When you walk in the doors of the Ottawa Main Library at Metcalfe and Laurier, it’s easy to see that glossy paperbacks haven’t glossed over the problems that have plagued the branch for years.
There’s not enough space for the 5,000 people that use it each day, not enough shelving for the books it stores, and its interior and exterior are both deteriorating.
It’s really no secret that Ottawa’s central library is substandard for a city of this size, especially when compared with libraries in other major Canadian cities.
When the Ottawa Public Library Board recently approved $25 million to find a new site for the library in the downtown core and proposed another $150 million for a spiffy new building, it is no surprise that many Ottawans thought “finally.”
But before this becomes more than a pipe dream, it must get approval from the city’s corporate services committee and City Council – all in time for inclusion in next year’s budget. But money is tight. Ottawa taxpayers face a nearly five per cent tax hike in next year; an estimated $57 million will have to be cut from the budget and nearly 500 city jobs will be axed.
Though the sale of the present branch will free up some funds for the new proposal, council must decide whether it is cost effective to invest millions in a library branch in the downtown core, where real estate prices are high at a time when the city’s pockets are light.
The central question is this: Is it really important to invest a huge chunk of change into a downtown library, especially in the wake of technology, when people can access most information on the web that in the past was only available at a library?
The answer is: Absolutely.
Judging by the thousands that use the library every day, which range from youth to seniors to bureaucrats, there are many reasons, not limited to books, magazines and newspapers, that draw people to the library.
It is place for people to go. It’s a safe, non-threatening, and easily reached home away from home for many people for many different reasons. In other words, for many it’s a social space as much as a place to go for information.
It’s also site of convergence. It’s not only a place where people from all walks of life can come together in one place because the admission is free, but it’s also a hub for all of the libraries in Ottawa. And because our main branch is currently located in the heart of the city, it is within walking distance of city hall, the courthouse, and Parliament.
Just like these other buildings, the library is a staple of our downtown core and part of our city’s life blood. If it was moved from the downtown and is no longer made accessible to the greatest number of people, the central purpose of the central library would be more than ill-served – it wouldn’t be served at all.
It should be evident to all that, even in a time of fiscal restraint, a downtown library is not a luxury but a necessity.
Let's keep in mind, that money isn't everything.