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Canada Post plan threatens library

If Canada Post gets it's way the, Vancouver Island Regional Library will lose its special postage rate, jeopardizing service to remote branches like the four on the islands.
The VIRL system unites 37 small libraries all over Vancouver Island, the mid-coast and our islands. They serve a population of about 400,000 and circulated close to 4.5-million items last year. The library relies on Canada Post to carry books between branches.
Since 1939, a special agreement has seen print library materials mailed at 1/8 the cost of regular parcels. The post office wants to cancel this deal in 2004. If it succeeds, VIRL's mailing costs will skyrocket from $200,000 to $1.5-million.
The library board created a committee to come up with a lobbying strategy to prevent the loss of the special rate, and approved up to $10,000 be spent on a consultant to investigate alternatives to the postal system if necessary.
The library might be able to come up with a cost effective alternative for the largest branches on Vancouver Island, but delivery to remote branches, the Books by Mail service and the Inter-Library Loan service will still be at risk. The postage for these three services is presently about $40,000 and would increase to $320,000 if the Library rate were discontinued.