L’Association canadienne française de l’Alberta (ACFA) will have a more visible presence in Jasper at its new home in the town’s expanded library, a move made possible with $125,000 in provincial funding the group received this weekend.

“We always thought that it would be a good thing for the French association and the library to join together,” said Marie-France Miron, vice-president of ACFA’s Jasper branch.

The group has been looking for a new space in Jasper for the past five years, Miron added. It is currently based out of the basement of the train station as part of an “excellent agreement” it has had with Parks Canada since 2005.

“Parks Canada is giving us that space for free,” Miron said. “In exchange the French association is giving some free French classes for their employees.”

The only problem, she said, is that the non-profit organization has little visibility and accessibility in that location, which was only intended to be temporary anyway.

“We had to find another location,” Miron said. “But it was hard for us to find a place that’s affordable.”

Once the idea of the library expansion was raised about four years ago, ACFA and librarian Judy Krefting figured it would make sense to combine resources, as the project presented an opportunity to provide the French association with a new home while providing the library with additional resources in French.

“It just seemed like a really good fit,” Krefting said. “We thought they would be able to help us with the French services and their collection. Their collection will be integrated into our regular collection.”

There was only one thing standing in the way.

“We had to raise some money first,” Miron said.

With the municipality asking the Friends of the Library to contribute $300,000 towards the project, Miron said the French association agreed to help raise those funds in exchange for a guaranteed space in the new facility.

She said ACFA managed to raise $50,000 and the Friends of the Library raised $45,000. Alberta’s Francophone Secretariat agreed to contribute another $30,000 and also provided what Miron described as invaluable guidance and expertise in applying for additional grants.

They then had a total of $125,000 and were eligible for a matching grant under the provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program. West Yellowhead MLA Robin Campbell presented Miron with a cheque on Saturday for the additional $125,000, bringing the total to $250,000.

Fundraising efforts for the final $50,000 are ongoing, Krefting said.

“Anyone wanting to donate to the project, they do receive a tax deductible receipt,” she noted.

In addition to the $300,000 in capital costs, the library is also looking to raise another $200,000 on top of that to help pay for furniture and equipment in the expanded facility.

For more information on how to donate, contact Krefting at the library: 780-852-3652.