Attendees were in the hundreds at the official reopening of the Sunnyside branch of the Ottawa Public Library on Thursday, August 26th. The soft strains of Irish piper Ross Davidson filled the newly airy room as guests gathered. Pamela Sweet, Vice-Chair of the library board, chaired the ceremony. After welcoming everyone, she spoke about the branch's long history.
"There has been a public library serving Ottawa South and the Glebe for over a hundred years. It changed locations a few times—it was in a private house, then Hopewell school, then a number of storefront locations—until the building we are now in was built in 1951."
A Busy, Well-loved Branch
The Library Board Vice-Chair described a typical week at the branch: more than 3,500 people visit the branch each week, over 600 information questions are asked, and 8,000+ items are borrowed.
"That's a lot of traffic...which is why it was so important for us to refurbish this space to serve the demand."
Ms. Sweet then detailed the renovation project, which she said was focused on ensuring accessibility and improving the layout for better services. The renovations included:
- expansion of the public spaces
- 3 new community rooms that the public will be able to rent for meetings and community events
- Children's area now has more space and greater flexibility to provide more hours of programming
- new self-serve checkouts (kids are loving these!)
- energy efficient lighting throughout the building
- 24/7 external book returns for the public
- new borrower services counter
- new accessible washrooms
- new flooring and repainting throughout
The total cost of the project was $ 1.275 million, with funding from federal, provincial and municipal governments, and contributions from the Ottawa Public Library, the Friends of the Ottawa Public Library, and the Friends of the Sunnyside Library.
Friends of the Ottawa Public Library gave $25,000 for the new all wood selving in the Chidren's Department, while Friends of the Sunnyside Library gave $12,000 for the furnishings in the Early Literacy area, as well as commissioning the painting by Bhat Boy on the main floor, and the painting by Crystal Beshara in the Children's Department.
Speeches Touch on Near-Closing of Branch, Importance to Community
There were several speakers, all of whom had in some way contributed to the success of the renovations.
Ottawa Centre MP Paul Dewar spoke, reminiscing that only a few short years ago he and hundreds of local residents had rallied to save the branch from being closed by the City as a cost-cutting measure.
Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi spoke of the Ontario government's commitment to the project, and the importance of libraries in our communities.
Capital ward councillor Clive Doucet, who as councillor was a well-known champion of saving and renovating the branch, spoke about the heroic efforts the community took to do so.
Cindy Streefkerk, president of Friends of the OPL, and Jenny Haysom of Friends of Sunnyside also spoke. Jenny Haysom was instrumental in rallying the residents of Old Ottawa South and the Glebe to save the branch in 2004, and in fundraising with Sunnyside book bags and a used book sale that contributed to the renovations.
Turning the Page to Begin a New Chapter
Rather than closing with a ribbon-cutting ceremony (the library already being open for two weeks), the key participants gathered together to "turn the page" to a new chapter in the Sunnyside Branch story. (See photo above. From left to right: MP Yasir Naqvi, Councillor Clive Doucet, Library Board Vice-Chair Pamela Sweet, Jenny Haysom, Cindy Streefkerk, MP Paul Dewar).
The event concluded downstairs in the new community rooms and Children's Department with cake and refreshments provided by the local Bridgehead.