THUNDER BAY — The Brodie Resource Library closed its doors for renovations on June 16 and won’t be re-opening until September.
The Thunder Bay Public Library made the announcement in early June, stating that the closure will facilitate significant renovations to be undertaken in conjunction with the implementation of new safety and security measures.
“I think we are maybe the only kind of renovation project that’s ever been on schedule, so we’re pretty proud of that,” Togman said.
“We are still on track to open for Sept. 2, and I think when the public comes in, they will be really excited to see some of the changes.”
New security upgrades include hiring two full-time security staff members, Togman said.
“The first is our community facilitator, who is a real expert in working with some more at-risk and marginalized populations. They have experience working in the shelters and in the outreach community, so they’re really fantastic,” he said.
Togman said the community facilitator will primarily patrol the main floor and the most active spaces, while the other security guard will patrol the outside, entrance ways, and general hallways.
“So before, where we had people maybe doing some less savoury activities out front in the streets or in our lobby, now having a full-time security presence there, it really pushes that activity away from the library, right away from the area where kids, seniors, and families are trying to visit,” he said.
The security guards will not only deal with more challenging situations, but also serve as a deterrent to unwanted behaviours, he said.
“We’ve been piloting that program at Waverley (Resource Library) while Brodie’s been shut down, and it has had a huge success; we have had a really dramatic decrease in the number of incidents,” he said.
“We are really looking forward to that aspect coming to Brodie and helping make sure that the library is a safe space for everybody.”
Several other additions to the library renovation project include a designated local history collection area, he said.
“We’ve got our specialist research technicians working (and we) moved them right up front so the public can interact with them, ask them questions, learn all about different aspects of the collection,” he said.
“Microfilm machines, the old newspaper catalogues, genealogy, all that’s now located on the lower level, and then our more active, more engaged and somewhat louder activities have all been moved up to the main floor,” he said.
The upstairs area now includes the Indigenous knowledge centre, public computers, and the children’s area.
“We have actually added additional public computers, so we have got between about 20 to 30 per cent more public computers now on the main floor. We know that’s a very high demand for this area where a lot of people can’t afford home internet and don’t have their own computing devices.”
The renovations and security upgrades are vital to the south-end community, Togman said.
“We’re the largest local history collection for all of north of Ontario, so we get used pretty heavily, down here also people coming in for their genealogy, finding out about their own family histories,” he said.
“Thunder Bay has got that really rich, interesting history to it, and so for the local history collection to get that kind of upgrade will be really amazing for those who use it really intensively.”
The renovations were also done in a cost-effective way, Togman said, noting that many items in the library are being repurposed.
“So we haven’t had to go out for major request for proposals or things like that. So, it’s really more of that aiming for a more cost neutral approach where we can save or re-purpose, so the price tag at this point is well within the library’s budget and not something we need to go back to the city to ask for.”
