“Everyone can go to university by going to the library,” said Library CEO Barbara Sweet, who presented the 2024 Annual Report to the Committee of the Whole last month. 

Ms. Sweet began her presentation by emphasizing education as one of the primary pillars of the Valuing Ontario Libraries Toolkit, a framework created by the Ontario Library Service (OLS).

“Books and learning emerged as a top priority,” she said. 

Another key library function in the OLS framework is inclusion and diversity. In 2024, the library partnered with the County Museums on the Reconciliation Reading Group. In partnership with the Huff Family Fund, they also hosted a reading with Willie Poll, author of the children’s book Our Ancestors’ Kitchen.

Ms. Sweet stressed the importance of the library as a community hub. In 2024, Bring Back Main Street, a program that supports the downtown core of small Ontario towns, awarded the Picton Branch Library $18,000 for front landscaping, including planters and a bookcart. Ms. Sweet noted that drawing people to Main Street creates a “positive ripple effect throughout the local economy.”

“We are excited now to activate the alleyway between the Picton Library and the Regent Theatre,” she said, noting that the library is “actively seeking creative ideas to maximize the potential of this space.”

Mayor Steve Ferguson lauded the library’s sophisticated offerings, which include a recording studio, musical instrument lending library, and maker space. 

“The library has been an innovator for rural libraries for decades,” added Councillor Kate MacNaughton, who sits on the library board. “There’s this sense of ‘we can’ that staff bring to the activities,” she said.