Another shutdown at Sydney library renews calls for replacement

Supporters of a proposed Sydney, N.S., library say a Saturday closure at the James McConnell Memorial Library because of a problem with the furnace underscores the need to replace the aging building.

Staff first noticed the building was getting chilly on Thursday afternoon, said Lisa Mulak, interim regional librarian for the Cape Breton Regional Library. By Friday evening, they were wearing their jackets.

"I looked at the temperature on Saturday morning, I came in pretty early, and it was about 11 C," she said. "So I felt that was way too cold for the staff to work comfortably and for patrons to visit us."

The building is about 60 years old, and so is its furnace. It needs a new boiler, which will be installed as soon as possible. In the meantime, a temporary fix should allow the library to reopen Tuesday, said Allan Clarke, buildings director for the Cape Breton Regional Municipality.

This isn't the first time the library has had to close due to an uncomfortable interior temperature.

Neeta Kumar-Britten, a member of the build committee working to replace the aging library, said it closed last summer around 17 times because of excessive heat.

"Now, we're closing because of the cold," she said."And we're the second-largest municipality in Nova Scotiaand our patrons can't have access to the library a lot."

The build committee members hope this latest closure will alert people to the aging state of the building and its infrastructure.

While major issues, such asthe furnace breakdown, are rare, the building is showing other signs of wear and tear.

"We do have some leaks that have been ongoing over the years, which you notice more in the wintertime because snow is meltingand that sort of thing, so those sorts of things happen fairly regularly,"said Mulak.

CBRM is undertaking a study of the cost of operating a new library.

Council has not made a final decision on the project.

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