by KRISTIAN GRAVENOR

Montreal officially becomes UNESCO's World Book Capital this Saturday, but Montrealers like Sally McKinnon and the rest of the board of the Montreal Children's Library network might have a dimmer view of the city's alleged bookish ways.

Since 1929 the non-profit library has popped 19 children-oriented libraries into neighbourhoods where children have little or no library access. Only three of those remained in November 2002 when they opened their latest local library, this one at 5775 St-Jacques W. in NDG. Last March 24, long little faces found the library doors locked for good.

"Closing a library isn't a light decision," says McKinnon. "It comes down to the bottom line - we didn't have the money to sustain it. We had meetings with the borough and they were positive in certain aspects, but they weren't positive on the financial aspect."

Quebec has been rated as ninth of 10 provinces in funding its libraries, and Montreal's libraries are particularly poor due to a funding formula implemented by the previous PQ government. In the current deal, more library funding goes to regions where property values are low, which has resulted in less cash for Montreal's book efforts.

One piece of good news is that the provincially run Grande Bibliothèque will open its doors to the public on April 30 and will officially open for business on May 3.

Yet in many other parts of town, Montrealers will be losing library access, as the free ride ends for non-residents at the Westmount Library and the Côte-St-Luc Library, thanks to the looming de-merger and its subsequent rule change.

Plus, with the relocation of $35-million worth of books to the new library, various other Montreal-run neighbourhood libraries will be closing, including the current main library on Sherbrooke E. facing Lafontaine Park and a small one on Esplanade near Mont-Royal (Côte-St-Luc mayoral candidates Robert Libman and Anthony Housefather, as well as Westmount's Karin Marks promise to allow non-residents to continue as members, providing their libraries receive money either through fees or a deal with Montreal).

The city councillor charged with the library dossier offers a sunnier outlook for Montreal's library users. Executive committee VP Francine Sénécal says the city is negotiating a new deal with the Quebec Culture Ministry that would see more provincial bucks come to the Montreal libraries.

"We have 56 public libraries," she says. "None [other than the aforementioned] are closing. Meanwhile we have two opening, one in Hochelaga-Maisonneuve and another at 6767 Côte-des-Neiges that will have books in 25 languages."

This week the Montreal library system unveils a revamped computer database system for users. "It means a citizen of Montreal North will know what's in the collection in Pierrefonds or the Plateau," says Sénécal.

She promises that the main library will remain open to Montrealers in a yet-to-be-disclosed new venture. "It'll maintain its cultural vocation and be open to the public, and we'll announce what that will be later this summer."

She also vows that once Montrealers get their eyes onto the new, gleaming library, they might share her optimism. "It's a beautiful place, it's very large and will contain books from the central library - archives, newspapers, magazines, everything."