The Sheep River Library board is ready to release the flood gates when it moves into its new space in Turner Valley.

Sheep River Library board chair Diane Osberg says it is ready with a floor plan concept for a new library, so when Turner Valley council has the finances in place it can begin working an architect. photo by Tamara Neely

Library board chair Diane Osberg said the library’s books, services and classes are expanding to provide an increasing population in the High Country area, but they are quickly running out of space in their Black Diamond location. The collections of books, four computers, video conferencing equipment and meeting area is being housed in a 3,000 square foot space. According to Alberta library standards, to serve the population of the High Country area they should have 4,500 square feet. Factoring in projected growth in the area, the board would like the new library space to be between 8,000 and 10,000 square feet.

“This year we’re offering 50 courses from January through June and we feel that by the end of the year we’ll have offered 100 courses in our teeny, tiny little place,” said Osberg.

The board has already researched the most current library concepts across Alberta, defined a wishlist for their new space and sketched out a preliminary floor plan. However, the board is not steering the project of securing a new space.

“We’ll just go where we’re put,” said Osberg.

In August the Town of Turner Valley took over managing the new library project from Diamond Valley Centre 78 Society when an infrastructure grant of $1.8 million was awarded to the Town for a new library building. The Town is now in the position of having to match one-third of that grant and complete construction by March 2011 to utilize the grant.

In July Coun. Garry Pollock said Turner Valley would look to Black Diamond and the MD of Foothills to contribute funds to help them come up with $983,000, the amount the Town needs to match in order to access the $1.9 million federal-provincial-municipal matching grant.

Once the Town of Turner Valley has secured funding, Osberg said the board will meet with an architect to draw up floor plans.

Architectural plans have been a contentious issue between the Town of Turner Valley and the Centre 78 Society. The society has already paid for architectural plans for a multi-use community centre that included a new library space.

Society chair Tyler Bray said the Town is welcome to use the plans, but they want compensation for the cost of the plans. Since taking over the project, however, the Town has decided to construct a standalone building, rather than a complex as per the society’s plan.

In addition, Osberg said the board only had a preliminary meeting with the architect and architectural plans were not drawn up for a library floor plan.

“We’ve never been asked, from that point on, for input on a floor plan. So as far as I know, there wasn’t one,” said Osberg. “We started that research when Centre 78 asked us to start preparing what we’d like the interior to look like, so at some point in time, if definite plans are in place for a new facility, we have to be ready with that information. And we’re ready.”

Osberg said she is excited about the increased services and reading materials the library offers. The expanded collections and services guided the board’s vision of a new floor plan.

Among the services offered, the library has the ability to bring in books from any library in Alberta, including university libraries; the ability to host classes from banking to cooking to art; and the ability to offer teleconferencing to connect an audience in the library with an event or lecture going on anywhere in the world.

Being a focal point in the community, the library board has determined they need more space for classes and meetings, offices for their staff, room to increase their desktop computers from four to eight and backroom work area to organize incoming and outgoing books.

“Once the two towns (Turner Valley and Black Diamond) have determined the affordable square footage it will then be our responsibility to discuss the floor plan configuration that will make the best use of space for good library services,” said Osberg. “So we’re pretty excited about that.”

tneely@okotoks.greatwest.ca

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