AVRL is facing rising operating costs and a severe funding shortfall. Despite years of cost‑saving measures, we can no longer sustain operations across all 11 branches. After exploring all alternatives, the Library Board determined that closing 5 branches is necessary to stabilize the system and preserve essential library services at the remaining 6 branches.
The five branches that will close are:
- Hantsport
- Port Williams
- Kentville
- Middleton
- Lawrencetown
Beginning July 20, 2026, the following six AVRL branches will remain open with new
standardized open hours:
- Windsor
- Wolfville
- Berwick
- Kingston
- Bridgetown
- Annapolis Royal
Information about these branches, including address and open hours will be available on the Library’s website at https://valleylibrary.ca/.
Closure of the five branches will be effective Sunday, July 19.
In order to complete the restructuring process and support staff through the transition, all AVRL locations will be closed from June 1–14, 2026. All 11 branches will reopen on June 15, 2026, and remain open until the effective closure date of July 19, 2026.
Library service will be consolidated into the remaining six branches. Open hours will be standardized for the six remaining branches.
As of Monday, July 20, 2026, the new open hours at the remaining six branches will be:
- Monday Closed
- Tuesday 12pm – 8pm
- Wednesday 10am – 6pm
- Thursday 12pm – 8pm
- Friday 10am – 6pm
- Saturday 10am – 5pm
- Sunday Closed
Some library staff will be reassigned, but many positions will be eliminated. We are providing support and resources to affected employees.
We recognize the impact of losing a local branch. Some community members may need to travel further to access library resources and services.
During the temporary closure, all due dates will be extended and all holds on your account will be suspended. Once we reopen on June 15, you will be able to access library service at all 11 branches as usual, including borrowing, holds pickup, and returns.
Updates will be shared on the library website, social media channels, and through local media.
The Library Board agreed on the following four priorities in making decisions around cuts to service:
- Using a regional lens to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of branches, open hours, and access.
- A stable and sustainable staff workforce.
- A sustainable budget for three years, with no deficit budgeted beyond 2026-27.
- Retaining focus on the community’s priority of access to collections
The Library Board decided to offer comprehensive library service at fewer locations, rather than severely reduced service at a greater number of branches.
The Library Board assessed the budget and determined it could afford to operate five* branches at a comprehensive service level. These branches were distributed according to population ratio in the three counties being served: as Kings County is triple the size of both West Hants and Annapolis County, it would retain three branches, and the other two counties would retain one each.
*Note: The sixth branch, Annapolis Royal, will be funded by a $1.2 million bequest that the AVRL Board received in 2022, for the exclusive use of the Annapolis Royal Branch. Without this bequest, the AVRL could only afford to operate five branches.
The Board recognizes that every branch plays an important role in its community,
and understands that the closure decisions will be deeply disappointing and difficult for residents and staff alike.
In making its decision, the Library Board prioritized maintaining a reasonable geographic distribution of remaining branches across the region. This included preserving service points in western Annapolis County, central Kings County, and West Hants, while also considering projected population growth areas and rural access concerns.
Given budget limits, the Board could retain only one branch on the Eastern Kings County Corridor. Further, the Board notes that this area of Kings County needs additional focus for future service to adequately meet the needs of the largest population in the service area including Kentville, New Minas, and Wolfville.
In making its decision, the Library Board prioritized maintaining a reasonable geographic distribution of remaining branches across the region. This included preserving service points in western Annapolis County, central Kings County, and West Hants, while also considering projected population growth areas and rural access concerns.
The Bridgetown branch is a busy rural location in the County of Annapolis. It offers a service point midway between Kingston and Annapolis Royal, which are 60 kilometres apart. It ensures the Board has a presence in some of the most rural and underserved communities of its service area.
In making its decision, the Library Board prioritized maintaining a reasonable geographic distribution of remaining branches across the region. This included preserving service points in western Annapolis County, central Kings County, and West Hants, while also considering projected population growth areas and rural access concerns.
The operating cost for the Annapolis Royal Branch will be paid for from a previously-received $1.2 million bequest that is for the exclusive use of the Annapolis Royal library branch. This allows Annapolis County to retain two library branches. Without the use of this bequest, the AVRL would only be able to operate 5 branches within the total service area.
Fundraising is not a realistic strategy in the short-term to mitigate the size of the AVRL’s financial challenges. The Board has stated that it will plan for future long-term fundraising efforts.
The Board is in communication with Friends of the Library groups who have previously fundraised for the AVRL.
The Board is open to discussing expansion opportunities. Any expansion will need to include commitments of sustainable funding.
The AVRL is unionized. It is unable to use volunteers for core library work. In the future if there is capacity to oversee volunteer management, it may be possible to use volunteers to help with programming and/or fundraising.
Unionized AVRL staff are trained, educated, dedicated library employees who have made commitments to their highly-valued library work in our communities.
ARVL has requested to work with the municipalities to organize the transition. There are a lot of physical items to be moved and the consolidation process will take several months.
Unfortunately, due to the ongoing severe funding shortfall, and the lack of increased funding in the Province of Nova Scotia’s 2026-27 Budget, the AVRL Board has no alternative but to close the five branches as soon as possible to ensure that the Library will be stable and financially viable going forward. The Board takes its fiscal responsibilities seriously and is making these changes to ensure that the AVRL is operating within the funding available from Provincial and Municipal governments.
We recognize that this change is significant, emotional, and disruptive. AVRL is committed to acknowledging the impact while helping people understand the necessity and the path forward.
The AVRL Board considered multiple different operational scenarios. It chose to prioritize access to community space and the collections. AVRL will retain its current focus on providing collections, space, technology, and other in-branch services. Keeping 6 branches open preserves the maximum number of permanent jobs at AVRL, focusing on long-term staff retention for service stability.
The financial challenges are so severe that keeping all of our branches open means that each branch would have minimal operating hours and would become inaccessible to the public. Further, the resulting impacts on jobs at AVRL would mean that the library would not be able to guarantee service continuity.
The AVRL Board has chosen to make sure that the branches remaining open will be able to provide the full range of existing library services on days and times that make it accessible to the public.
There are many opportunities for AVRL service to expand, based on successful models in other libraries across Canada. Any conversation about these options needs to be had in tandem with sustainable funding commitments.
The Board’s decision is based on the financial realities facing the AVRL system. If the financial situation changes, the AVRL Board will examine what is possible.
The Province of Nova Scotia is responsible for determining the funding levels for public libraries in the province. If you have concerns about these branch closures and service reductions and their impact on you or your community, please reach out to your local MLA and the Ministry of Communities, Culture, Tourism and Heritage.
Contact your local MLA and share your library story. Let them know why the library matters to you. Ask them to support their communities by sustainably funding your public library.
The most impactful thing that you can do right now is to contact your local MLA to let them know why the library is important to you and that it should be a priority for sustainable funding.
AVRL has been communicating about the risks of government inaction since 2023.
In 2025 AVRL began to let the public know of the seriousness of the situation, and urged the public to contact their local elected officials to make library funding a priority. We encourage you to continue to do that now.
We understand why people are curious about branch‑level data such as square footage, staffing costs, circulation numbers, or building‑specific expenses. These are important operational details, and they absolutely factor into our internal planning.
Individual branches matter deeply to their communities, and we value that. But the Library Board’s mandate is to look beyond any single building and ensure that the entire region has strong, accessible, and sustainable library service for decades to come. That means making decisions based on regional impact, not isolated statistics. Focusing too narrowly on one branch can unintentionally obscure the larger picture: how we ensure equitable, sustainable, and meaningful library service for the entire region.
It is correct that there is over $2 million dollars in “reserve” funds at AVRL. However, the majority of these funds are restricted and cannot be used for general operations.
There are three main categories:
1 Approximately $1.3 million was received in 2022 as a bequest for the Annapolis Royal Library. These funds will be used to support the operation of that branch going forward. Without these funds, the AVRL would only be able to support the operation of five library branches instead of six.
2 Approximately $180,000 in donations has been donated for the planned Wolfville capital project.
3 AVRL has about $600,000 in unallocated reserves. The Board will use those funds for the deficits in 2025-26 and 2026-27 to support operations. At least $450,000 is expected to be spent by the end of 2026-27. These same reserves also need to cover necessary costs such as van replacement and computer equipment.
Information about the Library finances and decision-making is available here on our website.