Dilapidated, rundown, an eyesore. They aren’t the words usually associated with a centre for learning and education, but for years Ottawa’s main library branch on Metcalfe Street has been viewed as a dysfunctional space and at least two trustees from the Ottawa Public Library Board have decided it’s time for the embarrassment to end.
At its last meeting in February, the library board approved a development charges funding framework with a cap of $33 million.
Development charges are a one-time fee that a municipality collects on new residential and non-residential properties. These charges are then used to fund city projects like the library.
Some library board trustees feel that a significant portion of these funds should be used for renovations at the Centretown library – or perhaps even a complete rebuild of the Main branch.
“When the city grows, the main library needs to grow, too,” trustee Christine Langlois said at the Feb. 10 meeting.
Fellow trustee Patrick Gauch echoed her opinion in an interview.
“It’s our biggest branch, it’s our highest profile branch and it should be reflecting the city that it is in,” said Gauch, who has been a member of the library board for more than three years.
The current image being provided by the Main branch is less than desirable for a national capital, says the woman who ran the city’s library system for more than 16 years.
“It’s pretty much a dump,” says Barbara Clubb, the OPL’s former chief librarian. “They’ve done some good work to keep it from falling apart, but it’s a very difficult building to work with.”
According to the Ottawa Public Library website, the Main library branch was built in 1974.
It’s the largest and most heavily used branch of the Ottawa library.
The only noteworthy renovation was done in 2004 and included a new ground floor entrance as well as a circulation service counter and self-check-out stations.
Last year, the Main branch made changes to its layout to improve safety and security.
It also replaced traditional bar codes with radio-frequency identification tags.
Such minor renovations, say rebuild advocates, are far from what the library needs and have done little to keep it current.
“Just like a house, a library needs to be developed and renovated regularly and made to accommodate new things, new approaches and new users,” says Clubb.
Cost was the main reason Mayor Jim Watson halted plans for a rebuild.
Instead, Watson put his energy into bringing in the light rail transit system and renovating Lansdowne Park and pushed talk about rebuilding the library off the table.
Lack of funding has caused the Ottawa library’s focus to shift from the Main branch to renovations at smaller branches, which are more manageable for the library than putting its entire budget into one project.
“If we’re talking about putting $50 million into a new downtown Main branch that’s our entire operating budget for the year,” says Gauch.
A complete rebuild would require a partnership with the provincial and federal government and until that happens Gauch says he would be willing to settle for major renovations.
Possible improvements include better wireless connection and more places to plug in laptops to make the Main branch more technologically friendly, and changes to make the library accessible are also long overdue.
Currently, there is no wheelchair access to the upstairs reading area of the library.
The board will meet on March 17 to discuss how the development charges should be used.
The downtown branch will be competing for funding with updates to the library’s collections and growing suburban communities that need libraries.