Being part of the proposed community hub would take care of the library’s space issues, CEO says
Greatly undersized for the needs of a growing population, the Stratford Public Library is still looking to move to a bigger space, and is now focused on the Grand Trunk site as a future possibility.
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As part of the ongoing discussions for the renewal of the Grand Trunk site, library officials have presented to the project’s ad hoc committee while engaging in ongoing discussions with the city and to see what a partnership, if feasible, could look like, library CEO Krista Robinson said.
“There’s a lot of benefits to the Grand Trunk. Should we be able to move there, there’s sufficient space for the library today, but also for the library in the future. We know our community wants the space in the downtown area, so that would benefit the community but also meet the needs of the city’s official plan (by being) close to city transit and the transit hub,” Robinson said.
The library has completed a number of studies over the years that show the space cannot be expanded without significant changes to the building. These studies date back to at least 2003, when it was shown, even 21 years ago, the library was undersized, Robinson said.
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Part of the challenge of finding a new space, she said, is the desire for the library to remain in the downtown core.
“We know the community wants a library that’s located in the downtown core. They want something that has adequate parking and with more space, and there’s really very few opportunities that have come up in the downtown core. So the Grand Trunk site is a site that has immense potential for the City of Stratford and, hopefully, one day for the library,” she said.
Last year, a report by the architectural firm Lemay stated the library was vastly undersized under Ontario’s public library guidelines. Those guidelines state library branches serving populations from 10,000 to 35,000 people should be a minimum of 10,000 square feet. or one square foot per capita, whichever is greater. Based on Stratford’s 2021 population, Lemay said the library has a space deficit of roughly 20,000 square feet.
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The lack of space has led to a number of other challenges, including accessibility issues, Robinson added.
“We’ve done many improvements to make it as accessible as possible. However, one example is our library collection. It’s shelves that are seven-feet tall, but the standard for accessible shelving is four-feet tall,” said Robinson, noting that mobility devices also have a difficult time navigating the shelves.
The lack of parking is also a problem, given that the library welcomes about 500 visitors every day. The lack of quiet study spaces and the separate floors also pose difficulties, Robinson added.
“That really has a lot of logistical issues. We need additional staffing to manage additional floors, but also, when people come to the library, they have to try to determine where they need to be to find materials,” she said.
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Although it’s still early in the discussions, Robinson said they’re looking for a space that would be at least 44,000 square feet, which would bring them into the 21st century “and beyond.”
“A new library would have the shelving for materials to make them accessible. We would increase seating by 300 per cent. We would be expanding the maker space, having podcast studios, recording rooms – sufficient space for people to be innovative and create – and also have meeting rooms that would be profitable and a larger auditorium,” she said.
However, Robinson noted the library would try to work with Stratford’s YMCA – a likely anchor tenant at the Grand Trunk site – about sharing some facilities to avoid duplicating services, meaning the eventual square footage could be smaller.
The library will return to present to the ad hoc committee some time in the fall. If library officials are unsuccessful in their bid to join the Grand Trunk site, however, it means a new library will likely not be in the downtown core, Robinson said.
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