Ottawa Citizen Editorial: Build a better library
Today's Ottawa Citizen has an editorial discussing libraries and the current state of the economy.
What does all this mean to Ottawa?
Our libraries, too, are newly relevant during the current economic downturn. For some, they represent a warm, interesting place to wait for a ride during the long, frigid transit strike, or to avoid the isolation of winter. For others, they offer a wealth of reading material that fits into a tightened budget, or a way into the world of electronic research and entertainment. And Ottawa residents are increasingly using library resources, through the web, from the comfort of their homes.
But Ottawa could do better.
The city badly requires a showcase for its library system. Ottawa desperately needs to replace the unsuitable downtown library with a building as vital as the system it represents.
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1 comment:
This is so relevant!
Yesterday, I attended an HRSDC Knowledge Talk on the Economic Downturn (read recession), and one of the guest speakers, Sherri Torjman from the Caledon Institute of Social Policy, touched on the value of social institutions in recessionary periods.
Check out her article "Put your Money where your Wealth is" in the Toronto Star, January 22, 2009, OpEd section: http://www.thestar.com/article/575063
"Focusing on roads, sewers and water systems makes it all too easy to forget the other core components of infrastructure – affordable housing, schools, libraries, recreation centres and museums that contribute to community well-being but often get overlooked in the spending mix"
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