Growing pains

BY CHRISTY MARSTERS

The Hants Journal

NovaNewsNow.com

The Windsor Regional Library has experienced great success since relocating to 195 Albert Street and has grown to become one of the busiest public libraries in the Annapolis Valley.

In fact, popularity has skylined so much success is starting to pose problems.

Regional Librarian for the Annapolis Valley Frances Newman shared her concerns with Windsor Council during a Committee of the Whole meeting June 9, noting a facility size for the Windsor Regional Library suited at a minimum of 6,000 square feet, with an approximate population catchment of 16,400 people, as a basic standard set by Nova Scotia Public Libraries for populations ranging between 10,000-18,000.

However, the Windsor Regional Library was build to be a bit less than 4,000 square feet, as considerations to the catchment area within the District of West Hants were not accurately taken into account, Newman noted. “Relocating the Library from the Community Centre was such a giant step in the right direction that it seemed not to matter it was not made larger in the first place. But now Windsor is becoming a core town where people go. Within the next five years, expansions will be critical.

No end in sight “In future, I see more growth at the Windsor Library,” Newman said. “I see no end in sight. And without an expansion, I think this will be a library bursting at the seams.”

Ideally, the Windsor Regional Library hopes to add 2,000 square feet to its facility within the next five years (with costs roughly estimated at $200,000) and would like to use the extra space to include more services, to expand on existing programs, to create a quiet area for teens to hang out and to build a small staff room. “We (libraries) play a valuable role in society, not only on a cultural and educational standpoint, but in economic development as well,” Newman said. “And when times are tough, social services are used more. We’re important in hard economic times.”

Library an asset: Beazley

Mayor Paul Beazley said it’s good the library is getting such great use and its success can be seen as a tribute to good work the community did with having it relocated. “I think it’s great,” he said. “The library is a good asset for this community and the whole West Hants area. For early learning, it’s important for people to have access books at a library. “I think we should be supportive of the library,” Beazley said. “But it will still be up to them (the library) to bring something forward (in way of a business proposal) in a couple of years down the road. We’ll probably need the space in a few years.”

The Friends of the Windsor Regional Library Society have started regrouping to gain support for the newly proposed expansion projects as the library itself continues to experience a steady increase in use.

All library material circulations in Windsor have risen 49 per cent since 2000, from 59,519 items in 2000 to 88,839 items in 2008.