As the LRT systems and LeBreton Flats redesign dominate the urban planning discussion in Ottawa, some aim to look even further ahead – specifically, the new central library.
Though construction on the facility is not slated to begin until 2018 and the location of the branch has yet to be determined, many keen voices are already vying to have their say on the branch’s location. That said, Both the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada say it’s too early to be focusing on a specific location yet.
One proposal that has garnered a lot of attention is the suggestion that the new branch could be a joint branch between the Ottawa Public Library and Library and Archives Canada. The joint branch would house both organizations, moving some of the operations from LAC’s Wellington Street location to the new location. While the two would share space, their operations would be separate.
Despite the ground gained by the proposal, both organizations say that it is too soon to discuss plans in detail. An “exemplar site” has been set up on the north side of Bronson so that the city may plan an imaginary library branch, but they won’t expand on what’s in store. Still, some community groups worry that the time for discussion will pass them by without any pomp and circumstance.
Among these groups is Bookmark the Core, an advocacy group that aims to bring the central library to the heart of the city – namely the downtown core.
“There has been a preoccupation around LeBreton Flats, which we do not consider to be downtown or the heart of Ottawa,” said BMC Chair Sarah Anson-Cartwright For BMC, LeBreton Flats is not near enough to the downtown core, despite its location in Centretown.
The organization, among other things, wants the library design process to be more open. Specifically, they would like to see the design process take the form of an international design competition, similar to one held previously in Halifax.
Anson-Cartwright also stressed the importance of keeping the central library central.
“A central library is different from a branch library. It is such a public institution,” she said. “They are community hubs and can be defining places in the heart of a city.”
Robert Matthews, partner at Centretown-based architecture firm N45 Architecture, agrees.
“It has to be where the bulk of the population is going to be located or is located,” said Matthews. According to Matthews, there has been an intensification in the downtown core, caused in part by a flux of young people moving into the city and having children – a shift from the traditional notion that people move to the suburbs to raise a family.
Matthews, who expressed support for a central library located downtown – specifically Centretown – posited that the library might thrive as a community hub, especially if the branch were shared with other public institutions.
Similar to the proposed joint branch between the OPL and Library and Archives Canada, Matthews suggested “it would be nice if the library had other public uses to add to the revitalization. Some other community-based use in the building.
“It’s an opportunity to introduce something where families might come and maybe part of the family participate in some activity that is not library oriented,” said Matthews, “but the rest of the family or the parents are going to spend the time in the library.”
Anson-Cartwright worries that such a proposal might muddy the waters and risk losing sight of the focus on the library itself.
“We have to be careful how we define the scope and the mandate of a central library,” she said.
Nonetheless, Anson-Cartwright approves of the spirit behind Matthews’ idea.
“We feel very strongly as a citizens’ group that there hasn’t really been any consultation and involvement with the public to make the best determination around where a public library should be located – in the people’s interest, as it were,” she said.
A similar sentiment appears to be spreading through the urban planning community in Ottawa, as local architecture blogger Robert Smythe made a similar comment at a National Capital Commission event last month.
Despite perceived resistance to discussion on the part of the OPL and LAC, Anson-Cartwright says her group is making headway. Earlier this month, BMC was name-checked in a diatribe delivered by city councillor and chair of the library Tim Tierney earlier this month. Despite the tongue-lashing, Anson-Cartwright appreciates the publicity.
“The mayor tweeted a remark to say that we shouldn’t pre-judge the location or the look of the new library until there is public consultation,” she said.
Though the final chapter in the saga has yet to be written, she counts his comment as a small victory and a sign of more open discussion to come.