KAMLOOPS – A joint investment of $3.4 million from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia will help to build a new library for Kamloops and help to upgrade the library in 100 Mile House. The funding is provided through the Canada-B.C. Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund (CBCMRIF), which supports the continued growth of communities across B.C. as healthier, greener and more sustainable places to live. The announcement was made today by Betty Hinton, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Veterans Affairs and Member of Parliament for Kamloops-Thompson-Cariboo, and Claude Richmond, Minister of Employment and Income Assistance and MLA for Kamloops.
The Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) will receive $2 million to build a new 1,850-square-metre library, which will include a computer lab, reading garden and art gallery space. The new library doubles the size of existing library facilities and consolidates Kamloops’ library services into one location. In addition, the Cariboo Regional District (CRD) will receive more than $1.4 million to expand the existing 100 Mile House Library. The upgrades include a new mezzanine, multi-purpose rooms, reading lounges, parking stalls and online public access catalogue stations. The library expansion will fully integrate the existing facility into one building that will better serve the public.
The total amount available through the CBCMRIF, with federal and provincial investments and matching local government contribution, is over $220 million. More details on the program are available online at www.canadabcmrif.ca.
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100-465 Victoria Street [Map]
Kamloops BC
(250) 372-5145
Website: www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/about/kamloops.php
Editors Note: The Kamloops Library's main branch is approx 19,000 square feet and it's collection size at over 86,000 items. There are 7 Free Internet Access terminals available to the public as well as wireless internet.
North Kamloops Library
795 Tranquille Road [Map]
Kamloops BC
(250) 554-1124
Website: www.tnrdlib.bc.ca/about/northkamloops.php
Editors Note: The North Kamloops Library branch is approx 10,000 square feet and it's collection size at over 72,000 items. There are 6 Free Internet Access terminals available to the public.
The population of Kamloops is 84,000 as of June 2005. City planners predict the population will continue to grow steadily at a growth rate of 1.25 to 2 % annually over the next 5 years. Kamloops is the primary city within the Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD). the incorporated communities of Ashcroft, Cache Creek, Chase, Clinton, Logan Lake, Lytton, Merritt and Kamloops. The 2004 BC Stats Community Facts Population Estimates has estimated the population of the TNRD to be 127,195.
1 comment:
DQ,
The two libraries in Kamloops will remain separate. The downtown library will stay as is and it will be the North Kamloops Library that will go from 10,000 sq. ft. to 20,000 sq. ft. The library will be owned by the Regional District and they are at this time pursuing a public/private partnership for the upper floors. The Chief Librarian, Kevin Kierans, was not at liberty to disclose the nature of the Expression of Interest they have chosen to pursue.
Also, the population base the Regional District uses for the library is much higher than 84,000 but I am not at my Vernon computer--its about double Greater Vernon.
Finally, we don't know at this point what the cost of the building wil be in order to compare with the Vernon proposal. The North Kamloops library costs will be offset by that private partnership.
Kay Stamboulieh
kayos@shaw.ca
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