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Grand Bibliothèque's opening soon, not just a central library, but an archive of literature and history. What do you guys think of it? Is it a cultural masterpiece? An architectural beauty? Should other cities get it? The article mentions Vancouver having a recent new Central Library, and I know Ottawa's itching to replace their outdated one.
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New library aims to get Quebeckers reading
Grande Bibliothèque is worthy of its name, CEO says. But will it create book lovers?
By INGRID PERITZ
Friday, April 29, 2005 Page A14
MONTREAL -- It's shaped like a shoebox and its colour is best described as hospital-gown green. To the passerby, Montreal's vaunted new megalibrary might not look like the shrine to literacy and culture that its boosters had promised.
But after years of debate, the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec is finally ready, rising on an entire block in the bohemian -- if slightly seamy -- Latin Quarter of Montreal.
The monument lifts Montreal into the growing list of cities, from Seattle and Vancouver to Paris, that have made large central libraries the newest pet civic project. Montreal's new library is modern, high-tech and central. But the provincially funded project, which cost $97.6-million to build and another $44-million to stock and equip, is also a gamble: Will it get Quebeckers reading?
"When it comes to public libraries, Quebec was behind, and Montreal was especially far behind," said library CEO Lise Bissonnette, who used to be known for her trenchant pro-sovereignty editorials when she was publisher of the daily Le Devoir.
"I can't solve all the reading problems in Quebec," she said in an interview. "But this is an indispensable tool. It brings Montreal to an excellent level in North America with a library worthy of its name."
The library is certainly an impressive undertaking. Scheduled to open to the public tomorrow after its official inauguration today, the six-level building is in the heart of eastern downtown and offers a collection of 1.2 million books. It has lots of comfy armchairs, 400 computer stations, and plenty of music CD listening posts. The interior is airy and inviting, and the children's section takes over the basement. No fustiness here: A café with outdoor terrace is planned for the main floor and space for second-hand booksellers will be outside.
"We call it a citizens' meeting place," Ms. Bissonnette said. "It's the new cultural institution of the 21st century."
In addition to being Montreal's central library, it also houses Quebec's "national" library collection, which includes virtually everything ever published in the province -- from 18th-century catechism texts to Mordecai Richler's acerbic critiques of Quebec nationalists. One-third of the collection is in English.
The library is earning kudos in a city that takes culture seriously, yet hasn't built a major public project related to culture since the early 1990s. Still, the nagging question is whether one grand monument will help create a province of book lovers.
Montreal's neighbourhood libraries are criticized as being understaffed and underfinanced. Public libraries across the province stock 2.5 books for each Quebec user, compared with three in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Quebeckers borrow 5.9 library books a year compared with 10.1 in the other three provinces. Quebec has about one-quarter the number of librarians in its public system that Ontario does.
The poor showing is often called a legacy of the Catholic Church; according to popular lore, when advocates obtained a $150,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation for a new Montreal library in the early 1900s, church authorities forced them to refuse it.
"For the Catholic Church, books were very dangerous," said Réjean Savard, a professor of library sciences at the University of Montreal. "The truth wasn't supposed to be found in books, but in the priest. So the church blocked libraries' development. You can understand why we're behind today."
How to solve the lag? Experts say the best way to prod the public into libraries is through welcoming, neighbourhood branches. A child won't walk downtown to do his homework or attend an after-school program.
"To foster the culture of reading and literacy, branch libraries are so important," said Don Butcher, executive director of the Canadian Library Association.
Funding will also be crucial. Premier Jean Charest will be on hand to inaugurate the library today, although it was the preceding Parti Québécois government, which saw the library as an expression of its cultural ambitions, that approved it. Over the weekend, 20,000 to 30,000 people are expected for an open house. Once the library gets going, 5,000 visitors are expected to step through its doors each day.
"This library will fill a major void, because we didn't have a decent main library," Prof. Savard said. "We're making the gamble that by building a big library, we'll raise the level of the entire network. I think it will work. But what I'm worried about is that we'll say we've made the effort, then stop.
"We're far from having caught up," he said. "And the battle isn't over."
____________________________________
New library aims to get Quebeckers reading
Grande Bibliothèque is worthy of its name, CEO says. But will it create book lovers?
By INGRID PERITZ
Friday, April 29, 2005 Page A14
MONTREAL -- It's shaped like a shoebox and its colour is best described as hospital-gown green. To the passerby, Montreal's vaunted new megalibrary might not look like the shrine to literacy and culture that its boosters had promised.
But after years of debate, the Grande Bibliothèque du Québec is finally ready, rising on an entire block in the bohemian -- if slightly seamy -- Latin Quarter of Montreal.
The monument lifts Montreal into the growing list of cities, from Seattle and Vancouver to Paris, that have made large central libraries the newest pet civic project. Montreal's new library is modern, high-tech and central. But the provincially funded project, which cost $97.6-million to build and another $44-million to stock and equip, is also a gamble: Will it get Quebeckers reading?
"When it comes to public libraries, Quebec was behind, and Montreal was especially far behind," said library CEO Lise Bissonnette, who used to be known for her trenchant pro-sovereignty editorials when she was publisher of the daily Le Devoir.
"I can't solve all the reading problems in Quebec," she said in an interview. "But this is an indispensable tool. It brings Montreal to an excellent level in North America with a library worthy of its name."
The library is certainly an impressive undertaking. Scheduled to open to the public tomorrow after its official inauguration today, the six-level building is in the heart of eastern downtown and offers a collection of 1.2 million books. It has lots of comfy armchairs, 400 computer stations, and plenty of music CD listening posts. The interior is airy and inviting, and the children's section takes over the basement. No fustiness here: A café with outdoor terrace is planned for the main floor and space for second-hand booksellers will be outside.
"We call it a citizens' meeting place," Ms. Bissonnette said. "It's the new cultural institution of the 21st century."
In addition to being Montreal's central library, it also houses Quebec's "national" library collection, which includes virtually everything ever published in the province -- from 18th-century catechism texts to Mordecai Richler's acerbic critiques of Quebec nationalists. One-third of the collection is in English.
The library is earning kudos in a city that takes culture seriously, yet hasn't built a major public project related to culture since the early 1990s. Still, the nagging question is whether one grand monument will help create a province of book lovers.
Montreal's neighbourhood libraries are criticized as being understaffed and underfinanced. Public libraries across the province stock 2.5 books for each Quebec user, compared with three in Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Quebeckers borrow 5.9 library books a year compared with 10.1 in the other three provinces. Quebec has about one-quarter the number of librarians in its public system that Ontario does.
The poor showing is often called a legacy of the Catholic Church; according to popular lore, when advocates obtained a $150,000 grant from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation for a new Montreal library in the early 1900s, church authorities forced them to refuse it.
"For the Catholic Church, books were very dangerous," said Réjean Savard, a professor of library sciences at the University of Montreal. "The truth wasn't supposed to be found in books, but in the priest. So the church blocked libraries' development. You can understand why we're behind today."
How to solve the lag? Experts say the best way to prod the public into libraries is through welcoming, neighbourhood branches. A child won't walk downtown to do his homework or attend an after-school program.
"To foster the culture of reading and literacy, branch libraries are so important," said Don Butcher, executive director of the Canadian Library Association.
Funding will also be crucial. Premier Jean Charest will be on hand to inaugurate the library today, although it was the preceding Parti Québécois government, which saw the library as an expression of its cultural ambitions, that approved it. Over the weekend, 20,000 to 30,000 people are expected for an open house. Once the library gets going, 5,000 visitors are expected to step through its doors each day.
"This library will fill a major void, because we didn't have a decent main library," Prof. Savard said. "We're making the gamble that by building a big library, we'll raise the level of the entire network. I think it will work. But what I'm worried about is that we'll say we've made the effort, then stop.
"We're far from having caught up," he said. "And the battle isn't over."
