When the city of Moncton announced this morning that it intends to close four small neighbourhood library branches and pour the savings into a single, state-of-the-art central library downtown, residents, librarians, councillors, and students quickly lined up on opposing sides of a heated debate. The plan to shut the branches in order to fund one flagship building drew the sharpest reactions. Supporters argued that a modern central library, open seven days a week, would eventually serve far more people than the scattered branches ever could.

Odette Thibault, whose family uses the cramped branch in the Fairview neighbourhood, welcomed the plan without hesitation. "As a taxpayer, I expect a proper library, and the Fairview branch simply does not measure up. It has a handful of shelves and closes by five. My children deserve the best building the city can offer, so I have my eye on the new downtown branch instead."