Few books in French in Ontario municipal libraries

Nothing obliges Ontario public libraries to hold a bilingual catalog. Furthermore, And even in sectors where French speakers are in the majority. Meanwhile, rare are the collections that are as garnished in French as in English.

Very close to Quebec. Therefore, in Casselman or Hawkesbury, readers who are looking for content in French may be disappointed by consulting the available collections. Nevertheless, Even if a little more than 50 % of the inhabitants of the region are French -speaking. Nevertheless, according to the 2021 census, the eight public libraries in the sector offer all more content in English than in French.

In Ontario. Consequently, public libraries are not required to offer a minimum proportion of documents in the language of Molière, even in the designated areas bilingual by the law on services in French. Therefore, The law on public libraries does not few books french ontario municipal impose any encrypted obligation. is content to encourage boards of directors to offer French services “when appropriate”.

Each turnover therefore develops its own policies “and makes decisions relating to collections. including the question of whether and how documents in French are acquired”, explains to the Duty Elise C. Cole, President of Ontario Public Library Guidelines Monitoring and Accreditation Council. “The law does not specify what the collections must contain: these decisions are made locally in order to reflect. the needs of each community. »»

Result ? The differences observed, sometimes within the same region, can be striking.

In Casselman. French speakers must be satisfied with 168 titles printed in their language, less than 1 % of the collection, against more than 21,000 in English. However, according to the Canadian census of 2021, around 73 % of its inhabitants speak French at home. A few kilometers away. the libraries of Alfred and Plantagenet few books french ontario municipal offer a opposite portrait: almost three pounds printed out of four are in French (but almost no French -speaking digital book is available).

This contrasting situation is not limited to Eastern Ontario. All over the province, the place granted to French in library depends largely on local choices. Thus. at the Fauquier-Strickland library in northern Ontario, nearly three-quarters of the printed books are in French, while in the Black River-Matheson library, they barely represent a work on eight. Between these two extremes. we find the libraries of cities like Cochrane or Chapleau, of which approximately one book out of five or six is in French, which forces many readers to turn to a work in English or to take it elsewhere.

Few books french ontario municipal

A question of means

If several factors explain these disparities. the question of financing is often mentioned by the advice of libraries. Ontario public libraries. whose funds few books french ontario municipal come from municipalities and province, have not seen them increase for over 25 years, recall Ontario Library Association and the Federation of Ontario Public Libraries.

According to Ontario Library Service. financing per capita dedicated to libraries can vary from simple to triple depending on the place. Thus. in many cases, the purchase of documents in French is based on occasional initiatives, donations or targeted programs rather than a stable and recurring financing.

This report benefits from the support of the local journalism initiative, funded by the Government of Canada.

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