Ādisōke [Ottawa's New Central Library] | U/C

[eltodesukane]

Most people go to their local neighborhood library, not to the central library.
Improving those libraries should be priority #1, building new local libraries should be priority #2. A central library is no priority at all.

[little italian]

Perhaps not your priority, eltodesukane.

I support building a new central library, and would use it.

[lrt's friend]

I tend to use the Central Library over my local library because it has research material that local branches don't have.

[bartlebooth]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Most people go to their local neighborhood library, not to the central library.
Improving those libraries should be priority #1, building new local libraries should be priority #2. A central library is no priority at all.

This makes no sense. The main branch is the busiest library in the system. Wouldn't improving the most used library in Ottawa be the highest priority?

[phil235]

Originally Posted by bartlebooth

This makes no sense. The main branch is the busiest library in the system. Wouldn't improving the most used library in Ottawa be the highest priority?

I absolutely agree. The central library should be the hub of the whole system, and will be the biggest and busiest branch, and one where special events are held. Given the state of the current central branch, a new library downtown is a huge priority.

[Norman Bates]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Most people go to their local neighborhood library, not to the central library.
Improving those libraries should be priority #1, building new local libraries should be priority #2. A central library is no priority at all.

Yes, let us take that extra money and split it 20 some ways. That way we can get a new chair, a subscription to macleans and handicap access washrooms everywhere.

Ottawa: think small.

[bikegypsy]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Most people go to their local neighborhood library, not to the central library.
Improving those libraries should be priority #1, building new local libraries should be priority #2. A central library is no priority at all.

Nonsense! This is like saying "why built a supermarket when we can simply buy our food at a bunch of corner stores instead." Got it? A central library is an essential building block of a city's cultural scene; it serves as a pole and a hub, houses a large comprehensive collection of various documents and provides a platform where authors can give lectures and artists can show their work. This in turn makes the whole wheel turn by promoting education, knowledge and creativity. Small neighbourhood libraries are important also but a central one is the mother ship. And we are sososo ridiculous with our tiny one.... Ottawa is 50 years behind with its library.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by eltodesukane

Most people go to their local neighborhood library, not to the central library.
Improving those libraries should be priority #1, building new local libraries should be priority #2. A central library is no priority at all.

I second what everyone else said about how it is an important cultural institution and landmark for downtown. It is also important as a central resource with a much wider selection of material and services than neighborhood branchs.

I'd like to add that the central library also acts as the local branch for what? 50,000+ people and growing?

[lrt's friend]

And as is typical of Ottawa, we will end up with some second rate compromise, instead of building the most important cultural facility in the city, like Halifax and Vancouver have done in the last few years.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by lrt's friend

And as is typical of Ottawa, we will end up with some second rate compromise, instead of building the most important cultural facility in the city, like Halifax and Vancouver have done in the last few years.

Well ya. When the City constantly refers to the new Central Library in Halifax, a city a third our size, as THE model (in size and function), we have a problem. The Convention Centre is case in point in limiting ourselves; we went for something smaller than Québec City and what Winnipeg is currently building and a fraction of the size of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. To be on par in terms of square footage per capita, we should have built 250,000 to 300,000 square feet. Instead, we built 192,000 square feet.

Add a office building, condo or hotel to the mix (like Arts Court), and you have classic Ottawa; an undersized facility hidden under a non-descript, privately owned tower.

[rocketphish]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Well ya. When the City constantly refers to the new Central Library in Halifax, a city a third our size, as THE model (in size and function), we have a problem. The Convention Centre is case in point in limiting ourselves; we went for something smaller than Québec City and what Winnipeg is currently building and a fraction of the size of Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver. To be on par in terms of square footage per capita, we should have built 250,000 to 300,000 square feet. Instead, we built 192,000 square feet.

Add a office building, condo or hotel to the mix (like Arts Court), and you have classic Ottawa; an undersized facility hidden under a non-descript, privately owned tower.

The Ottawa Convention Centre (aka The Shaw Centre) has nothing whatsoever to do with the City of Ottawa - it was built by and continues to be owned by the Province of Ontario. But I know what you mean.

http://www.shaw-centre.com

[rocketphish]

City and LAC in talks to team up for a new central library

Joanne Laucius, Ottawa Citizen
Andrew Duffy, Ottawa Citizen
Published on: January 12, 2016 | Last Updated: January 12, 2016 6:40 PM EST

The Ottawa Public Library is exploring the idea of building a new central library in partnership with Library and Archives Canada.

While the nature of the partnership is still up in the air, Tuesday’s announcement comes as the library is the midst of an ambitious project to build a new main branch.

There is still no site, budget or architect for the new central library, but at the heart of the partnership with Library and Archives Canada would be a shared facility, with space for exhibits, common spaces and auditoriums.

And that means the project will likely be bigger than originally envisioned.

“I don’t know how big. But I believe it would have to be bigger,” said Ottawa Public Library board chair Coun. Tim Tierney.

And the collaboration could bring with it all kinds of possibilities, he added.

“This is great news for the taxpayer. We have a lot of synergies. There’s a lot of things we could do together,” said Tierney. “If you are looking for parties to come to the table, the federal government is a pretty good partner.”

The proposal from Library and Archives Canada, the federal agency which acquires and preserves materials such as books, photographs and documents, came out a confidential series of November meetings the Ottawa Public Library had with 14 firms that had expressed interest in the new central branch.

If the partnership with Library and Archives Canada comes to fruition, it will cause a sensation in the library world. Such a partnership would be virtually unprecedented, said library CEO Danielle McDonald.

“I get overwhelmed thinking about it,” she said. “It would be a great public space.”

At this point, it’s still unclear what that space would look like, how big it would be, or where it would be located. The city wants the new central branch to have easy access to the LRT station on the Confederation Line.

Seven city-owned sites, including 557 Wellington St., just east of the new Pimisi LRT station, have been identified as possibilities. That site is only a few blocks from Library and Archives Canada on Wellington Street.

A report released last summer identified four ways to structure the project, including partnering with a private sector consortium to design and construct the new branch on land owned by the city or a developer.

Speaking to reporters after a library board meeting Tuesday night, Tierney said everything is still on the table. However, this is an opportunity to save taxpayers money and build something bigger and better, and should be explored.

“An opportunity where the federal government wants to get involved is something we have to look at,” he said.

According to the original plan, library officials expected to release a request for qualifications in April or May, followed by a request for proposals late this fall. The contract was to be awarded in 2017, with construction slated to begin in 2018 and doors to open in 2020.

Since so much is unknown about the potential partnership with Libraries and Archives Canada, it’s unclear how those timeline would be affected.

However, Tierney and McDonald say if the city had already announced a site, the opportunity to partner with Library and Archives might not have happened.

“I’m glad that there isn’t a site — because it might have been too small,” said Tierney. “We would have missed a golden opportunity.”

The head of Library and Archives Canada said the two libraries are just beginning to discuss a potential partnership.

“We are very enthusiastic about this opportunity to work together with the Ottawa Public Library to significantly expand our client base,” said Guy Berthiaume, Librarian and Archivist of Canada. “Our goal is to explore the possibility of partnering together in a shared-use facility to offer value-added services to our clients.”

Such a partnership, he said, would allow Library and Archives Canada to move some of its activities and services from its Wellington Street building to a new, landmark facility in central Ottawa.

[email protected]

http://ottawacitizen.com/news/local-news/city-and-lac-in-talks-to-team-up-for-a-new-central-library

[waterloowarrior]

Sounds like it could be a project similar to Montreal's Grande Bibliothèque... perhaps a national library incorporating the collection of the central branch of the municipal library.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_Biblioth%C3%A8que

[lrt's friend]

This is truly an exciting development. I hope this moves forward and we develop a world class facility.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The Ottawa Convention Centre (aka The Shaw Centre) has nothing whatsoever to do with the City of Ottawa - it was built by and continues to be owned by the Province of Ontario. But I know what you mean.

http://www.shaw-centre.com

The Your Name Here Place.

I can never keep track of which Thing is named after whom anymore.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by rocketphish

The Ottawa Convention Centre (aka The Shaw Centre) has nothing whatsoever to do with the City of Ottawa - it was built by and continues to be owned by the Province of Ontario. But I know what you mean.

http://www.shaw-centre.com

The lack of vision is an Ottawa thing in general, no matter if we're talking municipal (LRT, Arts Court), provincial (Shaw Centre), federal (new office buildings in Hull, Science and Tech) or even private sector (Lansdowne, Corel Centre, pretty much every office/condo/hotel/office towers downtown).

Once in a while, we see new ideas emerge that could potentially go against the grain.

The new developments in the Central Library proposal are promising. Having a grand new library that houses both municipal and federal functions might be something that makes us look a little more visionary. More G7 capital. If this new idea can eliminate any private sector contribution (one huge library, no bland condo tower over it), we might have something here.

[J.OT13]

Originally Posted by Uhuniau

The Your Name Here Place.

I can never keep track of which Thing is named after whom anymore.

When you have multiple facilities with similar, or identical functions of the same name, there's an issue (3 Rogers Centres, 2 Shaw Centres, couple TD Places...)

[lrt's friend]

I once complained why the historic name for a location was replaced with another similar but definitely different name. Of course, the city came up with excuses. The name they chose is associated with a completely different part of the city.

My concern about the commercialization of building names is that they change over time. Longstanding historic names like Lansdowne Park are going to always outlive commercial names. I find these names make it difficult to associate with the function of the building because they deliberately make them so generic to make sure you use the company name. That is why they are always something bland like 'Centre' or 'Place' or something equally boring. So you end up with 'Shaw Centre' instead of 'Shaw Convention Centre'. Heaven forbid, you might drop the 'Shaw' part.

Remember the few years when the Civic Centre was renamed each year. I could never remember what the latest name was.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

Once in a while, we see new ideas emerge that could potentially go against the grain.

Which are promptly shouted down by the [FILL IN THE BLANK] Community Association and other assorted self-appointed defenders of public decency.

[Uhuniau]

Originally Posted by J.OT13

When you have multiple facilities with similar, or identical functions of the same name, there's an issue (3 Rogers Centres, 2 Shaw Centres, couple TD Places...)

Even within Ottawa. I can never remember if Shaw Centre is the glass bubbly thing by the canal downtown, or that craptacular airport hangar with the ungodly bad site plan out by the airport.