Proponents for a new Powell River Public Library are hoping to replicate the success of the first open house held in advance of the November 15 library referendum at a second open house this weekend.
Terry Noreault, interim chief librarian at the library, said he was very happy with the two open house sessions held Monday, October 27, at Crossroads Village Shopping Centre location selected by City of Powell River Council as the site for a new library. A second series of open houses will be held from 10 am to noon and 2 to 4 pm Saturday, November 8.
At the first open house sessions, the public seemed to see the potential for a new library, Noreault said.
“I think generally people were very excited,” he said. “They like the location, the access to the bus routes and thought the space looks like a good place for a library.”
It was estimated that about 200 people turned out to the first open house, which featured an afternoon and early evening session.
“There were a lot of people at the earlier session,” Noreault said. “The place was full for about an hour and a half.”
The open house featured a number of displays to assist those attending with conceptualizing how a new library might be built.
“They liked looking at the inside views so they could see what the floor plan might look like,” Noreault said. “It gave us a chance to talk about some of the new capabilities we could have. It gave us an ability to talk about what was going to be different in the new library.”
Noreault said in the earlier open house session, there was a good cross section of Powell River’s retirees. Right after 5 pm at the start of the second session, when people started to get off work, families started to show up, so a good cross-section of the community was represented.
The prospect of a new library is already starting to pay dividends at the old one. “One of the things we’ve noted since the whole campaign started is we’ve had about a three-fold increase in demand for new library cards,” Noreault said. “That was unexpected. It’s been happening for about two weeks now. I really think this new location where we are front and centre would also increase the use of the library.”
Kevin Sigouin, spokesperson for Crossroads Village, said the shopping centre’s owners felt the first session went extremely well.
“We got lots of good feedback,” he said.
There will be an adjustment made in the facility between the first open house and the next one. Inside the building, the first time round, the main expanse of the floor was cordoned off because several volunteer organizations had possessions stored in the building. They have since been moved.
“We’ve done that so people can basically walk through the entire facility on Saturday,” Sigouin said. “People can really take it all in.”
To identify and promote the building, Sigouin said a large banner has been created and will be hoisted out front this week, letting people know it is the site of the proposed new library.
To further inform the public, Crossroads Village created a brochure outlining the library proposal and the first printing has been handed out. Sigouin said the brochure will be reprinted and will be delivered to Powell River households prior to the election.
Noreault encourages residents to attend the Saturday open house sessions and walk around the facility.
“There’s still a lot of questions that people are trying to figure out,” he said. “I think for some of the people that were concerned about the location, the opportunity to see it and see what was going to be inside the walls, really helped them to picture why this space is as good as any other space we could have chosen.”
More information on the Crossroads Village proposal can be found online under the PR Public Library heading.
