County, township asked to mull merging Port Lambton, Sombra libraries

Lambton County and St. Clair Township officials are being asked to consider consolidating the Port Lambton and Sombra libraries.

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Port Lambton’s small library in the Community Memorial Hall could close and the Sombra branch, about six kilometers away, could expand within its existing building if the two merge.

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The call follows a recent review of the county library’s 25 locations that made several recommendations, including the merger.

An opportunity arose when a childcare at the Sombra site moved out, said Andrew Meyer, the county’s cultural services general manage, “so there’s some available floor space to expand the library.”

St. Clair council agreed in December to hold that space, in a township building on St. Clair Parkway. for a potential library expansion.

County council has been asked to let library staff explore the feasibility of combining the two branches in renovated space at the Sombra building.

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Local municipalities provide buildings for branches and the county library system provides staff, books and programs.

“It would be a good spot,” said St. Clair Mayor Jeff Agar. “But I don’t like to see stuff closed.”

He wants to ensure Port Lambton residents will still have convenient access to library services after a merger, he said.

Options could include offering library users access to book vending machines, lockers, books by mail and outreach programs at the community center or other locations in Port Lambton, the county said.

The Port Lambton branch’s limited space in the community center means it can offer only a small collection of books and materials, and no room for library programs or storage, the report said.

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“Both the Sombra and Port Lambton sites currently are quite constrained,” Meyer said. “It limits our ability to offer public programs and new and innovative services.”

Expansion in Sombra could “create an enhanced library where we offer more programming to residents,” he said.

A plan, including cost of renovations, how they would be shared by the county and township, potential remote services for Port Lambton, hours of operation and staffing, would be prepared for the county and township councils.

“Given that the communities are so close, perhaps we can enhance Sombra with this new opportunity with available floor space and create more of a centralized hub in that southern area of ​​St. Clair Township,” Meyer said.

The library facilities review called for more space for the service in the coming decade, including exploring new buildings and consolidations in several locations.

“We’re working with municipal partners across the county to implement some of the other recommendations related to either facility improvements or accessibility enhancements,” Meyer said.

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