By Maisha Hasan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
As the weather cools and Burlington residents turn to indoor spaces for learning and connection, the Burlington Public Library’s newest branch is settling into its role at the heart of a growing community hub.
Open since early September inside the still under-construction Robert Bateman Community Centre, the new New Appleby branch offers triple the space of its former location. With its bright, spacious layout and new maker studios, the branch reflects the library’s growing role as a “third space” — a welcoming communal place beyond home or work to build community. The branch also includes a dedicated Brock University Library space, designed to expand access to research resources, academic support, and joint programming for students and community members alike: another example of how the site is fostering partnerships that strengthen the community.
In an interview with BPL’s CEO Lita Barrie, she discusses the branch’s progress, its community impact, and what’s next for the library system.
Why was Robert Bateman Community Centre chosen as a location?
In 2020, the Burlington Public Library board identified a need to do some work to figure out opportunities to relocate our existing Appleby branch. We were formerly located in Appleby View Plaza, and we’d been at that location for over 30 years, but it was quite small for the size of the community that we were serving. They knew that we needed to find a location, but it was a challenge to know what kind of opportunities were out there, because one of the things that we really find as a public library is that often we are most successful when we are working in collaboration with other organizations. We started by working with KPMG, and they did a southeast expansion study for the library, identifying some potential projects that were in the works that could be a good fit with an alternative location for the New Appleby branch. One of the locations that was identified in that report was the Bateman Community Centre site. It was just one of those wonderful situations where things just fell beautifully into place in terms of the city deciding to pursue acquiring that facility… here we are, a few short years later, all moved in with our doors open and welcoming the neighbourhood into this location that is three times the size of our previous branch.
Describe the challenges in planning this opening.
One of the challenges is always trying to find that nice balance between what we’re able to do reasonably and the needs of the community. So, finding that balance of recognizing the square footage that was allocated for the library and getting some community feedback, we were able to set priorities of what people really valued and what people were interested in. There have been sacrifices along the way, but where we ended up was in a really great place. There are still construction crews on site that continue to renovate other parts of the building, but we have no regrets in terms of opening our doors because so many people are enjoying and using the space, and it would have been such a shame for it to sit empty, waiting for all of the additional work to be completed.
Is there anything else new in terms of technology or services that this location offers that others may not?
We have had the makerspace at our Central library for a number of years. This past summer, we were able to open a maker station at our Alton branch in the north end, and that includes a 3D printer, a Cricut machine, some sewing machines, and different equipment for people to use. At the New Appleby location, we have launched two maker studios. Those studios are specifically designed for sound and media editing.
One of the studios focuses primarily on audio. We’re hoping that individuals who are doing voiceover for presentations or who are perhaps launching their podcast will be able to use this facility to do that, and the second one focuses more on the media editing piece. We’ve been able to move meeting room bookings entirely online. Otherwise, some of the things that people will notice when they visit the New Appleby branch are space and light, and lots of different places for people to work in, to meet in. Lots of the seating has power built into it. We have an expanded children’s area with some new facilities, toys, and equipment for kids and families to learn and play with. This new branch also has a much larger programming and event space.
In the past ten years, how has library usage changed?
Thinking back to the pandemic, we quickly shifted, and I think a lot of people rediscovered just the joy of being able to read because people had free time, and they were looking to fill that time. One of the things that we’ve noticed working through the pandemic is how much people are seeking an opportunity for human connection and how much harder that’s become for people of all ages. For many people, kids all the way through to seniors, loneliness and social connection are something that can be harder for people to come by. The amazing thing about a public library is that we are a community space that is open to people across their lifespan. I think we’re finding increasingly that people are seeking that, that they’re coming out in their community and they want to be in places where other people are.
What does success look like for this new location in its first year?
For us, success for year one for the New Appleby branch is really about making those connections with the community and making sure that our users from our former location find the new location, and that we can expand and reach new people. We’ve already started to see that in our very first week, with over 5000 visits to the new branch, which would be as many as we would see in our larger central library downtown.
Another measure of success for us for year one will really be making sure that we’re working collaboratively with all of the other partner organizations within the building so that we can not only connect residents to the library, but also connect them to the other resources that are there. The real measure of success for any public library is that it’s being used, that our collections are being used, that people are coming out to the free programs and events that we offer, and that they are finding items in our collection that resonate with them and meet their needs.
Beyond the first year, what are the library’s long-term goals for the system as a whole?
The library board has actually just been working on finalizing the Burlington Public Library’s next strategic plan, and we’ll be rolling that out a little bit later this year, so that we are doing this shorter time frame for our next strategic plan. It’ll be for 2026 through next year, 2027. And we’re really focused on some of the key areas that we’ve already been working on around ensuring that the library is working towards supporting community wellbeing and that we are working in a future-focused way so that our team as a workforce has the tools and resources they need to be able to really serve the changing needs of our community.
For more information on this newest branch, visit the BPL website.
