More than three years after the Barrie Public Library opened the Holly Community Library on Essa Road, city council has approved the lease agreement for a 4,800 square foot community library in the Letitia Heights neighbourhood.
It will be located in the Leacock Plaza at 420 Leacock Drive, where O'Hara's Public House bar used to be.
The new library will mimic the one in Holly, which is referred to as a "boutique."
"A few lessons learned from Holly is that we might need a little bit more space to host some programs, " Lauren Jessop, CEO of the Barrie Public Library, told Barrie 360 in an interview. "Basically, anything we can fit in there, we'll fit in there as efficiently as we can. We did find with our Holly location that sometimes the programming gathers a lot of people, which is a good thing, but we don't quite have enough space there."
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The library will be working with the city in the coming months to plan for the design, renovations, and addition, which will need to take place at the Leacock location before the library can move in.
Following community consultation in the spring, the library has started planning the types of programs, services, spaces and collections that are most needed in Letitia Heights community.
"For example, with the close proximity to several schools and the Lampman Lane Community Centre, there will be a focus on youth services," the BPL stated in a news release.
Renovations on the space are expected to begin early next spring, with an anticipated opening to the public in the fall.
The cost to build the new branch is going to be funded from the city's development charges.
Jessop believes the reaction to the Letitia Heights Branch will be similar to what people living near the Holly branch already experience.
"We hear lots of stories from people in the neighbourhood that they feel at home in the Holly library. The programming really seems to resonate with people. Lots of patrons walk to that location, and they access services that are available in that plaza. There's a grocery store and lots of other things in there. It's a convenient way to access the library, and lots have said they really feel at home there."
The Barrie Public Library has its main branch downtown on Worsley Street and the Painswick Branch on Dean Avenue, near Big Bay Point Road and Yonge Street.
The Letitia Heights Branch is expected to open next fall.
