When the new Summerland branch of the Okanagan Regional Library is constructed, it will be much larger than the present location, but some space questions will still remain.
The Okanagan Regional Library rents the upper level of the Wharton Street building while the municipality had rooms on the lower level available as meeting spaces for community groups and organizations.
The new one-storey building on Main Street, at 743 square metres, will feature a much larger library area, but it will not have as much space available for meeting rooms.
The existing library building will remain in place, but its new purpose has not yet been determined.
The decision to construct a new library building on Main Street near Kelly Avenue displaced the Summerland Community Arts Centre and the Summerland Potters’ Guild.
At present, the Arts Centre is operating out of a retail building on Main Street while the Potters’ Guild is using a building on Victoria Road North.
Whether these become the permanent home of the these organizations remains to be seen.
In order to serve the needs of all segments of the community, it is important to have adequate space for the various facilities and organizations.
The library has been in need of a larger facility for many years.
This need has been addressed, but the new location which was chosen for the library has affected other organizations.
A good plan will be needed to ensure there is a long-term solution to provide adequate space for the Summerland Arts Centre and for the community groups which require meeting spaces.