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Community Engagement

Here’s how your ideas and inspiration have informed the new central library!

We committed to building a new central library with, not for, the Saskatoon community. This meant involving the community in meaningful ways throughout the central library planning and design process, resulting in a library that reflects the traditions and aspirations of our incredible community.

We began in 2018 when we invited the community to share their vision for Saskatoon’s new central library with us. After compiling all responses and feedback received, we found residents wanted a new central library that:

  1. Is a welcoming and accessible hub.
  2. Has space for a large and diverse collection of materials.
  3. Has a variety of spaces to meet the needs of the community.
  4. Is a place for learning and innovation.

Between January 2021 and February 2022, we engaged the community in a year-long consultation process to understand their needs and wants for a new library. We used various methods to gather ideas and inspiration, including pop-up events, online surveys, discussion forums, community workshops, kitchen table kits and stakeholder meetings.

We involved the community in all four phases of the library’s design. At the end of each phase, we produced a What We Heard report to share themes that emerged during consultations. In addition to broad community consultation, we also created volunteer Resident Advisory Committees. These committees were comprised of community leaders, advocates, experts and community members with lived experience. They supported the project team by reviewing concepts and plans, providing feedback and proposing solutions to design challenges, as requested. We met with each advisory committee four times over 14 months. The Resident Advisory Committees were:

  • Knowledge Keepers & Elders
  • Accessibility
  • Business
  • Children & Caregivers
  • Creation & Innovation
  • Employment & Education
  • Inclusion
  • Local History
  • Older Adults
  • Poverty & Homelessness
  • Program & Service Partnerships
  • Public Health & Safety
  • Teens

We appreciate the thousands of Saskatoon residents who contributed their ideas and inspiration. We are particularly grateful to our Resident Advisory Committee members who volunteered to bravely share their stories, personal challenges and dreams for themselves and their community. During these discussions, we gained invaluable feedback from people who genuinely have our community’s best interests at heart. Despite inevitable differences in perspective, opinions and approaches, a love for the library and Saskatoon was evident in every conversation. We were moved by your passion and desire to make the new central library a welcoming place for everyone. We learned so much from you. This library and our community are much better for your contributions.

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Visioning

November 2018

Very early in this project, we asked the community what types of spaces they’d most like to see in a new central library. Thanks to the over 2,000 people who shared their thoughts!

Read the What We Heard Report: Visioning

1

Concept Design

April 2021

This report summarizes the major themes that emerged from input and ideas we heard during the Concept Design consultations that took place in early 2021. The concept design for the new central library aligns with the project’s strategic vision, which is to build a library that’s infused with the spirit and the potential of the community, and to be a leader in reconciliation, sustainability and accessibility.

Read the What We Heard Report: Concept Design

2

Schematic Design

August 2021

The schematic design of the new central library focuses on the layout of interior spaces. See how community input gathered during June of 2021 helped influence the library’s design.

Read the What We Heard Report: Schematic Design

WWH Report Cover Finishing Touches

Design Detail

March 2022

Thanks to everyone who provided feedback on the finishing touches for Saskatoon’s new central library. This input will help the design team finalize the library’s design.

Read the What We Heard Report: Design Detail