Newmarket library plans 'transformational change,' service improvements

Bookmobiles and pop-ups considered, but board sidestepping question of new building

Newmarkettoday.ca
Feb. 16, 2022
Joseph Quigley

Newmarket’s Public Library is working to overhaul and modernize its programming while putting the idea of a new building aside for now.

The library presented a new strategic plan to municipal council Feb. 14, outlining the organization’s plans to improve customer service, increase its technology and deliver services throughout the town. However, council discussed the plan excluding a desire for a new building.

Library CEO Tracy Munusami, who has served in the role for approximately six months, said she has worked to understand the community in her time here so far.

“I hope to lead the library to enable transformational change in Newmarket, and to re-establish the library as a pillar of the community,” Munusami said.

The 2022-2025 strategic plan, the library’s first since 2016, has been in the works for several months with consulting and architectural firms. It includes 25 action items, including a customer-service-focused library layout, an outreach program for “pop-up” libraries in the community, and lending of digital technology.

Its statement of purpose is "connecting with our community, we inspire curiosity and discovery," and Munusami said they want to provide local residents the answers they need.

But Deputy Mayor Tom Vegh questioned the idea of pursuing a new building. He said he thought it was part of the prior strategic plan, though the summary of the 2013-2016 plan only makes mention of possibilities for satellite service delivery and extending services beyond the main location.

However, board member Darryl Gray said they have discussed the idea. But he added they want to better understand current programming and improve existing assets before seeking a new space beyond their downtown home.

"(We want) to make sure we had the programming and the services we deliver to the community right before we went down that road,” Gray said. “We may get to that point, where we decide as an organization and in partnership with the municipality, we need a new library, but we’re certainly not there.”

“Let’s find out what we’re doing well, what does the community need,” library board member Councillor Victor Woodhouse said. “Rather than simply saying, ‘Every other community has a library that’s significantly larger than ours, therefore, let’s build a new one.’”

The report to council notes that Newmarket falls below average in several benchmarks compared to comparable library systems, including per capita financial support, materials expenditure per capita, hours open per week, staffing ratios per capita, and population served per branch.
Munusami also highlighted plans to make the library as “inclusive a space as possible.”

She also said the library space needs to evolve to be more customer-friendly and meet changing demands. She said they hope to innovate with ideas like bookmobiles.

“Gone are the days of stacks on stacks of shelving for information,” Munusami said.

Councillor Kelly Broome, who also serves on the library board, said there is no easy way to decide where future library locations might be, and the organization does not want to take things away from communities.

She added that technology will be key going forward.

“The library I went to when I was 10 years old is not the library we go to today,” Broome said.