Kristine Walkden, Centretown News
Ottawa’s library board held an open house so that residents could make their views known about the central library project. A long-awaited library update has Ottawa residents looking toward the future and making their opinions count is an important part of the central library project for the library board.
With 180 people in attendance at city hall on March 31, more on a waiting list and another 570 tuning in online, the public input project was important for Tim Tierney, library board chairman and city councillor, and the Ottawa Public Library team.
“I’ll tell you right now, I can count on both hands how many people come to a budget consultation,” Tierney said. “I want to make sure, if we’re going to go out and build a library, that it meets the needs of everyone.”
Tierney was joined by consultants Susan Kent and June Garcia of Library Strategies International, as well as designer Kathryn Taylor. Using photos of libraries they have designed in Canada and abroad, they gave the public an idea of the new direction the Ottawa central library could take.
With a focus on four main themes – explore, create, experience and connect – the three painted a picture of a multi-function library built for all visitors. In contrast to Ottawa’s current main branch, located at the corner of Metcalfe Street and Laurier Avenue, the photos showed open, bright and functional spaces. Some libraries included culinary-arts rooms, performance spaces, digital labs and interactive, touchscreen media walls.
The main branch has been the subject of renovation talks for close to two decades, Tierney said. Now, with other Canadian cities including Calgary, Vancouver and Halifax updating their libraries, he said it is time for Ottawa to catch up.
Kent and Garcia agreed, citing their work on the Halifax Central Library.
“It’s phenomenal, it’s changed the city,” Kent said. “It’s Ottawa’s time.”
Mayor Jim Watson said Ottawa is at a critical point, as its population is approaching one million. With upcoming capital infrastructure projects on the table, he said the library is an important community resource to include.
“Our concrete bunker . . . is not the sense of pride it should be,” Watson said.
The diverse crowd, from young families to seniors, was given the chance to discuss their ideas for the library with library facilitators. Kent encouraged them to voice their opinions.
“Think of the big issues,” she said. “What collections and services are important to you?”
Outdoor spaces and multimedia rooms proved popular. Theodora Newton, who uses the main branch, said despite the excitement over new technology, she hopes the library will also stick to its roots.
“One of the most important things to me is to keep the books, not substitute e-books or other ways of reading books,” she said.