By Dave Pizer
The City of Ottawa will likely seek private sector partnerships to help pay for a new public library.
Although the library is still in the preliminary planning stage, Rick Chiarelli, chair of the Ottawa Public Library Board, says public funds alone won’t suffice to cover the cost of the kind of facility needed to serve Ottawa.
“The days of the City writing a cheque for $70 million for a new library are gone,” says Chiarelli.
The 2003 budget contains $250,000 to fund a business case and needs assessment for the new library. Consultations are expected to begin within the next few months, to give the public the chance to suggest services they want in the new facility.
In the past decade many North American cities have used public-private partnerships to construct large-scale libraries that serve many functions beyond merely storing and distributing books. Many offer such additional services as retail shops, meeting rooms, restaurants, theatres, museums, office space and day-care facilities.
The former city of North York, for example, built its main library inside a mall. The $65-million facility cost the City only $28 million, since the private partners used it to generate traffic within the rest of the property, and paid for the balance.
Chiarelli says the image of a library as a singular cultural institution is outdated.
“There is no doubt today that the majority of library users want conveniently-placed services in the library itself, and that means coffee, donuts, stationery, any number of things,” explains Chiarelli. “We have to cater to that, and not just the people who still romanticize over the image of libraries that was portrayed in black and white movies.”
Chiarelli says the city will likely sell the current main branch, which could generate between $6 million to $8 million, and use that money as part of its contribution towards the construction of the new library.
The specific location of the library will not be decided for some time, and will depend partly upon the proposals brought forward by potential private sector partners. However, several possibilities include Sparks Street, the Laurier/ Nicholas intersection, LeBreton Flats or across from the Rideau Centre at Nicholas and Waller.
Library board member Elisabeth Arnold says before speculating about where the library will be built and how it will be paid for, people should consider what kind of library they want.
Still, Arnold emphasizes that any partnership arrangement should enhance and not compromise the quality of the public library service.
She says it is essential that the library board maintains authority over library operations.
“We don’t want to hear demands, for example, about hours of service, who can be there, or fees,” says Arnold. “Those things need to be in the control of the library.”
While the specific contents, design, and funding mechanisms for the new main branch of the library are far from finalized, the need for a new library is obvious, according to city librarian Barbara Clubb.
“The current facility is too small, and it doesn’t serve any number of our clients particularly well, such as persons with disabilities,” says Clubb.
According to Chiarelli, the current main branch is only capable of serving a population one quarter the size of Ottawa.
“Obviously that’s just not good enough now, especially since we’re trying to portray ourselves as this world information leader,” says Chiarelli.
Construction is expected to begin in 2006.