Oak Ridges Library opens 7 days a week starting Feb. 2

You can access services from noon to 5 p.m.

Yorkregion.com
January 23, 2020
Sheila Wang

A new year means new hours for the newly opened public library in Richmond Hill.

The Oak Ridges Library will be open on Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. beginning Feb. 2, joining the Central Library in serving book-lovers and library-goers seven days a week.

The Richmond Hill Public Library Board announced the new hours on Jan. 21, on behalf of Greg Beros who was named board chair following David Bishop's resignation last November.

“This was a commitment I made to the residents, which was fully supported by the Library Board, and I am proud of our staff for making it a reality,” Beros said.

The new branch, located the corner of Yonge Street and Regatta Avenue, opened its door to the public on Nov. 12, 2019, despite massive delays. It replaced an outgrown storefront facility.

Statistics show the new location saw close to 13,000 visitors in December, its first full month. This figure reflects more than double the number of visitors to the old location during the same period in the previous year.

Meanwhile, the number of books checked out also experienced an uptick, where more than 25,000 copies of books were borrowd -- an increase by 10,000 copies from December 2018.

The $11,863,000 project boasts expanded collections and larger spaces designed for a variety of purposes, including MakerSpace technologies, a computer lab and study rooms.