More than just books: Young students write to Winnipeg city council pleading for local library to stay open

A nine-year-old boy who enjoys reading about the adventures of the Hardy Boys and Dog Man a half-dog, half-man police officer has started a movement to save his neighbourhood library from closing its doors.

Since November, the City of Winnipeg has floated the possibility of closing various community facilities, such as athletic complexes, a fire-paramedic station and libraries, in an effort to reduce public spending.

Dean Humeny, a Grade 4student at Oakenwald School, has been a member of the Fort Garry Library for two years and recently learned it may be affected by the cuts.

"I'm very unhappy to learn and disappointed to hear that the Fort Garry Library may close," Humeny told CBC News, citing that it houses his favourite books and "it's hard to drive to other libraries."

Instead of waiting to see what happens, Humeny decided to write a letter addressed to Fort Rouge-East Fort Garry councillor Sherri Rollins and mayor Brian Bowman, pleading to keep the library open.

He then told his teacher, Damon Joiner, about the situation and suggested the class do the same, said Joiner, who teaches Grade 4 and 5 at Oakenwald School.

The class sent a letter to Rollins, to which the councillor replied that she was trying to keep the library open, Joiner said.

That letter sparked something in the students, though.

"More and more kids from my class and other classes were suggesting that they wanted to write letters too," he said.

"Then it just became a whole school project where pretty much every kid in the school has decided that they want to write a letter."

The final tally of letters from Oakenwald students reached just under 190, according to Joiner. All of them will be put into a book which will then be sent to Winnipeg city council; a second copy of the book will be kept at the school.

"It's the best part of my job when you see kids really, really get excited about a project and it's something beyond the four walls of our school," Joiner said.

"To help get young kids engaged in the political process, to be involved in democracy and show that their voice matters, it's huge."

Other schools, including cole R.H.G. Bonnycastle School, are getting involved as well after the school promoted its initiative through social media, says Joiner.

There has been outpouring support from the community as well, he added. Many parents cited concerns about the closure, specifically that it is within walking distance of many community members, and allows kids to pick-up books during summer vacation.

'There's more to the Fort Garry Library than just books'

Humeny wrote about why he enjoys the library, but also why it's an important institution in the neighbourhood.

"There's more to the Fort Garry Library than just books," he wrote.

"When I was learning to read, my parents took me there to borrow Early Reader books. My family and I also attended a variety of programs offered at our local library; I met many friends in the neighbourhood as a preschooler because I had the opportunity to attend library programs."

He added that the library is near his home, and it's a bustling hub of community members both young and old.

It's also an outlet where people can find books they like, says Grade 4 student Darrah Millar.

Millar, a mystery buff who dislikes the non-fiction section, often goes to the library with her sisters partly because there are few books at home she enjoys.

There's also a vast selection of books for readers of all levels, she added.

"They have a lot of books for younger children who are just learning to read a lot of the schools don't have those books," she said.

Millar added various illustrations to her letter, to pay homage to the many books in the Fort Garry Library that help teach people how to draw.

"I really want [the library] to stay open, because I love to go there to read and so does my mom," said Grade 5student Jenny Ferrer-Cabrera, whose mother started bringing her there when she was young.

In her letter, Ferrer-Cabrera listed reasons for how closing the library would affect people each season.

People who don't own vehicles would have to bear Winnipeg's frigid winter temperatures while waiting for the bus. When school is closed in the summer, kids who want to borrow a book will have to travel all the way downtown, she wrote.

"I hope [councillors] realize how much time it took for a bunch of kids to write the letters," Ferrer-Cabrera told CBC News.