In 1989, the VPL Board undertook a community needs assessment to determine the future of the library. As a result, in November 1990 a referendum ballot addressed two questions to Vancouverites:
Was there a need for a new central Library, and a new branch in the Renfrew/Collingwood community? Sixty-nine percent of the population favourably supported the building program. In 1991, 300 West Georgia was selected as the site of the new Central Library. In 1992, Moshe Safdie and Associates and Downs/Archambault and Partners were selected as the architects for the Library Square project. In January 1993, the first excavation at the Library Square site took place, and on May 26, 1995 Vancouver Public Library's
new Central Library opened.
FAST FACTS
Architects:
Moshe Safdie and Associates and Downs/Archambault and Partners
Safdie designed Habitat ‘67 in Montreal, the National Gallery of Canada, the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts addition, Quebec City's Museum of Civilization, the Ottawa City Hall and the Centre for the Performing Arts in Vancouver (across Homer Street from the Central Library). More recently, Safdie designed the Central Library in Salt Lake City, USA and the newly expanded Yad Vashem Holocaust Museum in Jerusalem.
Downs/Archambault and partners has designed Canada Place, Kwantlen College in Langley, International Village in Vancouver, the YWCA Hotel in Vancouver, additions to Langara College and Britannia Community Services Centre among other projects.
Construction Company:
PCL Constructors Pacific Ltd.
Features of the new Central Branch at Library Square:
- the structure itself is a rectangle within an ellipse
- the library building has 9 floors, 7 of which are occupied by the library Levels 8 and 9 will be leased by the B.C. government for 20 years
- the library building is 35,150 square metres (380,000 square feet) of which 32,236 square metres (347,000 square feet) are occupied by the library
- books and materials are moved through the building by vertical and horizontal conveyors
- 51 kilometres of cable were laid in the library, including a vertical fibre-optic backbone
- 24 kilometres of shelves were installed
- there are 35 concrete columns per floor
- the seating capacity of the new library is 1,200
- the Library Square Conference Centre includes 2 meeting rooms (occupancy level: 60 in each room), one large meeting room (occupancy level: 300) and a prefunction space including the Moat Gallery
- there are 700+ parking stalls; bicycle racks are available around Library Square
Construction:
- in January 1993, excavation began at the Library Square site
- it took 26 months to complete the project
- the cost of the library, retail, daycare, and parkade: $106.8 million
- the cost of the Federal Tower: $50 million
The Move to the New Library:
- the cost of the move from 750 Burrard to Library Square: $300,000
- the total number of truckloads of material moved: 600
- the first book to arrive at the library: the World Bibliography of Bibliographies
Books and Materials:
More than 1.35 million items are housed in the Central Branch. This includes books, periodicals, microforms, and audiovisuals materials (videos,
CD's and audio cassettes).
Central Branch Statistics:
2004 Daily Average:
Circulation: 6,967
Patron Registration: 78
Traffic Count: 7,351
Reference Questions Answered: 2,193