Library partnership uncertain

BY ELYSE AMEND

elyse.amend@transcontinental.ca

Bookworms in Pierrefonds/Roxboro and Dollard des Ormeaux will still be able to take advantage of each others library catalogues come the New Year, but the inter-municipal agreement may not continue throughout all of 2008.

During Monday evening’s monthly borough council meeting, Pierrefonds/Roxboro announced inter-municipal library service between the Pierrefonds library and Dollard des Ormeaux’s will only continue until June 30, 2008. What happens between the libraries after that is currently uncertain.

According to Pierrefonds-Roxboro borough mayor Monique Worth, its libraries will follow the City of Montreal’s lead and connect to the Millennium integrated library system — a Web- and Java-based system — as of July 1, 2008.

Since the mid-1980s, Pierrefonds and Dollard have shared their libraries’ resources, with residents of both cities able to borrow books from either library. The partnership endured through the 2001 forced municipal merger and subsequent de-merger for Dollard in 2006.

However, as Dollard is a reconstituted city, it is uncertain whether it will also sign on to the Millennium system the City of Montreal and its boroughs will be switching to.

“We’re looking at all different options to get the best services for citizens,” said Dollard’s director of sports, leisure and culture, Paul Desbarats, adding it is too early to say whether the Dollard library will partner with other libraries or eventually change over to the Millennium system as well. “The idea of a [library network] is great, but you have to look into the pros and cons before jumping into it.”

As for Pierrefonds-Roxboro’s new Millennium system, Worth said citizens will have to wait a bit longer before details about the library upgrade are revealed.

“We can’t really give any details at this point. We haven’t made an official announcement yet,” she said. “But 2008 will be a very good year for our libraries.”