Visitors to the Leamington branch of the Essex County Library will have more options available to them.
Dozens of current and former employees of the library joined local and provincial dignitaries at the library Monday morning, for the official grand opening of the expanded facility. Essex County Warden Gary McNamara and Chatham-Kent-Leamington MPP Rick Nicholls joined Leamington Mayor Hilda MacDonald in the official launch of the expansion, with Caroline Mulroney, Ontario's Minister of Transportation and Francophone Affairs, among the attendees. The media event was followed by a public open house where tours were offered.
The renovation to the library had been in the works for about a year, though talk about expansion has taken place since at least 2014.
The library not only has the obligatory selection of print and audiobooks with more volumes added, but also additional space to make the library more welcoming for social interaction. Leamington's large refugee population will be able to benefit from having the library as a place to go to learn English and French, as well as read and socialize. An additional 1,500 square feet of space has been added to the building, which has housed the library since the mid-1950s.
It was an emotional day for MacDonald, who held back tears when she talked about how the Leamington library helped her as a child. The mayor was born in Austria and came to Canada as a little girl, speaking only German.
"It still chokes me up because I have a tender heart for people coming here where English isn't their first language," said MacDonald. "To me, this is where I came. This is where I learned to read. This is where I developed my love of books."
In addition to the social spaces included in the expanded library, a Maker Space for 3D printing and crafts is included, a video production lab, and a state-of-the-art recording studio is available.
"We have such a strong music component to our community," said MacDonald. "There are drums in there, there's a keyboard, there are so many things where kids will be able to come and work on music."
Complete information on the new features of the Leamington branch library can be found on the official Essex County Library website.