‘Cubed’: Check out library’s new sound-proof meeting enclave

It’s called a Connection Cube, a small private and sound-proof meeting place, and the Sarnia-area’s first one can now be booked at the city’s downtown library.

Funded by the Sarnia-Lambton Ontario Health Team, the mini-meeting place is on the library’s second floor and can be booked for up to two hours a day, per person.

The team unveiled the booth in June at an Age Friendly Expo at Pat Stapleton Arena in Sarnia with the aim to provide residents with another option if they need somewhere private for small gatherings or online meetings with government or community agencies.

“Our hope is that this is the first Connection Cube of many in Sarnia-Lambton,” said Steve Pancino, the health team’s executive lead..

A focus for the team has been to “bring additional access points for health and social services in our community,” he said.

The team is a collaboration of 35 community agencies that came together as part of a provincial initiative for local health care planning.

The concept of stand-alone, sound-proof booths is also used in neighboring communities of Chatham-Kent and London.

After seeing them, local health team officials realized they could be used to help provide more access to health and other services.

Made by a company in Finland, the cubes cost about $30,000, the health team has said.

The Lambton County library says the booth at the Sarnia Library is now available for use.

Able to handle meetings of up to two people, the booth is equipped with an iPad, phone and Wi-Fi so it can also be used for online meetings.

The book was installed at the end of the June while equipping and staff training were carried out before bookings began, said Darlene Coke, the county’s manager of library services.

“We’ve had some questions and curiosity about it,” she said. “It is now ready and able to be booked for in-person or virtual appointments with community organizations or government agencies.”

Booth use is free, with reservations recommended by visiting the library or calling 519 337-3291. Users don’t need a library card, but reservations require ID and contact information.

There are also some rules. Food isn’t allowed inside the cube, but beverages in closed containers are.

Also, the doors don’t lock and the library said personal items should not be left unattended. Users are expected to leave the booth clean and in its original condition.

“We, over the years, have had lots of requests for private meeting space,” Coke said. “A lot of our libraries are wide-open spaces and you can’t have those kinds of sensitive, personal conversations.”

The health team said it identified 10 areas around Lambton, particularly in First Nation and rural areas, which have trouble accessing technology needed to hold online meetings, which have become more common since the COVID-19 pandemic.

The health team says it’s looking for funding to provide booths at other locations. Locating them in libraries could ease transportation challenges for some residents, and help those without access to devices or reliable broadband, the team says.

“This is an opportunity to make a space available that is private where people can have those meetings with a wide range of different practitioners, and everything ranging from employment resources or employment counseling to perhaps some medical services,” Coke said.

“Libraries are, primarily, community meeting places today and much more than just books,” she said.

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