Celebrate. The budget document tabled on 27 February contains a paragraph:
A New Partnership Between Library and Archives
Canada and the Ottawa Public Library
The Government also proposes to provide $73.3 million over six years, on a cash basis, starting in 2018–19, with $4.0 million per year ongoing, to support the construction and ongoing operations of a new joint facility that will house Library and Archives Canada and the Ottawa Public Library. This represents the Government’s share of the project, with the balance expected to be provided by the City of Ottawa. This new building will be an iconic community hub, a single door to the national library and archives, and a
world-class public library in Canada's capital city which will increase citizen participation in the community and improve access to Canada's history, culture and collective knowledge. It is expected that the new building will be completed by 2023.
The document contains a funding profile for the capital initiative starting in FY 2018/19 at $4 million, increasing to $12 million in 19/20, and about $18 million for the next three years for a total of $71 million.
There's a bit more detail included in this item from the Ottawa Citizen. When the proposal was originally presented genealogy was to be the major LAC component.
28 February 2018
A Red Letter Day for Genealogy at LAC and OPL
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3 comments:
It is still NOT clear what LAC services will be at this new facility [and what will happen to the 395 Wellington compound.] "[A] single door to the national library and archives" is meaningless. Where is the detail?
Of course not, this is just a promise of some money. This budget was a lot less $$$ than normal, but blue prints are not usually included.
The City of Ottawa still has its chance to screw this up.
While it's great to see some commitment, what BOTH facilities need is something very soon. OPL Central has been outdated and useless for well over a decade and talk about a new central branch has been going on since before I left Ottawa in 2006 (I'm Ottawa born and bred, been living in BC since 2006). Same with LAC. I worked there as a student for a summer in the mid-80s and even THEN things were started to fall apart. I remember the anxiety during every thunderstorm that a new leak would appear. So much was already being stored off site because a) there wasn't enough room and b) they were worried about damage.
They need action NOW!!!!!
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