Main Branch 2nd Floor Redesign

BACKGROUND:

Since the end of the COVID-19  pandemic, the Main Branch of the library has been experiencing a steady increase in demand for service via the 2^nd floor. At the same time the city of New Westminster continues to experience increases in its population and therefore demand on library services are also increasing. At present the 2^nd floor of the Library’s Main Branch is currently home to a small collection of local history and heritage materials left over from a 2018 renovation project, while also housing art exhibit panels, meeting rooms, print and copying services, public computer access, digitization services and study seating. The current configuration of the floor, its furniture and services is increasingly seen as sub-optimal and no longer responsive to the current needs of our growing community.

The purpose of this project is to redesign the layout, furniture and public technology available on the 2^nd floor of the library’s Main Branch, to optimize and improve the user experience of services on the floor.

PROJECT HISTORY TO DATE:

In summer 2024 the library Board of Trustees authorized the library to devote grant funding received from the Province of British Columbia to the floor’s redesign and equipment upgrade.  This project will not include alterations to the actual physical structure of the floor, its walls or other architectural features, except where electrical or networking support may be needed.

In September, 2024 the library initiated consultation with both public and staff to identify areas for improvement and help determine how a redesign could enhance and optimize services on the floor.   Recommendations indicate that where possible, the library should primarily aim to:

• Improve the reliability and options available for public printing, copying and scanning

• Increase access to public computers and Wi-Fi

• Introduce more leisure reading seating

• Re-imagine the location and experience of art exhibits on the floor

• Increase opportunities for collaborative work projects and access to study rooms

• Provide greater access to charging outlets at individual study stations

• Provide more comfortable seating throughout all areas of the floor

• Improve access to digital literacy programing

• Improve noise management options

NEXT STEPS (AS OF NOVEMBER 20TH, 2024):

• An RFQ will be issued to recruit a design firm to propose a new layout for the 2^nd floor. The library will work to finalize a design plan by early 2025 with implementation and installation targeted for March/April, 2025, or earlier, depending on availability of new equipment and furniture.

• To prepare space on the floor, the library will relocate some collections from the 2^nd floor to the 1^st floor throughout November and early December. Other materials related to the city’s local heritage and history will be transferred to the New Westminster Museum and Archives (NWMA). These materials will help round out collections already partially transferred from the library to the NWMA in 2018, and help consolidate key archival and heritage resources in one location.

• Study tables and seating will temporarily be placed in the area vacated by current collections on the floor, while design planning takes place.