The opening of two new county library branches is going to have a huge positive effect on Arthur and Drayton, Chief Librarian Janice Hindley believes.
She keeps the usage statistics for those branches, and can see how much people appreciate their libraries.
At the opening in Arthur on Jan. 9, all during the speeches, the phone kept ringing. Hindley said she was glad staff members were at the desk to take residents’ calls, which seemed to be constant.
She said later in the day bus loads of seniors arrived after officials had gone on to open the Drayton library. Those seniors wanted to tour the new building in Arthur.
Meanwhile, in Drayton, Hindley noted young students waited patiently through a number of grand opening speeches and then, when officials moved outdoors to cut the ribbon, they quickly grabbed every computer terminal in the building. They were soon busy surfing the internet and checking a large number of websites.
“It’s the talk of the town in both communities,” Hindley said of the new branches. The attendance for the grand openings at the two sites supports her assertion. Over 200 people attended the openings.
ARTHUR LIBRARY BRANCH
The councils of the county of Wellington and Wellington North Township, along with the Wellington County library board, formed a partnership to produce the Arthur design, location, financing and construction.
The two-storey building has a 4,000 square foot medical centre on the top floor with a local doctor and family medical team, and a 4,000 square foot library branch on the main floor, which boasts a separate programming room for library events, several windows providing natural sunlight and a gas fireplace providing a quiet and pleasant reading environment for visitors.
The building is wheelchair accessible, houses library computer terminals and is equipped with wireless internet access. The basement features a multi-media boardroom available for public rental, and for the family medical team to administer medical programs.
The library and medical facility was built using the County of Wellington’s Green Legacy green building standards, meeting the highest level of certification possible.
Hindley said the total cost of the Arthur building is about $3.8-million, and noted one reason for that high figure is the elevator, which will see much use travelling upstairs to the medical centre, and also to the meeting rooms in the finished basement.
DRAYTON LIBRARY BRANCH
The 7,000 square foot Drayton library includes a multi-media community room to hold library events and it is available for public rental.
The gas fireplace and reading nooks provide a pleasant environment. This building is also wheelchair accessible, houses library computer terminals, and is equipped with wireless internet access.
The Drayton Historical Society also has a display area. For the opening, it features old fashioned toys and books, including Dale Evans comics and Chinese checkers.
The prominent architectural feature of the building resembles a corncrib, reminiscent of the 19th century corncribs used by early settlers in the rural Mapleton area.
‘State of the art’
Library board chairman Brad Whitcombe, Master of Ceremonies at both openings, said he is pleased to be able to show taxpayers how some of their county taxes are spent.
Warden Joanne Ross-Zuj said, “This state-of-the-art library will help promote literacy and learning, and will strengthen the community.”
Wellington North Mayor Mike Broomhead said the excitement for the building started before construction began. “Things have gone well.”
Perth Wellington MP Gary Schellenberger and his provincial counterpart, MPP John Wilkinson, each saluted the county for its efforts in creating beautiful buildings.
Schellenberger noted perhaps Perth County can take lessons from Wellington on such new buildings.
Wilkinson said in pioneer days, the province created libraries because people could not afford books. Today, some cannot afford the internet, but the libraries will provide that for them.
In Arthur Upper Grand Family Health Team’s Rossalyn Bentley noted the upstairs of the building would be used for healing the body, and the main floor could provide the means to heal the soul.
In Drayton, Mapleton Mayor John Green said that when fellow county councillor Rod Finnie toured the old library, he said almost at once that the community needed a new library. Green noted that the Drayton library has some extra space, but said that is because it is the only branch in the municipality. Several other municipalities have two or more branches.
Whitcombe also saluted county councillor Carl Hall for his efforts on behalf of the Drayton library.
Green said, too, that Drayton’s library is heavily used.
Hindley supported him in that. The old library closed in November and the new one opened its doors on Dec. 16. She said between that opening and the end of the year, only about 10 days of service, over 4,000 titles were checked out.
Upper Grand District School Board trustee Bruce Schieck attended the opening of the Drayton facility and summed up the effect of the library on the community.
“It is my belief the first five years of a child’s life they learn to read. From then on, they read to learn,” Schieck said.
For photo coverage of the events by Mike Robinson, check our web edition photo page or click here.
