The Huntsville Public Library’s new annex will soon be available as affordable rental space for small family events, meetings, and community group programs.
The contract to do initial renovations to the site, which will make the space safe, usable, and accessible for users of all ages, was recently awarded to Davicor Construction in a Request for Tender process.
“In the long term the board has mandated that we are going to be doing a renovation to our existing facility with an addition on that space,” said Chief Librarian and CEO, Deborah Duce. “We really want to be a hub in the community and have a space where people can just pop in and connect on a regular place, and to have a programming space that’s effective for our library staff as well.”
In the meantime, the library wants to make the best use of the annex space and use it to help resolve some of the space challenges they have, she added. The annex will serve as rental and programming space to complement what already exists in the library.
“Everything that was inside is now gone,” she said of the annex. “It’s going to have an accessible rest room, a tiny kitchenette with a sink and some cupboards so people can make tea and coffee, and it will have access to wireless as well.”
Some of the library’s portable audio-visual equipment, like projectors, will be available for use in the space, along with perhaps some chairs and tables.
Soon the library will move forward with architectural drawings for the full expansion, with plans to use them to “advocate in the community for fundraising and for provincial and federal grant opportunities. We are hoping that within three to four years we will be able to start the work (on the expansion).”
On June 30 from 11am to 3pm, the library will host an official launch of both the new space and also the 2016 TD Summer Reading Club – watch for details on the Virtual Library (huntsvillelibrary.ca) and the library’s social media channels (Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram).
See information on the original building announcement on Doppler here:
Town approves purchase of Minerva Street property for future library expansion
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Gail Orr says
The library is very important to me personally and I am looking forward to the new facilities and programming that the library will have available in the future.
Rob Millman says
It is to be hoped that the rental cost will be more in line with Your Independent Grocer’s upstairs meeting room, than with Partners’ Hall; which is cost-prohibitive for most organizations (including all not-for-profits).