You raise some very important points here. When it comes to infrastructure and amenities of all kinds (including libraries!), it's true that municipalities are not as nimble as they ought to be at adjusting to changing demographics and population patterns.
Having grown up in Elmvale Acres, I can attest to the fact that the Elmvale Branch's origins lay in a bookmobile, which no doubt made various stops but was (if I recall rightly) almost always at Vincent Massey School (a K-8 school) on Saturdays until sometime in the 1960s with the expansion of Elmvale Shopping Centre. I loved it as a kid, particularly during the summer holidays, as I could easily walk or cycle there. So I definitely share your view that libraries in shopping centres are great for kids and teens, who might otherwise have to rely on someone to drive them there.
For most of my adulthood, I've lived in Nepean (first as a township, then as a separate city, and now as part of a geographically huge City of Ottawa). When we first moved here, the library branch on Capilano was the main branch of the Nepean Public Library. When the Centrepointe Library became the main library for Nepean, the library on Capilano closed and a considerably downsized version moved into Emerald Plaza. Centrepointe wasn't as close for us, but at least it was readily accessible via public transit (we didn't acquire a car until our daughter was five or six and to this day, I've never learned to drive nor do I really want to).
Amalgamation is another huge issue but in terms of libraries, it actually served us well. As Nepean residents, we had had to pay an annual fee to use the Ottawa Public Library system, something I greatly resented, given how much money we were already putting into the Ottawa economy!
Agreed that Amalgamation improved the library situation in Ottawa! Living in the Cumberland side of Orléans, I had to pay the same non-resident user fee.
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branchandroot
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Date: 2026-01-07 01:10 am (UTC)Having grown up in Elmvale Acres, I can attest to the fact that the Elmvale Branch's origins lay in a bookmobile, which no doubt made various stops but was (if I recall rightly) almost always at Vincent Massey School (a K-8 school) on Saturdays until sometime in the 1960s with the expansion of Elmvale Shopping Centre. I loved it as a kid, particularly during the summer holidays, as I could easily walk or cycle there. So I definitely share your view that libraries in shopping centres are great for kids and teens, who might otherwise have to rely on someone to drive them there.
For most of my adulthood, I've lived in Nepean (first as a township, then as a separate city, and now as part of a geographically huge City of Ottawa). When we first moved here, the library branch on Capilano was the main branch of the Nepean Public Library. When the Centrepointe Library became the main library for Nepean, the library on Capilano closed and a considerably downsized version moved into Emerald Plaza. Centrepointe wasn't as close for us, but at least it was readily accessible via public transit (we didn't acquire a car until our daughter was five or six and to this day, I've never learned to drive nor do I really want to).
Amalgamation is another huge issue but in terms of libraries, it actually served us well. As Nepean residents, we had had to pay an annual fee to use the Ottawa Public Library system, something I greatly resented, given how much money we were already putting into the Ottawa economy!
no subject
Date: 2026-01-07 02:27 am (UTC)