Toronto Reference Library Gets $3M (CAD) in Federal Stimulus Funds
Money goes to $34 million expansion/renovation project
Norman Oder -- Library Journal, 10/19/2009
- Federal government sees library construction as stimulus
- Foundation aims to raise $10 million CAD
- Lead gift in May went to just-opened event space
In the United States, federal stimulus funds for libraries will focus especially on the expansion of broadband access, not library construction, but in Canada, the federal government will contribute $3 million CAD (about $2.92 million USD) to expand and improve the Toronto Reference Library.
"By improving one of Toronto’s largest libraries, the project will not only benefit the more than one million users from across the Greater Toronto Area (GTA) who currently enjoy the facility, but also increase annual visit rates by up to 40 per cent," stated Prime Minister Stephen Harper's office. "The project will modernize the building’s appearance, improve the building’s energy efficiency, provide new event space and create additional computer workstations to deliver better support for library visitors.
According to the Globe and Mail, the funds will be used for phase two of the five-year, $34 million expansion that began in 2007.
Once the federal government allowed nonprofit organizations to apply for pieces of a $4 billion (CAD) Infrastructure Stimulus Fund, the Toronto Public Library Foundation applied for the grant, the newspaper reported.
A lead gift of $3 million was announced in May by the Bluma Appel Community Trust; the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, a 16,800-square-foot event space, opened last month.
