I normally approach this space as a way to play Devil’s advocate. A way to try and think about issues before council from a new angle, or with information that has not been considered so far in the debate.
But in the choice between building the new main library or not build the new main library, I’m throwing my lot in with the 'build the damn library' camp.
It’s time. For 25 years, this project has been on the city’s to-do list, and the only thing that’s changed is that it’s gotten more expensive.
The last time we got this far into the process in 2003, just before the purchase of the old post office on Upper Wyndham, the council at the time killed the $10.5 million project because it was too expensive, and who the hell was going to use a library 20 years in the future?
Well, the project is now $62 million and nearly half of all Guelphites are active library users.
I grant you it’s a surprise. I remember my Grade 5 teacher on the occasion that new Apple IIs were installed in our school library declaring that this was the beginning of the end for books. By the time me and my classmates were adults, any libraries that still existed would merely be places where people could access a computer. The year was 1989.
I don’t know if Mr. Mitchell is still with us, but I know libraries are alive and well, and there are dozens of communities in Canada that are proceeding, or have just completed, new library projects. Why should Guelph follow suit? It’s a multi-part answer.
A hub and spoke system depends on a strong central library. Yes, having more smaller libraries all over town is a good idea, but those locations on Scottsdale, Starwood, and others are about volume; they move in high demand items and move out items that aren’t as in demand, and those items move in and out of the big main library that’s resourced to handle that traffic.
And besides, do we really want a town where the library becomes just another strip mall chain? “You’ve got your Hasty Market, your Microplay, your Guelph Public Library, your Pita Pit…”
“But what about building a new hospital?!”
I’ve seen this in about a dozen social media posts in the last week alone, and it never seems to transmit that the where, when, why and how of hospital building in Ontario gets sorted out at Queen’s Park and not at 1 Carden St.
And yes, given this week’s news about building a temporary addition to the hospital to give them more space to deal with a growing town, we should be demanding some action on a hospital, but the final decision is in the hands of the Ministry of Health, and since Guelph’s not the only growing municipality in Ontario, I’m guessing advocacy only gets us so far.
“But what about those jerks at city hall that spend, spend, spend?! Look at Guelph Police headquarters!”
Yeah, that’s bad, but it amazes me that we focus on that one and ignore both the Market Parkade and the Victoria Road Rec Centre renovations, both of which came in on time and on budget, not to mention all the regular road work and underground infrastructure that gets finished on budget with remarkably little fuss.
And if you’re concerned about expense consider this, what happens if council votes against the library?
City council signed a contract with a private developer to proceed with this project, funding for green development practices has been secured from upper levels of government, and money has already been spent on pre-construction work and site prep. What would you rather have at the end of this process, a library or a lawsuit?
I’m sure some on council will inevitably try to make a motion to reduce the size of the project as a way to save face, but what “evidence” will they use to justify it? If council starts shaving off tens of thousands of square feet willy nilly, then they can no longer claim to be an evidence-driven decision body, when all the evidence explains in no uncertain terms why there’s a need for the 88,000 square feet.
Perhaps the most damning thing from a vote to not proceed with the new library is the lack of due diligence on the part of council to have a plan for the current main library. A building that has outlived its usefulness, is woefully inadequate by modern accessibility standards, and at times seems like its being held together with a wish and a prayer.
No real work has been done on this building in the last two decades because the presumption was always that the library would be moving soon. It was soon in 1995, it was soon in 2003, it was soon in 2008, and it was soon in 2019. We have again walked up to the line, but in typical Guelph fashion we’re now hedging before we take that last step.
If we don’t take it now, we probably never will. Why would anyone work with this city again on a library project? Why would the public bother to participate in feedback sessions and town halls if all that work is going to be put back on the shelf to gather dust at the moment we’re about to make the plan a reality?
I feel compelled to stand up for the enthusiastic community of library supports in Guelph because they’re the ones that come out again and again to cheer on the project. Their passion is persuasive, especially since their delegations typically outdo the doubters about 22-to-1. I’ve seen council throw years of work out the window because just one or two people show up in the chamber riled up, but after years of overwhelming support for the library, why is there still doubt?
So my question to city council is, are you scared?
Good, you should be. I would have serious doubts about any councillor that wasn’t sweating the expense of any project worth $62 million.
Having said that though, no project in the history of this city has had to jump through more hoops, suffered more false starts, or had to write and re-write proposals again and again than the new main library.
If you’re not convinced by now, you never will be.
If you can see the business case, the justifications, and the need for a new main library, but you still can’t punch yes on this vote, the problem isn’t the library, it’s the preconceived notions you share with Mr. Mitchell over 30 years in the past.
It’s now or never for the new main library, and I have to believe there’s a majority of council that thinks now is better than never.
