Lauren McKeon
Northern News Services
Thursday, Sepember 4, 2008

The Yellowknife Public Library is set to undergo six weeks of renovations this fall – during which time access will be very limited.

Acting library manager Melissa Legacy sits inside a hole in one of the library's pillars. It started out as a crack in the drywall last year.

Renovations begin Oct. 6. At that time the library will completely shut its doors for just over a week. Beginning Oct. 15, the library will open its circulation area on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in order to provide some services.

During those hours, the public will be able to browse and borrow from a small collection of new library items, DVDs and audiobooks.

Considering the closures land shortly after the beginning of the school year, the timing of the renovations may seem questionable.

"I'm pretty sure that it was with reluctance that (the library administration) chose those dates in the first place," said city Councillor Kevin Kennedy.

"I believe they didn't have a lot of choice about the timing," he added. "It just came down to the availability of the people doing the work."

"To my knowledge a lot of the contractors were not available in the summer," said Coun. Bob Brooks.

"There's a huge contractor problem in town at the moment. A lot of our contractors went to Fort McMurray, Northern Alberta and whatever because of all the work that's down there."

This is the third round of renovations to the library, with the first being complete in 2004. "We're redesigning the way the space is used, because we're running out of space," said acting library manager Melissa Legacy.

This year's renovations will include new paint, carpeting, furniture, lights, plumbing, and bathroom tiles.

"We have to duct tape the carpet together," Legacy said of current conditions.

She added that while there have been talks to relocate the library – an issue first raised in a 2001 study commissioned by the City – renovations can't be held while awaiting the possible move.

"If (the move) were to happen, the earliest possible time would be 2013," she said. Without renovations, she added -- "in those five years the library really couldn't sustain service and space."

The library first opened in 1990, Legacy pointed out, and much of the original interior structure remains unchanged – including the bathrooms and the infamous carpeting.

Some non-structural pillars will also be removed. "There are a lot of pillars that block our sight lines and make (the library) like a maze," said Legacy.

"That's going to make a big difference," said Kennedy of the plan to knock out some of the pillars. "Right now there are places in the library where people can come in -- even groups of people - and no one can really see them, so they sort of feel free to cause trouble or to do damage."

Even Brooks, who was at first against the renovations in light of the possible new library location, is happy with the way everything is being handled. He praised the library's plan to only do the must-have renovations.

"The plan was created to deal with the renovations that were necessary in order to keep the building up to par and usable for at least another five or more years."

"We don't think duct tape is going to be able to hold the carpets for another five years," he laughed.

While it's yet to be announced who won the bid for the project, the city had previously set aside $155,000 for this phase of the project.

The library will be partially open from Nov. 12 until Dec. 12 and will fully reopen Dec. 15, 2008. More information on closures will be available as renovations move forward.

The closures will ultimately be worth it, Kennedy said: "I will agree ... that it is a shame that the library has to be closed during that time. But, because it's a fairly big change to the space, there are not a lot of alternatives.

"With any luck the library can have a grand reopening and maybe new people that haven't been using the library will now feel welcome to come," Kennedy said.

"I would be concerned if we were closing it today with one day's notice, but with one month's notice and it's only for one week ... no I'm not concerned," added Coun. Brooks.