THUNDER BAY – When the Brodie Resource Library reopens in the fall, it will be a very different space.
"We're looking at how this building is being used in the community and in this neighbourhood, and how we can serve our neighbourhood better,” head librarian Ruth Hamlin-Douglas told Newswatch, shortly after announcing that the Brodie branch will close for the summer, starting on June 16.
The closure will speed up already planned renovations, she said.
“So really, while it is also to do with safety and security and giving staff an opportunity for training, for debriefing over some incidents that we've had recently, the bigger picture is we were always going to do this.”
The renovations will involve rearranging the library floor plan, she explained. Library patrons will no longer be able to access the lower level, except to use the bathrooms. All library materials will be brought to the upper level.
The Brodie library will have a “slightly smaller collection,” according to Hamlin-Douglas, and the library will cycle through its collection “so that it feels fresh.”
For security purposes, she said, the front desk and shelves will be moved to allow for staff a better line of sight on patrons, as well as reviewing its camera placement to find the best spots for surveillance. Staff will also get trained on security protocols.
The temporary closure at the Brodie branch is only part of a large restructuring of the library system, Hamlin-Douglas said.
“It's really holistic. It's not just one piece. It all sort of fits together,” said Hamlin-Douglas.
The Friends of the Library will be moving to the Waverley branch, freeing up space at Brodie. The cataloguing and IT departments will then move from Waverley to the lower level at Brodie, essentially freeing up more space at Waverley for public use.
The closure will also allow the library to allocate more security staff to the Waverley Resource Library over the summer.
The library recently hired two security guards and intended to have one stationed at each downtown branch, Hamlin-Douglas said.
But, “with Brodie having that closure, obviously their focus is going to be on Waverley for the initial period, and then, probably ... spending time at Brodie even during the closure to become familiar with the building, with the neighbourhood, have input into the changes that we're making,” Hamlin-Douglas said.
She said staff will still be working on-site reorganizing the collection at Brodie during the closure. However, some will also be redeployed to cover other branches if necessary.
She said their goal is to have the Brodie site reopened by September.
“We're better using our space at Brodie so that we can serve the neighbourhood, but also the broader community better,” Hamlin-Douglas said.
“Part of what's really kind of beautiful about the timing of this is we know that a lot of our patrons who are struggling need us most in the winter months," she said.
"They need somewhere warm to spend some time in the daytime, so by doing our closure in the summer, it actually has less impact on that community.”
