Three library branches in the Weyburn area received recognition at the annual meeting of the board of the Southeast Regional Library in Weyburn on April 3.

The Weyburn Public Library received the Branch Programming Award for the past year, and was one of three runner-ups for the Branch of the Year Award. Carlyle branch won the award.

The Lake Alma branch received the Branch Service Award.

Trustees heard presentations from local librarians and from provincial deputy minister of learning, Gillian McCreary, about cooperation between public libraries and educational institutions.

A high priority for the province is to get a more integrated library service for children, said regional director Allan Johnson on Monday.

"They're not pushing facility integration but they're trying to get people working together," he said.

It's based on the same premise as the School Plus program which sees many different departments and services working together directly with schools to provide better services to children, he said.

But because school-age children make up only 25 per cent of the total population served by public libraries, library trustees are not sure what the idea means for libraries, said Johnson. So they are examining the whole issue before taking any action, he said.

Even the discussion can be controversial because joint public school board/library facilities have been tried for decades, with mixed to negative results, he said.

The biggest problem is that public libraries have a very different mandate than schools, he said.

"Libraries serve the whole community and schools serve children, with only a 20-25 per cent overlap. Libraries provide the world of information without censorship or restriction, while school resources are focussed on supporting their curriculum," he said.

Cooperation between the two is not impossible, but it's difficult to do so while maintaining the services for both communities, he said.

Some municipal trustees believe there would be a cost-saving but that's really hard to say, at least so early in the discussion, said Johnson.

"Libraries experience an increase in operating cost any time we do a partnership. It costs more time and money. But municipalities might see some savings in facility costs."

The region is in the first year of a five-year pilot program between the Carnduff library branch and the school.

Jean Nelson is chair of the regional board, with Ken Sutherland as vice-chair.