In the future Tynaarlo will no longer be the municipality of Drenthe that spends by far the least money on libraries. Today the city council unanimously decided to invest more in the libraries.
Since 2014, significant cutbacks have been made to libraries in Tynaarlo. Currently, 9.80 euros per inhabitant goes to libraries, while other municipalities in Drenthe often spend around fourteen to twenty euros per inhabitant on ‘reading houses’.
Councilor Annemarie Machielsen finds it inconceivable that Tynaarlo sets aside so little money for the libraries. “When I visit the library, I am ashamed of the municipality that we are. We are a wealthy municipality, but our library looks like a stepchild,” said Machielsen (Liveable Tynaarlo).
In a motion, supported by all council factions, it has been established that Tynaarlo will increase the amount per inhabitant to fourteen euros.
The city council also wants a plan to be drawn up within a year for three fully-fledged libraries in Eelde-Paterswolde, Vries and Zuidlaren. This includes good accessibility and low threshold, and libraries must be a ‘buzzing heart of the village’.
The council also wants attention to be paid to better accessibility of library facilities in the fifteen small centers of the municipality. Among other things, the option of a ‘small mobile facility’ is kept open.
Alderman Miguel Ririhena (GroenLinks) indicated that he would not be able to come up with a plan for three fully-fledged libraries within a year. He does indicate, however, that he wants to investigate, together with the libraries, how the small nuclei can be reached. The Municipal Executive supports the proposal to bring the contribution per inhabitant to fourteen euros.