New library due

READ ’EM LIKE A BOOK: There were no complaints from those who attended a public consultation about the new Vaughan library to give their wish list.

While the city below Vaughan was discussing closing libraries or reducing their operating hours, Thornhill residents were creating a wish list for the new library that should open up within a year.

At a meeting held at the North Thornhill Community Centre at 300 Pleasant Ridge Ave. on Jan. 18, nearly 50 members of the community attended to talk about how they plan to use the library and how it should look after being built as an addition to the centre.

“We wanted to get input from the community about what they want in their library,” said Margie Singleton, CEO of Vaughan Public Libaries. “We had a great big piece of paper and we asked people to write down their big ideas for the library.”

Among the requests were free wi-fi access, self-checkout stations and the inclusion of multicultural magazines and literature, according to Ward 4 councillor Sandra Yeung Racco, who attended the public consultation.

“I think it was probably the most uplifting meeting I’ve ever attending,” she said. “There were absolutely no complaints at all.

“From listening to the suggestions around the table, really people want programs for younger kids as well as study areas for students.”

Vaughan city council approved the development in April 2011. Both Yeung Racco and Singleton said a library in the Dufferin Street and Rutherford Road area is long overdue.

Vaughan currently has seven public libraries, with the closest to the neighbourhood being the Dufferin Clark Library and the Bathurst Clark Reference Library. Neither one is within reasonable walking distance of the area around the North Thornhill Community Centre.

“It’s populated by a tremendous amount of young families,” Singleton said. “We know there’s about 4,000 school-aged students in that area so we know there’s a high density of potential library users in that neighbourhood.”

Although architects and developers have yet to be hired for the project, Singleton said the budget has been set at $3 million, 90 percent of which will be paid through redistributed development charge funds.

Construction should begin this spring and should be completed by the end of the year. The library will be connected to the north end of the community centre and will likely be around 7000-8000 square feet in size.

“It’s a neighbourhood library so it’s bigger than Kleinburg and smaller than Dufferin Clark,” Singleton said.

One of the original ideas to come out of the Jan. 18 consultation was that of a reading garden, which could be enjoyed during the warmer months.

“They’re hoping to get a community garden so that on nice days you can sit outside and be able to utilize the wi-fi as well,” Yeung Racco said.

Two further public meetings are to be held which will be aimed specifically at elementary school and high school students respectively.

Both Singleton and Yeung Racco seemed proud to be able to announce plans for a new library while other municipalities grapple with closing some of theirs.

“In Vaughan we are growing very fast and many, many young families are moving into Vaughan,” Yeung Racco said. “We need to be able to meet their needs.”