Dear Mr. (St. Albert library manager Peter) Bailey:
This letter is being written to you to express my extreme disappointment and frustration at being unable to access the St. Albert Library eResources on the St. Albert Library website, mainly the Gale Courses that were offered on the website.
I was more than willing to purchase a non-resident library card, but upon enquiry, was repeatedly told that being a non-resident of St. Albert, the library card would only be authorized for physical resources at the St. Albert Library.
In my opinion, this policy is discriminatory to say the least, deplorable as well, when people are struggling in this economy, and could take courses to enable employment or gain better employment. Being told that we (St. Albert Library staff) are sorry, that the eResources are for St. Albert residents only. The reason given was that the residents of St. Albert pay property taxes to the City of St. Albert, and that only those who have residency in St. Albert are authorized to make use of the eResources on the St. Albert Library website.
Please explain to me why, a resident of St. Albert who rents a home, condo or apartment in the City of St. Albert is allowed to use these eResources when they do not pay City of St. Albert Property Taxes??? Why, if there is the TAL, The Alberta Library Card which any Albertan can apply for if they have a valid library card from an Alberta library, would the libraries not share these eResources to make these eResources more accessible for rural communities? I would appreciate receiving an answer to these questions please and thank you. To me and many others in the surrounding very small communities whose libraries do not have eResources due to their limited budgets, can you give us all an explanation of why we cannot access these eResources after paying for a non-resident library card?
Thank you for your time, and looking forward to your explanation.
S. Zwolle, Morinville
