Use of Public Space at 395 Wellington Street: 2012 and beyond

The following notice dated August 19, 2011 now appears on the LAC website.

In order to align the use of public spaces at 395 Wellington Street with government-wide practices, effective January 1, 2012, Public Works and Government Services Canada (PWGSC) will assume responsibility for the use of the ground floor public spaces at this location. The public spaces include the Auditorium, the Auditorium Foyer, Room A, the Main Entrance Lobby, Room 154 and Room 156. All existing bookings made by Library and Archives Canada for 2011 will be honoured.

Library and Archives Canada will continue to update this webpage as more information becomes available. For further information, please write to PWGSC at Biensimmobiliers.RealProperty@tpsgc-pwgsc.gc.ca.

Comment
Many organizations have long been using these facilities in cooperative pursuit of their own and LAC's mandate. Now that LAC is abandoning this aspect of how it does business there is naturally concern that as Public Works and Government Services Canada does not have such a cultural mandate there will be a significant impact on the user community. The present uncertainty regarding availability, and on what terms, for 2012 and beyond is not helpful to such organizations embarking on their programs for the next 12 months.