New Central Library | Construction

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by suburbia

I recall some people suggesting the library will only be a weekend of success followed by being a homeless shelter. That politically charged view couldn't have been further from the actual truth we now know. This is among the best projects led by Calgary's municipal government, and it really did shine a light on how very well managed and competent Calgary Municipal Land Corporation is.

Of those 868K visits how many happened in the first month? If they don't release figures after a year we'll know that things petered out greatly after the opening.

[MalcolmTucker]

^ We had 3 month figures at the very least iirc. You could use those to get the average for the last 3 months.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

Of those 868K visits how many happened in the first month? If they don't release figures after a year we'll know that things petered out greatly after the opening.

Having been there on about five different occasions for events and other things, I can tell you that it is an extremely popular place. Further, 30,000 memberships added is a huge number. I would encourage you to get out there in person. I promise it will not be scary.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Having been there on about five different occasions for events and other things, I can tell you that it is an extremely popular place. Further, 30,000 memberships added is a huge number. I would encourage you to get out there in person. I promise it will not be scary.

I'd like to go just to see the inside of the place. I'm a firm believer in libraries but for me access to digital materials is most important.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

I'd like to go just to see the inside of the place. I'm a firm believer in libraries but for me access to digital materials is most important.

Whoa! While I had suggested in my prior post that you hadn't been there, I ultimately figured you had seen it given how much you comment about this major Calgary infrastructure. I'm guessing you are in the minority on the Calgary forum, and that most would have been down there at least once.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by suburbia

Whoa! While I had suggested in my prior post that you hadn't been there, I ultimately figured you had seen it given how much you comment about this major Calgary infrastructure. I'm guessing you are in the minority on the Calgary forum, and that most would have been down there at least once.

I've seen the outside of it probably more than most people. Just haven't had the need to go inside.

[Northern]

I'm not changing my point of view, just because someone posts a tweet from the Calgary library's Twitter account. Get real.

Yes, it's a beautiful building inside and out, but throw enough money at something and you can have something nice. The city could buy a Ferrari and it would be nice, but perhaps not necessary. People questioned whether it was necessary, and by the way that had nothing to do with being 'politically charged' which is rich coming from you of all people.

When I've been in it twice since it opened and there were homeless people in it, and it wasn't terribly busy.

Originally Posted by suburbia

I recall some people suggesting the library will only be a weekend of success followed by being a homeless shelter. That politically charged view couldn't have been further from the actual truth we now know. This is among the best projects led by Calgary's municipal government, and it really did shine a light on how very well managed and competent Calgary Municipal Land Corporation is.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Northern

I'm not changing my point of view, just because someone posts a tweet from the Calgary library's Twitter account. Get real.

Yes, it's a beautiful building inside and out, but throw enough money at something and you can have something nice. The city could buy a Ferrari and it would be nice, but perhaps not necessary. People questioned whether it was necessary, and by the way that had nothing to do with being 'politically charged' which is rich coming from you of all people.

When I've been in it twice since it opened and there were homeless people in it, and it wasn't terribly busy.

Something which Suburbia will never mention is that the construction of that palace came at the cost of access to some materials. What good is a library without content? It's no different than having a museum with a crappy collection or one that never changes. I think we have one those as well.

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by northern

when i've been in it twice since it opened and there were homeless people in it

omg!!!

[Bad Grizzly]

There are always homeless people in the building, that’s how they managed to get 868,000 visitors in the first six months. It would be interesting to see if you didn’t count homeless people how many people visited the building.

Originally Posted by Northern

I'm not changing my point of view, just because someone posts a tweet from the Calgary library's Twitter account. Get real.

Yes, it's a beautiful building inside and out, but throw enough money at something and you can have something nice. The city could buy a Ferrari and it would be nice, but perhaps not necessary. People questioned whether it was necessary, and by the way that had nothing to do with being 'politically charged' which is rich coming from you of all people.

When I've been in it twice since it opened and there were homeless people in it, and it wasn't terribly busy.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

There are always homeless people in the building, that’s how they managed to get 868,000 visitors in the first six months. It would be interesting to see if you didn’t count homeless people how many people visited the building.

And how many of those 868K visitors were school groups?

[MalcolmTucker]

So, we have a few approximate numbers:
Opening weekend (4 days): 52,000, 13,000 a day

100 days minus opening weekend (96 days): 448,000, 4,666 a day

End of 100 days-April 30 (80 days): 368,000, 4,600 a day


So at the end of six months, it is sustaining the visit rate of the immediate post opening weekend period. A pretty good result!

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

So, we have a few approximate numbers:
Opening weekend (4 days): 52,000, 13,000 a day

100 days minus opening weekend (96 days): 448,000, 4,666 a day

End of 100 days-April 30 (80 days): 368,000, 4,600 a day


So at the end of six months, it is sustaining the visit rate of the immediate post opening weekend period. A pretty good result!

To me, it has been spectacular. What is really noticeable is the larger number of groups that are hosting events at the facility.

[Bad Grizzly]

Originally Posted by suburbia

To me, it has been spectacular. What is really noticeable is the larger number of groups that are hosting events at the facility.

To me it’s a nice building that cost a lot of money. To be honest those stats aren’t really that great. 4,600 a day is only an average of around 350 an hour, with a large number of them homeless. For a building that large, with no entrance fee that’s not very good.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

So, we have a few approximate numbers:
Opening weekend (4 days): 52,000, 13,000 a day

100 days minus opening weekend (96 days): 448,000, 4,666 a day

End of 100 days-April 30 (80 days): 368,000, 4,600 a day


So at the end of six months, it is sustaining the visit rate of the immediate post opening weekend period. A pretty good result!

Where are these numbers coming from and how often are they released?

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by Corndogger

Where are these numbers coming from and how often are they released?

The Library's twitter account plus math.

[SteveP]

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

To me it’s a nice building that cost a lot of money. To be honest those stats aren’t really that great. 4,600 a day is only an average of around 350 an hour, with a large number of them homeless. For a building that large, with no entrance fee that’s not very good.

Thanks for pointing that out. When you look at it from that point of view the numbers aren't very good.

[Corndogger]

Originally Posted by MalcolmTucker

The Library's twitter account plus math.

Thanks.

[MalcolmTucker]

Originally Posted by SteveP

Thanks for pointing that out. When you look at it from that point of view the numbers aren't very good.

So, what would be a proper usage from point of view?

[suburbia]

Originally Posted by Bad Grizzly

To me it’s a nice building that cost a lot of money. To be honest those stats aren’t really that great. 4,600 a day is only an average of around 350 an hour, with a large number of them homeless. For a building that large, with no entrance fee that’s not very good.

When thinking of libraries or museums, numbers per hour doesn't make sense, as it is not a McDonalds where you go to a counter and over a period of 20 seconds order and get you nuggets and you're out. People at libraries and museums engage themselves in materials and programming.

To put things in perspective for you, over the 12 months of 2017, the Glenbow Museum had 139,641 visitors. I'm not saying that's a great number - it seems low - but it provides a touchstone for the fantastic numbers for the library.

I'd be curious to know what the numbers used to be for the central library.

I've never seen the source of your numbers regarding homeless.