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Community flocks to Whistler Public Library opening

New building offers new possibilities to library programmers
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Red Tape Mayor Ken Melamed and library chair, Alix Nicoll, officially opened the new library on Saturday. Photo by Ian Robertson, coastphoto.com.

Whistler has seen its share of ribbon cuttings in recent years, but few events have attracted as much attention as the opening of the Whistler Public Library this past Saturday, Jan. 26.

The ceremony started outside, with a crowd of more than 300 people waiting to get their first glimpse of the inside of the building. Mayor Ken Melamed and library board chair Alix Nicoll did the honours cutting the ribbon, then invited the public inside for speeches, refreshments, music, a performance by the Short Skirt Theatre, readings by locals authors, and a tour of the facility. A steady stream of people took out new library cards at the front desk, while community members took out thousands of books, CDs, and DVDs using the new scanner and radio tags system.

It’s been almost 22 years since Joan Richoz started the first public library in the basement of municipal hall, before the facility moved into a pair of trailers off of Main Street. Although trailers were supposed to be temporary until the library could build a permanent facility, that proved more challenging than expected. At last, in 2004 the sitting council approved a new library building on the lot beside the existing library, for a $7 million price tag. With construction costs soaring across B.C. due to the stiff competition for workers and materials, however, the final cost will be over $11 million.

Part of the blame has been assumed by members of the previous council that approved the library under a construction management model that allowed local companies to bid on aspects of the construction, rather than the fixed price model recommended by municipal staff. With the construction boom, the bids attracted less interest and competition than council expected.

In his speech to open the library, Melamed acknowledged that it was a challenging project but praised the final outcome.

“It’s been a long time coming, but I think you’ll feel it’s been worth the wait,” he said, giving credit to past councils and community members that made the library a reality. “It’s been 15 years of work to get a permanent facility…This council is the one that gets to cut the ribbon, but we wouldn’t be here without the work of past councils.”

The mayor also took the opportunity to defend the project and project managers from past criticisms, noting that it takes thick skin and perseverance to get a project this big and complicated off the ground.

For her part Alix Nicoll was concerned that people would focus too much on the cost, but was reassured in her talks with community members that most people have moved on and are embracing the library.

“I think we’ve overcome a lot of the negativity out there,” she said. “The most exciting thing for me has been to just watch people’s faces light up when they walked through the door for the first time. Yes, it did cost a lot of money, but now people can see what it’s for. And watching all the little kids walk in today and their smiles, and know that this is their library — it’s just such a great day for the community.”

Nicoll says the community can be proud of the library, which the community of 10,000 residents will share with an equal number of second homeowners and visitors from around the world.

“I’ve had a Mountain Host come up to me and say he would no longer be ashamed to tell visitors how to find our library. We also had someone inquire as to whether they would be allowed to have their wedding in the plaza out front,” said Nicoll.

“As for what it means to the community, I think Ken (Melamed) said it best today when he called the library ‘Whistler’s living room.’ It really has that feel about it, and this is a perfect day to enjoy it with the big windows and skylights, and snow falling on the trees outside.”

Having a new facility and more than four times the space of the previous library opens up new possibilities for youth and adult programming.

According to Jomichele Seidl, Youth Services Librarian, the additional space for children’s and youth collections, as well as a dedicated room for their activities (The Burrow), is already making a difference.

“It’s not only space for new programming, it changes the way we’ve been able to do programs we’re continuing from the past,” said Seidl. For example, children’s programming can take place any time during regular library hours without disturbing other library users. As well, there is a quiet place for the junior book club and teen advisory group to meet, without scheduling meetings when the library is closed.

The parent-infant drop-in program has also been moved from the Whistler Health Care Centre to The Burrow, and the first class was held on Tuesday.

“It’s a great space, and they didn’t have to shove any furniture around to make space for their babies…and the parents also had a chance to get up and wander the library to pick up a few movies and books for themselves, which is a good thing for them,” said Seidl.

As well, there is now a dedicated children’s desk for 23 hours a week to provide assistance to students looking for information on various topics, and to recommend to children and parents.

In the coming weeks the library will host every elementary and high school class in Whistler to introduce them to the facility, and let them know what’s available.

In the next few months the library will also host regular meetings with the teen advisory group, which among other things helps decide what books and media are added to the teen collection.

As for the collection itself, Seidl says there is still a storage container of books to get on the shelves that wasn’t able to fit in the old library.

“It’s a tedious process really (with the RFID) tags, but we’re pretty excited to get the books out because there are some real favourites in there,” she said.

“We’re also adding to our collection, buying more children’s books and series, which is a departure from the way things were done previously. We didn’t used to buy books in series, but now we have the shelf space and the children really like them. It’s especially comforting for children learning to read, that when they pick up a book the Magic Treehouse series they know they will be able to read it.”

Nadine White, the Public Services Librarian, is also rolling out new programs that take advantage of the new library.

One of the new programs is the result of a partnership with Late and Unique Nighttime Alternatives (LUNA), who produce alcohol-free events for young adults. They will be hosting movie nights once a month at the library, with the first movies following a music theme.

As well, the library will offer more traditional library programs like computer training workshops, and labs on how to use library materials. For example, the library can now offer electronic audio books that people can download onto their computers and transfer to portable music players.

“We’re teaching people to use the resources, and get more out of them,” said White.

The multi-purpose room will also be available for public events and community programs that had to meet after library hours or at other venues.

“Before, we always had to do programming in the evening, and we lost the people that are out and about during the day and stay home in the evenings,” White added. “Now we can tailor program times to the patrons we’re trying to reach. It’s exciting that we’re not limited any more in that sense.”

As for the library’s collection, White says it’s about to get a lot bigger.

“A large chunk of the capital money is for a big, one-time purchase of materials in addition to what’s in the operating budget,” she said. “For example, we ordered a lot of DVDs and CDs in one order, and those collections are doubling. For books, it’s harder to quantify because everything is divided by subject, or by fiction and non-fiction, but we’ve order books from popular authors. I can’t say we’re doubling that collection, but there is so much coming in that it’s going to be hard keeping up with all the cataloging of books, magazines, CDs, DVDs, audio books and other materials.”

According to White, the library is always open to suggestions from the public.

The library is open from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. from Monday to Saturday, and from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Sundays. The library is closed on all statutory holidays.