Community Need

We envision a city that learns, grows and belongs together like never before. Just as it did in the beginning, the library needs champions like you to unite around this vision.

Since 1913, SPL’s mandate has been to inspire lifelong learning and support the development of literacy skills through the sharing of collections, spaces, programs and services.

Over the years, our mandate hasn’t changed, but community needs and how we meet them have.

While the first library board wouldn’t recognize the tools and technology we use today, they would recognize our values and commitment to learning and literacy. The concept of literacy used to be limited to reading, writing and basic math. Today, literacy is broader and encompasses the many ways we learn and make meaning.

Successfully navigating modern life depends on having 21st-century literacies. To develop these literacies, people need access to digital tools and technology. They require opportunities to play, explore and create. And they need ways to share stories, ideas, oral traditions, cultures and languages.

The way people seek information has evolved beyond books. Saskatoon’s new central library will include the spaces, programs, collections and services necessary to create limitless learning opportunities for generations to come.

As the population has grown, SPL has experienced growth in visitors, circulation and membership, with most of the demand placed on the central library.

With Saskatoon’s population anticipated to grow to 500,000, library space and service demands will increase. The fastest-growing demographics in Saskatoon also tend to be frequent users of library services, amplifying capacity pressures. Your city deserves a library that meets the needs of its residents now and into the future.

The new central library will usher in a new era of library service while building on a century-old legacy.

The plans for the new library will enable us to meet the needs of patrons now and for future generations. Extensive business planning, library-leading practices, building standards, the city’s plan for growth and SPL’s Strategic Plan informed the new central library project. Most importantly, the community has provided input, ideas and inspiration for the project every step of the way.

The new central library celebrates Saskatoon, its people and its history, affirming a time-honoured commitment to lifelong learning.