Pelham Public Library’s expansion project creates a community hub in southern Ontario
It’s been decades in the making, but it’s become an overnight community hub.
In late January, the Pelham Public Library opened the doors to its refurbished Maple Acre branch in Fenwick, Ontario. The six-month construction project was a labor of love for many in the Pelham region—and created a functional, modern 4,000-square-foot space from a dated 900-square-foot facility.
“For some people in the community who are really passionate about the project, this has been 20 or 25 years in the making,” says Kirk Weaver, chief executive officer with the Pelham Public Library. “It really was a dated facility—but now it’s fully accessible, we’ve restored its hours of operation back to 32 hours a week, and we’ve seen some really fantastic early results.
“We had 7,800 people come through the library by the end of March,” adds Weaver, “and that’s eight or nine times as high as our previous statistics. People are coming in and checking it out.”
The Maple Acre branch’s $1-million renovation project retained the original century-old library building, and the building now includes:
- A children’s activity centre;
- A quiet study space, with double the number of public computer stations; and
- A public meeting space that can be booked and rented by community groups.
As a result, older adults in Fenwick will have community and conversation space. Classes from neighboring schools can now visit the library, and migrant farm workers will have better access to the internet to connect with family and friends back home.
Pelham Public Library has also been able to expand its children’s programming—Science Buddies, Jump ‘N’ Jive Storytime, and TD Summer Reading Club—to Fenwick, in addition to its Fonthill Branch.
“We’ve essentially created a full-service library out of a facility that hadn’t been used very much,” says Weaver.
Enbridge is committed to improving quality of life in the communities near our projects and operations, including the Line 10 Westover Segment Replacement Project.
In 2016, we contributed more than $4.6 million in community-strengthening initiatives across Ontario, and our slate of 2017 donations in the province includes a $2,000 grant toward Pelham Public Library’s renovation.
“Our mission is to be the cultural, social and information hub in the Fonthill and Fenwick areas,” says Weaver, “and this was a major step in achieving that goal.”
