Room to Grow
Families gathered in the new programming room for the first time
County Park Library Addition Opens to Public
Story and photo by Sidney Ulakovic
The County Park neighbourhood has a little extra room to grow, as today marked the grand opening of the 892 square foot addition to the County Park Library where people of all ages can gather to share, learn, and connect.
“Last year, city council authorized a new lease agreement for our County Park branch, which resulted in a very significant expansion. So what we’re seeing here today is the first big step in adding another 900 square feet to the branch,” says Thunder Bay Public Library CEO Richard Togman. The addition includes a new programming room as well as washroom facilities located within the County Park branch. “We now have big, expanded play spaces, more space for storytime, learning activities, seniors groups in the evenings, and also that library patrons have safe, clean washrooms to use as they're visiting the branch.”
Aside from expanding the library’s square footage, Togman says the addition reflects the evolving role of public libraries as community hubs. “We’re seeing the demand from the community evolve and shift, and it’s moving beyond a simple demand for books, which is obviously the bread and butter of the library system, but for knowledge-sharing and social activities at a larger scale,” he says. “The demand for programming has grown over 30% every single year.” According to Togman, the library had nearly 67,000 visits just for programming last year. “We’re evolving our physical spaces to match that.”
Although the construction of the space has been completed, Togman says there’s still more to come. “We finished the bones of the project. The walls are up. The doors are in. But some of the work to come is really the things that make the library special, and that comes with fundraising,” he says. “The art on the walls, the furniture, the children’s toys—all of that stuff we’re in the process of purchasing, partly through donations from the Friends of the Library and the proceeds of their 50/50 but also from regular donations.”
Library staff and city officials at a ribbon cutting ceremony to unveil the space
Following a ribbon cutting ceremony where library staff and city officials gathered to celebrate the unveiling of the space, the County Park Library held a public event, a Baby and Me Storytime, where parents and their children gathered in the expanded branch for the very first time.
To see upcoming programming the the County Park branch, visit the Thunder Bay Public Library’s website.
