26 May Ottawa Public Library questionnaire about future central library
Participate in an online questionnaire about the new Ottawa Central Library location
Help shape the criteria that will be used to evaluate potential locations for the new flagship Ottawa Central Library. You have until Thursday, June 9 (midnight) to complete the questionnaire online at www.OttawaCentralLibrary.ca, or by using public access computers available at any of the Ottawa Public Library’s 33 branches.
The questionnaire is an opportunity for you to rate a list of location factors that was developed with community input, technical expertise, and best practice research. This is your opportunity to identify what is important to you in selecting a site for this city-building initiative. The Ottawa Public Library (OPL) Board will be asked to approve the evaluation criteria and weighting at the July 12 meeting.
In a concurrent process the OPL, working with the City of Ottawa, launched a call-out to identify publicly- and privately-owned sites within the city’s Central Area that could be suitable for the Ottawa Central Library. The sites identified through the call-out, which closed on May 20, will be compiled in a site inventory that will be made public after the site criteria are approved.
The sites in the inventory will be evaluated and analyzed against the Board-approved criteria. This will result in a short-listing of potential sites, which will undergo financial analysis and due diligence. The OPL Board will make a decision before the end of the year regarding the financial framework, potential partnership with Library and Archives Canada (LAC), a project delivery method, and location. The OPL Board will recommend a best approach to Ottawa City Council.
Ground-breaking for the Ottawa Central Library is expected in the spring of 2018 with official opening of a new iconic library in 2020.