A local library official is welcoming a planned provincial review of Manitoba libraries. The evaluation is intended to make the book loaning organizations more efficient while maintaining high-quality, cost effective service to patrons.

Cathy Ching is the Director of Library Services with South Central Regional Library, she feels this review is a good thing.

"The government has not done any review of our library funding and the processes that are required to receive that funding for a long, long time. So, this just ensures that libraries are following the mandate to them to receive funding."

As with any other review, Ching says you take the good with the bad and move forward with what's been discovered.

According to government there have been efforts to make libraries more modern, however few policy updates have been made over the past thirty years to keep up with the changes. Ching adds while book circulation within SCRL remains high, librarians are doing more than just checking in and out books these days.

"The big scare was that libraries are going to disappear with the advent of eBooks and eReaders - that's not been the case but we do offer a lot more services for the public (like) computers, WiFi and Internet and also just services that aren't so readily available in small communities, so we find we're helping people with passport applications and just general stuff."

The upcoming review will also look to make Manitoba's libraries more efficient. Ching adds SCRL, made up of four libraries across the region, is already quite efficient.

"We have an excellent Council representation and our funding bodies are really supportive of us - the municipalities and the cities - and we have always been able to maintain or increase the services we provide with the funding because the Board has a vision for us."

Overall, she says the timing of this provincial review is quite good and notes the SCRL board had discussed doing its own review in collaboration with the partner municipalities.