My Wishlist for the Saskatoon Central Library

Since coming back in Saskatoon last year, I have been very excited at the prospect of having a new central library. The thought of having more books, archived materials and better reading/ studying space is exciting. 

The City of Kitchener opened their new central library in 2014. The location of the library itself was not the greatest, considering it was almost a 10 min walk from the Charles Street bus terminal and the GO train station. However it did have a café on the main floor adjacent to the light reading material and non- fiction section. 

Accessibility is very important for a library. Considering Saskatoon does not exactly have a proper transportation terminal, there should be a bus exchange on the main floor similar to the Balmoral RT hub in Winnipeg. There should also be secure bike parking for those who wish to ride their bikes to the library in the spring, summer and fall. 

Considering the library is going to the using the gold standard in LEED design, I presume that there would be huge amounts of natural light, solar panels and automatic shades. On top of that it would be nice to have either a roof top garden and or hanging gardens both with the option of a seed exchange. 

The "Saskatoon New Central Library Business Case" of September 2019 talks about the functional plan for the new library on Page 20. What should be included should be things like musical instruments and hedge trimmers as well, when it comes to borrowable materials. 

The library is only set to open in 2026 and even though it seems as if I may have missed the boat to put in my 2 cents, there is always time for feedback.