The Orillia Public Library is celebrating its 10th anniversary in its ‘new’ building today.
To mark the occasion, there was live music, prizes, and an exhibit on the history of the library.
Library community services co-ordinator Jayne Turvey says the event gave community members an opportunity to walk down memory lane and learn the story of the Orillia Public Library, which dates to 1911.
“We are celebrating it today because it’s such a wonderful and beautiful community hub,” she said. “We offer so much to the community here.”
Turvey says some people still think the library is just about books, but it goes well beyond that.
“We have programming for all ages, from infants to seniors and everyone in between,” she said. “It’s an amazing place.”
More than 5,000 people attended the library’s grand opening 10 years ago, and it was another full house for the five-year anniversary celebration.
“With COVID still kicking around, we don’t have the numbers today that we had prior to the pandemic,” Turvey said. “Instead, this is a two-hour celebration with live music, giveaways, prizes, and the exhibits.”
Five years from now, she expects that the library will evolve even more and provide additional programming.
“A lot of libraries now have things called makerspaces,” she said. “We are working on ours right now, and the idea is to have available technology that people can use that they might not be able to otherwise afford.”
The library hopes to soon equip and train staff with 3D printers, sewing machines that can do embroidery, and laser cutters.
“That’s the new thing for libraries,” she said. “We also want to include a lot of online things as it seems to be the next step.”
The library’s foundation will always be books, Turvey says, because it’s still what most people want most.
The success and growth of the library is encouraging to staff. Turvey says it’s nice to know they have the support of the community.
Pat Hopkins has been an employee of the library for 31 years, and there have been a lot of changes since she started.
“The materials have changed, and the rise of computers has taken over,” she said. “I’ve seen a lot of people walk through here over the years.”
Hopkins says the library is a vital part of the community.
“It’s a social thing and a lot of people like to come,” she said. “A lot of people still want a place where they can come and find a book to put in their hands.”
The library is also where a lot of Orillia’s history has been stored and documented. It has an extensive collection of local newspapers on microfilm dating to 1867.
“We built this new library on the original spot of the old one,” she said. “We have a lot of history here.”
