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New Central Library

New Central Library Update - July 11, 2023

This afternoon City staff presented City Council with an update on the Library and Art Gallery (Junction East) project. This project is intended to support the Greater Sudbury Public Library Board’s ongoing work to establish a New Central Library that meets the needs of our community.

Over the past several months, Greater Sudbury Public Library staff have been working with the City’s Large Projects team to investigate alternate sites for the New Central Library in response to the direction of City Council in February 2023. This has resulted in assessing the feasibility of existing community-owned infrastructure as the potential new home of the New Central Library. The primary site that has arisen for consideration through that process is 200 Brady St., Tom Davies Square.

City staff have led the analysis of the site and Library staff have been invited to contribute to the evaluation process. In the coming months, Library staff will continue to work with the City team to explore the feasibility of the proposed site for the New Central Library.

About Junction-East

We're building a New Central Library in downtown Greater Sudbury.

Together, the Art Gallery of Sudbury, the Greater Sudbury Public Library, the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association and the Sudbury Theatre Centre, will form the Junction East Cultural Campus. It will be a cultural cornerstone for our community, reflecting and celebrating the diversity and vibrancy of our community, both in its physical structure and in the programs and amenities provided by the four partner organizations. The community's commitment to multiculturalism, equality, Indigeneity, and its Francophone roots, will be realized through this project.

The approximately 104,000 square foot Junction East facility will be built in Greater Sudbury's historic downtown and will be home of the Central Library, a public art museum and a multicultural association. It will be an accessible, inviting, contemporary, people-oriented space for connecting citizens to a world of information and technology, as well as each other. Junction East will contribute to the local economy and tourism, drive municipal environmental performance, and provide a welcoming gathering place of citizens and visitors alike.

To learn more, check out the project's FAQ.

View New Central Library

A great investment for Greater Sudbury

Greater Sudbury Public Library provides economic, social and health benefits to the community. This series shows how the New Central Library will magnify that impact and bring even more economic benefits to Greater Sudbury.

Why do we need a New Central Library?

Did you know the Main Library has a makerspace, a local history area, and a homebound service?

Watch the videos below to see all the great things we do and find out how a New Central Library will allow us to serve you even better.

woman delivering a package with books to an older person

Homebound services

Watch now

Local history

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man showing two children how to use tools

The makerspace

Watch now

Your stories

We want to hear your story!

What makes the Greater Sudbury Public Library so important to our community?

How will the New Central Library at Junction East make our community even better?
Hear the stories of two library members: what they love about what we do, and how they see the New Central Library making Greater Sudbury even better.

Do you have a story to tell? Record a short video telling us what you love about the library. Share your vision for the New Central Library. We will post the videos on our website and share on our social media channels.

What makes the library important to you?
What gets you excited about the New Central Library?

Email your video to Colleen Burns. By sharing your story with us, you can help spread the word about GSPL and the New Central Library.

New Central Library facts

1. Do people even use libraries anymore?

The answer is an emphatic yes! GSPL had over a million transactions in 2019, and an average of about ¾ of a million in-person visits per year.

People use libraries to:

access the internet
borrow snowshoes
use a 3D printer
create resumes and apply for jobs
attend virtual appointments
research their family tree
learn how to use their iPad or e-reader
attend story times, book clubs, craft drop-ins and other programs
borrow laptops and internet hotspots
use a sewing machine
take home Provincial Park passes
and much more!

. . . and a lot of people borrow books too!

2. What does the library do for our community?

Libraries benefit everyone in the community, whether they are a patron or not.

GSPL has been enriching our community for over a century by inspiring innovation, creativity, and imagination, preserving our past, and promoting lifelong learning
Over $50 million economic benefit per year to Greater Sudbury; every $1 invested creates a $7.71 benefit in the community
Makes Greater Sudbury healthier and more vibrant by responding to the evolving needs of the community
The library is one of the few free public spaces that are open to all

3. Why can't you just renovate your existing building?

Our current building was built for a different time and a different kind of library service; there are a lot of problems that can't be fixed with a simple renovation.

Current main library is 70 years old and not designed for 21st Century library services
30+ years of studies recommend a new building
The library was renovated in the 1990s, but that's no longer an option. Core building systems have reached the end of their life, and basic repairs to the building would cost millions of dollars, a cost that's increasing every year
Inflexible building which is unable to respond to community's evolving needs
Current facility is inherently deficient in accessibility and safety

4. What is the benefit of collaborating with AGS, SMFAA and STC on the same site?

Collaborating with these organizations is going to benefit our patrons, their members, and the entire community! By working together, we will:

Reduce capital and operational costs through co-location and resource sharing
Reach new audiences through collaboration
Create more connections with and among community groups, making our city stronger and more resilient
Develop exciting programs and collections in collaboration with Junction East partners
As a cultural campus, Junction East will be a mixed-use facility, bringing people together to learn, create, and play; the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts

5. How will the New Central Library benefit the community on opening day in 2025?

GSPL does amazing things at our current Main library, but the New Central Library will allow us to do so much more for the community. On opening day at the New Central Library, we will:

Bridge the digital divide and be a hub for innovation and creativity through our new and improved Makerspace
Teach 21st Century literacies and nurture life-long learning with our expanded computer access and physical collection areas
Preserve and promote local history and culture with the Local History Reading Room and environmentally controlled storage
Empower democracy & civic engagement through our expanded offering of public meeting rooms (including after-hours access)
Champion Truth & Reconciliation with Indigenous communities by honouring Indigenous perspectives, culture and history

6. How will the New Central Library benefit the city for next 50 years?

The New Central Library is an investment in Greater Sudbury's future, bringing community benefits for decades to come. At Junction East, we will be able to:

Deliver efficient and cost-effective library services
Respond to evolving community needs through agile spaces, flexible services and innovative programming
Sustain the library as an accessible, inclusive and free civic space
Enliven our downtown as a vibrant cultural hub
Build community resilience for climate change adaptation

7. How will the New Central Library benefit the community economically?

GSPL brings over $50 million in economic to our community every year
A 2019 report by McSweeny & Associates states that every dollar invested in the library creates a $7.71 magnified economic benefit to the City of Greater Sudbury
In 2019, our collection created a $18 Million benefit to the community, and our technology and Makerspace brought a $17.1 Million benefit
By increasing collections, computer access and the Makerspace, we will increase the economic benefits
We also support job seekers, language learners, students and business owners, and will support downtown revitalization through increased pedestrian traffic and eyes on the street

8. Why don't you just build more branch libraries?

The central library performs a special function as the heart of the entire library system. Many services that benefit the whole city are supported at the central library, such as:

Collection development
Staff recruitment and training
Online services
Homebound service
Inter-Library Loans
Makerspace
Local History
Reference

A new central library will enhance these functions, providing benefits to the whole city.

9. Will opening a new central library downtown lead to closing smaller branches in other areas?

There are no plans to close any branches as a result of opening the New Central Library. With the completion of the Junction East project, the existing Main Library branch on Mackenzie Street will be permanently closed.

10. Why do we need to build a new central library now?

There have been studies calling for a New Central Library since 1990 - that's over three decades. Investing in Junction East now is the right decision because:

Right now we can co-locate and share costs with the Art Gallery of Sudbury and the Sudbury Multicultural and Folk Arts Association
Costs keep increasing - the basic repair costs for our current building more than doubled between condition assessments (2012 to 2019) and are now in the millions of dollars
The opportunity cost to the community continues to rise, as we make do with our insufficient building. We are doing great things, but we could do so much more in a new building

Community groups across Greater Sudbury support the New Central Library/Junction East project

We've received letters of support for the New Central Library/Junction East project from community groups across Greater Sudbury. For more information on the Junction East project, including the New Central Library, check out the City's webpage

Do you have some kind words to share? Tell us how the New Central Library will benefit you or your organization and we will add your post to our social media campaign. Email Colleen Burns to tell us what you think the New Central Library will bring to Greater Sudbury.