Plans show 1st detailed glimpse of new central library

Updated floor plans of Ottawa's new central libraryoffer a first glimpse of what the landmark facility will look like, though its due date has been pushed back a bit.

According to a reportto be tabled at next week's Ottawa Public Library Board, the official opening has been pushed back from 2024 to 2025.

The building, which will be situated at the eastern edge ofLeBreton Flats,has also been reduced from six storeys to five, andwill include an area devoted to Indigenous people and the study of their culture.

According to the report, there will be less space for Ottawa Public Library (OPL) staff than originally planned, adding more space for other functions. The space will be split 60-40 between the OPL andLibrary and Archives Canada.

The ground floor will include an open "town square," exhibition space and a space for Library and Archives preservation.

The second floor includes an area for programming related to Indigenous people, specifically the Algonquin people who have inhabitedwhat's now the National Capital Region for thousands of years.

The city report said staff have been consulting specifically with people fromKitigan Zibi and Pikwakanaganto design the space.

Additional consultationwith local Indigenous communitiesincluding Inuit and Mtis are planned for later this month.

The floor plan for the third floor shows space for the OPL'steen collection and creative spaces, including some kind of 3D printing lab.

There's a significant space for Library and Archives Canada employees on the same level.

The OPL's adult fiction and non-fiction collection will be on the fourth and fifth floors. There's a music and instrument rental section and a rehearsal room there, too.

Plans for the fifth floor also showa rooftop terrace and caf withviews toward the Ottawa River and Parliament Hill.

Underground, there are 200 parking spaces on two levels.

The drawings in the report are part of the preliminary design phase for the$192.9-million project, funded mostly by the city with a major contribution from the federal government.

More detailed designs are expected to be completed by March 2020, with contracts drawn up by the end of 2020

The staff report says contract documents are expected to be drawn up by the end of 2020.