Arianna Danganan, Centretown News
Emilie Taman, spokesperson for Bookmark the Core, says the library should remain downtown.Ottawa’s library officials promise the public a more engaged role in the consultation process, after critics questioned the board’s lack of transparency and minimal public involvement in choosing new location for the library.
The announcement comes after officials heard several public delegations that echoed concerns about the current process at a library board meeting. Advocates say there have been few opportunities for public involvement.
“Public consultation is not passive,” says Emilie Taman, a spokesperson for Bookmark the Core, a group dedicated to keeping the central library downtown. “It should be dynamic and there should be an opportunity for decisions to be made that respond to the input from the public.”
She says to achieve transparency, “the public should feel like their input has been given consideration and if it’s rejected, the public is entitled to know why.”
The Ottawa Public Library Board will soon implement initiatives such as a new website and town hall meetings, which will invite the public to provide their input on plans for the new branch.
Although the board doesn’t currently have a designated timeline for these initiatives, library board trustee Marianne Wilkinson acknowledged the public’s concerns by asking Beacon Hill-Cyrville Coun. Tim Tierney, who is also chair of the library board, and Ottawa Public Library CEO Danielle McDonald to create a public engagement plan that would outline various components and future steps of the central library plan.
“It would help (the public) understand what is happening and make them feel much happier,” said Wilkinson at the March 8 meeting.
In addition to a website and town hall meetings, Bookmark the Core also wants the board to implement other public consultation strategies, such as an interactive social media campaign and information displays at local branches.
“(We need) a more aggressive reaching out strategy,” says Taman. “You can’t just set up a website and say ‘please send us your comments’ because there are people in this city that don’t even have access to internet on a regular basis or who may not be engaged in municipal politics like others. The board needs to find a way to make sure all the voices can be heard.”
The group also wants the library board to release the criteria used to evaluate the future location of the central library.
Although officials haven’t made a decision about the new branch’s location, many advocates, such as architect and Carleton University professor Paul duBellet Kariouk, argue the potential site at 557 Wellington St. is being considered in the interest of developers, rather than library users.
“We need an impartial committee of librarians and professionals to properly vet a number of sites and not to fast track any particular site such as LeBreton Flats,” he said at the March 8 meeting.
Similar to duBellet Kariouk, Bookmark the Core also thinks the board should establish an independent expert advisory committee that would advise staff on best practices and decisions such as location, design and size of the future library.
Tierney says the LeBreton Flats proposal is far from finalized and that nine other sites are still under consideration.
Of these sites, five are located west of Bronson Avenue, two are within Centretown, and the rest are located east of the Rideau Canal.
Tierney says he is committed to ensuring public dialogue happens, but it will take time.
“I love the passion,” he said on March 8. “I think the passion is great, but at the same time there is a process.”