Building the Best

Building the Best

Artist rendering of the library at Westbrook Station

To build the best public library system in the world, Calgary Public Library engages the community and delivers superb programs, services, and great collections. And sometimes, we quite literally construct the best public libraries in the world. We’re currently building new libraries and renovating existing ones—creating safe, organized, inviting, inspiring, and efficient community libraries.*

A new kind of library that serves both the community and commuters, Westbrook Library occupies two floors within Westbrook CTrain Station. Westbrook Library includes a laptop bar, a design lab to encourage and support brainstorming, lounge areas for reading, a spacious, bright, partitionable program room, Library Express and We Recommend thematic collections, programs, extended hours, parking for Library patrons, and more!

Staff get the first look at the brand-new Westbrook Library, April 22, 2:00 –7:00 pm. Staff who attend the Sneak Peek will be entered to win a $100 librarystore.ca credit. Please feel welcome to join the Community Walk from Shaganappi Library, April 23, 10:30 am, as part of the Grand Opening.

Village Square will soon have its own Early Learning Centre. This special area for kids integrates the same concepts as Fish Creek’s Early Learning Centre, but will look and feel different to reflect the community and its people. The community’s children can enjoy the centre this August.

Artist rendering of the Village Square Library early learning centre

Construction on the Quarry Park Library in the Remington YMCA is expected to conclude at the end of May. Like Saddletowne, Shawnessy, and Village Square, this new Library will be located in a city recreational facility. We’ll work with the YMCA on the grand opening of the library sometime in summer or early fall. However, Quarry Park will be open to serve the community much sooner.

Quarry Park replaces Glenmore Square Library. The decision to relocate from the existing leased location was based on many factors, including the opportunity to reach more Calgarians from a larger, multi-use facility. Quarry Park will feature more room for programming and events, more seating for studying, an Early Learning Centre, special “Read and Play” early literacy kits, and a bright new fresh space, with immediate access to the YMCA.

Nose Hill Library will remain open as it undergoes a complete renovation from early May to late September. It will enjoy a grand reopening in October. We’ll renovate Crowfoot Library in 2017. Like the Forest Lawn, Fish Creek, Alexander Calhoun, and Judith Umbach libraries, we’re redeveloping these spaces to make the patron experience in all of our libraries the best it can be. As we renovate, we’re carefully planning to ensure that patrons enter an open and inviting environment, and that our libraries help showcase ready-to-explore collections.*

Both the Rocky Ridge Recreation Facility (opening in 2017) and the Seton Recreation Facility (opening in 2018) will house all-new community libraries. Like Saddletowne, Shawnessy, Village Square, and Quarry Park, these libraries will be part of larger community facilities and serve a greater number of community members. Neither library has an official name yet, but ground has been broken at Rocky Ridge. On the horizon, our new, stand-alone Symons Valley Library will open in 2018.

Another new library arrives in 2018: the New Central Library, of course. It was the topic of choice in CMLC’s latest Placemakers on April 8. For full coverage, see below. You can also visit CMLC’s website to learn more about the New Central Library.

*See Operational Principles for the Best Library in the World. Sharepoint > Service Delivery > Announcements

#EVplacemakers

I can’t help but think of Mayor Nenshi’s comments at the opening of the Judith Umbach Library. He said, “people ask me all the time: ‘why do we put so much money in libraries? Why are we building a New Central Library?’ And now that I think about it, where else could somebody who three months earlier was in a refugee camp be sitting at a computer next to the mayor?”

–Bill Ptacek, Placemakers

Bill speaking at Placemakers

On the evening of April 8, the number one trending Twitter hashtag in Calgary was #EVplacemakers. The audience at the John Dutton Theatre tweeted eagerly as CMLC hosted the third part of the Placemakers series: a sold-out discussion about the New Central Library. Speakers included our own Bill Ptacek, Carson Kotnyek (NCL’s Project Manager for Stuart Olson), Kate Thompson (Vice President, Projects for CMLC), and a very special appearance from Snøhetta’s Craig Dykers, (the lead architect on the NCL project).

Bill opened the night talking about the amazing uses and activities to which the New Central Library will be home. “20,000 Calgarians shared their thoughts and dreams,” Bill mentioned. “The overwhelming message was they wanted more: more spaces, more programs, more for kids and teens, just more of everything. And we heard them.” As Bill assured the crowd, "The New Central Library will be a place of surprise and excitement. And we’re not waiting to create great programming until we open the doors to the New Central Library; we are testing new, vibrant programming today in libraries across our system.”

Craig Dyker's early conceptual drawings of New Central Library

“New Central Library is leap of faith and imagination,” lead architect Craig Dykers announced, sharing the journey and providing insight into the early design of the New Central Library. “The train shaped the building,” he remarked. “Rather than concealing the tracks, we followed the beautiful curve.” Other curves inspired the design of the library: Chinook arches, indigenous art, as well as "the humble oil lamp casting light in the darkness.”

Dyker’s passion for libraries is as obvious as it is boundless. “What is a library?” he asked.

“It's a place, not a resource. It's about being somewhere in a profound and important way. Libraries were never just about books, and never just about computers. Libraries are about people. This isn't just about building a library in Calgary, it's about taking part in a story that goes back thousands of years."

Dyker shares another inspiration: Raphael's School of Athens

The evening’s message was elegantly summed up by Bill. “The New Central Library will be a great building. It will be Calgary’s signature library for a great library system; a library system that can—and will—transform the lives of all Calgarians.”

New Central Library by the numbers

• 240,000 square feet

• 42 bookable spaces for up to 950 people

• Seating for up to 675 people throughout public spaces in the building

• The TD Great Reading Room will surround up to 140 readers

• Two cafés with spaces for over 100 people

• The Shaikh Family Welcome Gallery accommodates 500

• The theatre can seat 300+ people

A real-life sample of the New Central Library's facade.

The Bulletin Board

An Evening with Wade Davis: White Darkness and the Living Dead

Wade Davis recounts his work investigating zombies and the Haitian voodoo culture, where he was propelled into a world beyond his imaginings and developed a deep appreciation of a fascinating culture.

April 21, 7 pm

Central Library

The highly successful We Recommend collection is now available at all libraries in the Calgary Public Library system!