New Windsor Public Library location a welcome home for some

The sun shines through french windows, making everything look warm and serene.

Away from the hustle and bustle of downtown Windsor, you can enjoy your own time here.

It is not only a sea of knowledge, but also a haven for many homeless people. Here is the new home of the Windsor Public Library. 

For a long time, the library acted as a the second home for Shannon Claude. He liked to sit on a small sofa with a pillar at the back. This location is almost the centre of the library, but it is not conspicuous.

Wearing metal earphones with a newspaper in hand, Claude’s attention strayed from the newspaper.

What Claud really likes about visiting the library is watching people around him. He loves talking to people here, and exchanging stories is one of the best things in the world, he said. 

“There’s good people I’ve met many from all walks of life connect and I’ve shared Information with them. They share love with them all,” Claude said.

“You can see the negative and you can see the positive.  So, I treat everyone with respect, and everyone should treat each other as themselves. And then you’ll find that you’ll live forever doing that.”

On Feb. 3, Windsor Public Library’s central branch opened in a new temporary facility at the Paul Martin Building. Meanwhile, the library’s former location at the 850 Ouellette Ave. was closed. The library will occupy two floors of 185 Ouellette. The renovation of the library’s 11,000 square-foot space and second-floor offices cost $1.77 million. Recently, many people talk about the relocation of the library, so the comparison between the old and new libraries is inevitable. 

“This one is brighter. And the layout is more functional. The other library was dull. The frequency was negative. This is more comfortable,” Claude said.

Claude has been a regular here for the last three months sand said it didn’t take long for him to feel at home. 

 

On Feb. 20, 2018, the Windsor Public Library Board authorized the sale of the central library to the Downtown Mission. The central library was temporarily moved to the Paul Martin building for a period of five to seven years while a new central library is designed and built. As a result of the move, WPL will lose revenue from Ontario Early Years and other room rental income because its allocation of space in the Paul Martin Building does not include leasable areas. A budget cut of $7,000 was needed to make up for lost revenue. 

“The 185 Ouellette site is in a prime location close to bus and bicycle routes with plenty of parking available in the area and convenient to St. Clair College and University of Windsor students,” said Windsor Public Library CEO Kitty Pope.

“Materials and resources not making the move to the new location have been distributed to other library branches. Library staff has worked hard to ensure 185 Ouellette is a welcoming public library space.”

Public libraries are libraries that serve the public and are generally supported by government revenue. Unlike professional libraries, public libraries can serve from children to adults, that is, all ordinary residents. Provides non-professional books, public information, Internet access and library education. Such libraries also collect books and information related to local characteristics and provide places for community activities. 

The era of knowledge economy requires people to have lifelong learning. As an infrastructure, the public library plays an active role in providing quality services for citizens’ reading and learning and guaranteeing knowledge innovation. Governments at all levels take the public library as a major event, because its development is an important measure of the level of civilization in a region.