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I am writing in strong support of the Junction East project and of councillors who were nearly unanimous in their decision to get it built.
The Junction East project is intended to house the main branch of the public library, the art gallery, and the multicultural centre. To date, there have been a couple of concerns raised about cost.
While cost is a legitimate issue to raise, especially in dealing with taxpayers’ money, it must also be balanced against the benefits. At council in June, we heard that Junction East would be a civic building, that the project would generate federal and provincial support, thus bringing more funds into the community and that, of course, its construction would generate good jobs in our community.
The idea of co-locating three organizations appeals to me as a citizen, because all three are now in old, barely functional buildings. However, it is as a retired librarian from Laurentian that I got really excited about the library move. The design is stunning, and the location is perfect — right in the heart of downtown, just off Paris immediately visible to visitors and all who cross the Bridge of Nations.
In fact, I bet one unforeseen cost will involve redoing city tourist literature.
I acknowledge that not every citizen thinks a library is necessary in the age of the internet. In fact, a good number of the library’s resources are electronic and available to anyone who wants to sign up and read from home or elsewhere. But the library is so much more than electronic resources. Its book collection is not just in English and French, but in other languages spoken by our citizens.
Moreover, the books will now be housed on shelving accessible to those with disabilities. Indeed, the whole building will meet the requirements of the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act, which requires that public buildings be completely accessible by January 1, 2025.
It is also designed to be certified by Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), an internationally recognized third-party certification program for buildings and homes.
Our new library will provide the necessary space for services like interlibrary loan and the homebound service which, as its name implies, supports citizens who can’t leave their homes, ensuring that these individuals aren’t excluded from access to information and other services.
It will also have a makerspace, where people can gather to work on projects, such as in computing or technology, while sharing ideas, equipment, and knowledge. It will have comfortable meeting rooms available for free to all.
And there is much more — why not go to the library’s website to find out.
Desmond Maley
Greater Sudbury