To Mayor Francesca Ward, Town of Slave Lake council, Reeve Murray Kerik, and M.D. of Lesser Slave River council:

As a proud library user, I stand behind the Rotary Club of Slave Lake Public Library and ask council to reverse the library budget cuts.

In the fall, town and M.D. councils made library cards free, which made the library more accessible. I applaud this decision.

However, the recent budget cuts make the library less accessible. The budget cuts have meant the library has had to remove evening hours and Saturdays, and lay off its part-time staff.

The third week in May I was at the library every evening for programing. Each month from September to June, I am at the month a minimum of three evenings and usually one Saturday a month for programs I either attend or lead as a library volunteer. The monthly events are the writers’ group, book club, and stitching circle. About six Saturdays a year, I help organize Human Libraries, which is a chance for local people to tell their story. During evenings and on Saturdays, I have also attended craft nights, history events, and an escape-room style interactive dinner theatre.

Each month, the stitching circle meets once at the library and once at a coffee shop. We’ve decided to cancel the June event at the library.

In June, the writers’ group will meet at a local coffee shop and book club will meet at a local restaurant. Neither solution will work long term.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the library was one of my lifelines. Before each lockdown, my first instinct was to browse the shelves and stock up on books. The library never closed completely, so I could still order books and DVDs online, but I dreaded not having the option of being in the physical space.

The budget cuts have caused a similar situation.

The third week in May, I forgot to check my email on Friday to see if I had any holds. By the time I did, the library was closed. In the past, I would pick them up on Saturday, but that wasn’t an option. On Monday, May 25, I meant to pick them up at my lunch break or right after work, but I worked until 5:15 instead of 4:30 and was home before I remembered. However, since the library was still open until 8, I had time to eat supper and walk to the library. If I do the same thing on Friday in June, I’d have to wait until Tuesday.
Borrowing books and DVDs from the library has meant I have been able to read and watch much more than I could otherwise afford.

Library receipts include how much you saved by using the library. On May 25, I picked up one book and DVD, which saved me $69.95. From January 1 to May 25, 2026, I have saved $1,852.10. Since I got my library card, I have saved $19,902.23.

The library is more than programming and books. It provides access to the internet and printers.

My first year in Slave Lake, I rented a room in someone’s home. One reason I chose the one I did was because it had internet. When weighing my options, I checked to see if I could thrive on just the internet at the library. At the time, the library was open from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on weekdays and Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Those were good hours, but I figured the extra $100 a month to have internet was worth it. Not everyone is that lucky.

For some people, the library is their only access to the internet and a printer. Both of which are very necessary to finding a job and many other things.

The decrease in library hours affects my work.

I am the program coordinator at Slave Lake Adult Education. Since the fall, we have partnered with the library to offer an English as a Second Language Conversation Café. We decided to offer it twice a week in May and June, but then the library closed in the evening. Thankfully, we have a partnership with Northern Lakes College so could book a room at the college for free. However, this was disruptive to our learners while we figured it out.

Sincerely,
Pearl Lorentzen
Slave Lake