Grey County doesn’t plan to switch to a County wide library system anytime soon.
Council approved a committee recommendation to keep things as they are, after finding local libraries are operating at the average cost of other communities.
About ten years ago, a report was put together to see if there were potential cost savings in switching to a Grey County wide library system instead of having six municipal systems and one union system.
That 30 page report concluded the County should not move forward with a County Library system. Staff say it was based on a review of neighbouring systems, the Public Libraries Act and discussions with several of the operating boards in Grey County.
Last week, Deputy CAO Niall Lobley told Grey County Council’s Committee of the Whole, it has been revisited and discussed by the Joint Municipal Services Committee which has found the situation remains the same.
Lobley noted at the February 12th meeting,”Our member municipalities are paying around about the provincial average in terms of small scale rural libraries.”
The report says, Grey County, when excluding Blue Mountains which has special services and costs more, sees an average cost in 2025, of about $55 per resident.
Lobley’s report says, “Since 2014 there has been little appetite and/or capacity between Boards for greater collaboration or merger,” The committee found there is a wide-array of services offered in each municipality, and it would be a difficult thing to standardize.
Lobley’s 2026 report adds, “Despite doubtless efficiencies with a larger system, it appears unlikely that any reduction in operating costs could be expected in a country-wide model.”
Lobley noted efficiencies are best gained between boards rather than the County becoming involved. There was support for a recommendation that will see collaboration of training among the county’s municipal libraries.