Originally Posted in the Flamborough Today – click here for link to full article: Flamborough Archives faces rising tech costs as city and library move to separate systems – FlamboroughToday.com
New fees will mean an additional $3,500 in operating costs for the local non-profit based at the Waterdown Library
The city is ending its phone and internet support for community partners within local library branches, like Flamborough Connects and Flamborough Archives, in February.
The city has provided phone and internet for the services operating out of its libraries, but following the 2024 cyberattack, the Hamilton Public Library is operating its own technology and cannot support its four community partners anymore.
Shelley McKay, spokesperson for HPL, wrote that the library now has its own “separate networks, insurance and oversight to reduce risk and ensure compliance with technology, security and insurance policies.”
Community groups are not covered by those insurance policies.
McKay wrote that the library has provided no-cost technology and support to its four community partners, including the Flamborough Archives, Flamborough Connects, Ancaster Community Services and Dundas Community Services, and said cheaper, less complicated systems are now easier for small organizations to connect with.
But the new fees are causing pressure for one of the groups.
Lyn Lunsted runs the Flamborough Archives, a free, volunteer-operated community resource completely funded through donations and heritage grants. She said the archives office is facing a monthly $300 bill to keep the phones and internet on, which will add $3,500 to the archive’s annual operating cost.
The archives will also have to buy its own Microsoft licences and replace two computers, which were supplied by the library. The archives, she said, are already under financial pressure and had to raise their annual membership by $5 this year, the first increase in price in a decade.
“It’s kind of a no-win situation all the way around. We need a fairy godmother to give us operating expenses every year,” Lunsted said.
McKay said community partners were informed about the switch over a year ago but because of a mix-up, Lunsted said she only found out in December, which has left her scrambling.
Lunsted says the library has “apologized profusely”, but she is still faced with potentially cutting back on archival projects because of the additional fees.
Lunsted said the phone service will end Feb. 28.
“These partners are able to continue to use the free WiFi in the branches. HPL will continue to support the partners’ internet needs for several months to ensure a smooth transition,” McKay wrote.
Flamborough Connects, an essential local charity that provides residents in need with community services and information, is also losing its internet and phone lines in the coming months.
Colleen Stinson, the group’s executive director, declined an interview but wrote that the group is, “immensely appreciative of our ongoing relationships with both Hamilton Public Library and The City of Hamilton and all the support they have historically shown, and continue to show, towards our charity.”
