Library gets funds for expansion planning

As part of the 2009 Capital Budget, which was approved by Jasper Municipal Council on Feb. 3, $20,000 has been allocated for planning of an addition to the town’s library.

It has been decided that the Municipal Library should stay where it is and be expanded. The current space is about 3,500 square feet, said director of Library Services Judy Krefting. With the addition, the library will reach about 9,000 square feet. 

Counc. Mike Day expressed concern at the Feb. 3 council meeting about whether or not the addition would be big enough to meet the needs of the community. After the meeting, Counc. Zinck, who sits on the library board, followed up on this concern and dug out the growth study that was conducted a “while ago” and called for an 11,000 square foot library, she said. 

Both Counc. Zinck and Krefting said they are confident that the proposed expansion space will meet the needs of the community in the future. The study suggested a growth rate that was not in line with reality and a 9,000 square foot library will be able to meet the community’s needs well into the future, said Zinck, because “our community doesn’t grow that fast.”

Although in the very early stages of planning, Krefting said the extra space will be used for children’s programming, more shelving for a larger collection of books, spreading out the public use computers and generally having more space so people can enjoy the library and tailor their use to individual needs, including more space for customers using wireless internet. 

The priorities for the addition, said Krefting, are programming space and space for computers and books. Krefting is also looking for a “classroom type of room” where video conferencing equipment can be located. There are also plans to include public washrooms in the new addition.

Last year the library welcomed 33,000 people through its doors, said Krefting and “we get a lot of tourists coming in... so that’s a lot of people,” she said.