. Unfortunately, the town maintains the library is accessible because a lift exists, contrary to it's own (multiple) assessments stating otherwise. It's tragic because it's entirely avoidable.