Waterfront development proposal revives hopes for new Sydney library

Staff and supporters of the James McConnell Memorial Library in Sydney were in the front row of the gallery at Cape Breton Regional council this weekas plans were unveiled for an "iconic" new library building.

The building would be the "centrepiece" of a multi-million dollar waterfront development proposed by Sydney developer Marty Chernin.

The development is just a concept at this point. Council has approved the vision, in principle.

Chernin must now work with the municipality and various private-sector partnersto come up with a detailed plan, and pull together the necessary funding from government and the private sector.

Still, for library supporters who've been campaigning for about 10years for a new or expanded library for Sydney, there's hope the project may finally take shape.

"We were very excited to see the library included in the overall vision," said FayeMacDougall, the regional librarian.

Sydney's McConnell library opened in 1960and was expanded in 1987. At 21,000 square feet, it's too small to house the collections, staff and programming for the 21st century.

"We are out of space at McConnell; the building is showing wear and tear. There's constantly things that have to be fixed and addressed," MacDougallsaid.

Parts of the building are also not accessible by wheelchair.

Pat Bates, the chair of the central library build committee, said a new library would need to be about double the size, or about 40,000 square feet.

Previous studies have suggested a new building could cost between$18 millionand $28 million, depending on the location.

Bates said those numbers could be quite differentif the library is part of a larger development. He said the committee will need to get a "much more accurate fix" on the costs.

Bates stressed, however, that a new library would play an important role in education, adding that there are significant problems with "literacy and numeracy" on the island.

MacDougallsaidthe next step will be to work with the developer and the municipalityon the design and the details.