The Association des libraires du Québec (ALQ) is not in a “critical budgetary situation”, as it announced to its members last May. The 2023-2024 financial statements, including The duty obtained a copy, are balanced. Independent auditor Julie Gaboriault is more concerned about “the lack of a sufficient number of employees to carry out the activities”, which leads to “significant doubt about the organization’s ability to continue its operations”. What is holding the ALQ back? Finances? Human resources? The new business vision?
On May 10, the ALQ announced by email to its members that the organization “finds itself with a significant deficit for the budget year that is ending. If no changes are put in place, the year 2024-2025 suggests a critical budgetary situation.”
The 2023-2024 financial statements, however, present a situation similar to those of previous years, as noted The duty. The increase in spending remains relatively marginal. The $1.5 million budget is, in fact, balanced with a deficit of only $27,000.
Let us recall that the last two employees remaining at the ALQ saw their positions abolished on June 13. Over the past few months, since the arrival of the new management of Jade Bergeron and Alexandre Blanchette in April 2023, resignations, dismissals and sick leaves have followed one another, until the offices were empty of employees.
Gabrielle Simard, from the Les Bouquinistes bookstore and the board of directors, is acting as interim director.
On the ALQ’s brand new website, there is no longer a team presentation page. The lack of staff worried the auditors of the financial statements, more than the budget.
“The Association of Quebec Booksellers met in general assembly on June 9,” replied Mr.me Simard for the ALQ, while refusing the interview request of the Duty. “During this general meeting, all members present had the opportunity to discuss in a completely frank, open and transparent manner past, present and future situations.”
The new ALQ board of directors has eight members, out of nine positions.
“We are currently working to continue the internal restructuring of our organization and to develop the implementation of its new strategic planning,” said the interim director.
“We are counting on the support of our partners and external resources to do this. [De plus]the steps for the allocation have begun.
Do without project subsidies?
In an interview at the end of May, the chairman of the board of directors, Éric Simard, of Librairie du Square, explained that he saw the change in management, after the presence for a decade of Katherine Fafard, who left in February 2023, as “an opportunity”.
“We’re reshuffling the cards. Over time, the ALQ has moved away from the needs of its members. We were doing actions that were very much focused on promotion, but not always linked to the promotion of the bookselling profession,” confided Mr. Simard.
“We conducted surveys, carried out focus groups. We put a lot of energy into training, but it came at the bottom of the scale in the preferences of our members, in these consultations.
“Booksellers are asking us to work for them, to really defend their rights, to be much more political as a training. We are aiming more for direct service to members. For example, if there is a dispute with a publisher, an author, we were less there for this kind of thing, and we would like to be there.”
The president continued with his vision: “So, it was also necessary to reduce the team. There will no longer be a person assigned to training and promotion, it will be integrated into new positions”, whose working conditions will be less advantageous, as the ALQ subsequently confirmed.
We are reshuffling the cards. Over time, the ALQ has moved away from the needs of its members. We were doing actions that were very much focused on promotion, but not always linked to the promotion of the bookselling profession.
“We also question the relationship with subsidies,” added the president. “Subsidies are interesting: they keep a team going, they keep it alive, they give salaries to employees. But, at a certain point, we always had to go and get more subsidies to maintain everything, and it was no longer possible to keep up this pace.”
Currently, 80% of financial contributions come from grants and public money. The figures from current and past financial statements demonstrate that this model works well.
Sponsorships, in service and in cash, increased by $17,010 from 2023 to 2024. This growth is insufficient to remedy project subsidies, which in 2024, at $861,911, constitute 58% of the current budget.
The value of the Booksellers’ Prize
The question of expertise also arises: without an employee responsible for the Prix des libraires, for example, will the literary prize be able to remain one of the most respected in Quebec, along with the Prix des collégiens? Its unique character? It does not only gauge the books that publishers send, but the maximum possible number of new releases of the season. It therefore requires significant monitoring of the readings done, retained and rejected by the six different committees of volunteer booksellers.
Furthermore, on June 3, the ALQ assured the Duty take “the human resources situation very seriously. A rigorous assessment will be carried out by an independent external human resources consultant.”
A month later, where are we? “We do not issue any comments regarding information related to human resources out of respect and confidentiality, and to avoid harming the processes in progress,” replied Gabrielle Simard by email.
The majority of employees who worked at the ALQ in 2024 and who responded to the Duty had not heard from their former employer regarding a follow-up on the human resources situation this year, and were sorry about it.
And the co-directors, who were both on “personal leave” in June? “We do not make any comments regarding information related to human resources out of respect and confidentiality, and so as not to harm the processes in progress,” repeated Mr.me Simard.
With Eric Desrosiers