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Updates and News

November 3, 2016

Where to Find Programs When Central Closes

Just because the Central Branch is closing doesn't mean our programs are ending. Here is where you will find our Central children's programs when the library closes for renovations.

Programs at Artillery Park

Books for Babies

Mondays at 10 a.m on November 7 to December 12, January 9 to February 13, April 3 to May 8 (except April 17). No registration required.

Stories, songs, rhymes and tickles for newborns and pre-walkers. Parents and caregivers will learn, and practise, fun and simple ways to incorporate early literacy skills in the home.

Rhythm and Rhyme

Fridays at 10 a.m on November 11 to December 16, April 7 to 12 (except April 14). No registration required.

Through rhythm, rhyme and movement, children three and under will naturally develop language and increase their ability to hear the smaller sounds in words. Experience hands-on play with bells, rhythm sticks, scarves, shakers and more.

Play to Learn

Fridays at 10 a.m. on January 13 to February 17. Registration opens on December 17.

Move your body! Jump, skip, hop and more in this active program. Through play-based activities and interactive books, children two years and up will develop their physical confidence.

Family Storytime

Thursdays at 10 a.m. on November 10 to December 22 (except December 1), January 12 to February 16, April 6 to May 11. No registration required.

The whole family is encouraged to participate actively in stories, songs and movement activities to maximize your child's experience in learning socialization and pre-reading skills for life.

Programs at the Tett Centre

The Tett Kids Creativity Club

Saturday Mornings, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m on November 5, 2016 to May 6, 2017, (No programs December 24 or 31). Recommended for ages 4-10 and parents.

Sculpt, Draw, Dance, Create. For a $2 donation, families enjoy a variety of hands-on, creative arts activities. Join the club!

Family Storytime

Saturday Mornings, 10 - 10:40 a.m on November 5, 2016 to May 6, 2017, (No programs December 24 or 31). Open to all ages.

The whole family is encouraged to participate actively in stories, songs and movement activities to maximize your child's experience in learning socialization and pre-reading skills for life.

October 4, 2016

Central Renovation Auction

As we prepare Central for the upcoming renovations, we are beginning to auction off a wide assortment of items which are no longer in use. Over the coming months, we’ll be auctioning off various lots through GovDeals.ca. Each lot is available for auction for a period of 7 days. Lots will be of varying sizes and may be suitable for home or business uses.

A variety of items will be going up for auction, including shelving, tables, office furniture, some older electronics, storage containers, some older electronics and a limited number of card catalogues.

September 26, 2016

Sunday Hours

Sunday hours start for two of our branches on October 16, 2016. This year, the Calvin Park Branch and the Isabel Turner Branch will be open on Sundays from 1:00 - 5:00 p.m. The Central Branch will not open on Sundays.

Visit our website for more information about our hours and locations.

September 13, 2016

Some of Your Questions Answered

Thank you for the questions and comments you submitted during our public consultations from August 10-16 on the plans for the Central Branch renovations. The plans for the exterior have now been approved by Kingston City Council and our heritage permit has been granted. We are finalizing the details for the interior floor plans and working on design items such as colours, furniture and flooring. Many of the questions we received during the consultations were about interior items, and we are pleased to answer some of them below. Some of them have already been answered in our frequently asked question section, and we’ll update that to add these responses this week. Have a question that hasn’t been answered? Email us at centralreno@kfpl.ca or fill out our web form.

How many computers will be in the building?

There will be roughly the same number of computers that we have now.

As is our current practice, we will have computers in the adult, teen and children’s sections of the building. We are currently planning for 6 adult computers on the first floor in the marketplace. There are an additional 4 adult computers on the second floor in the non-fiction learning commons, located near the local history and genealogy area.

Two computers will be located in the children’s area, as well as some iPads loaded with apps that build literacy, numeracy and problem-solving skills.

The teen area will have three computers. 

In planning for the number of computers, we look at current and anticipated usage and best practices for the numbers of computers per capita. We do have the ability to add additional computers if there is demand when the branch opens.

Use of our wireless Internet with patrons’ personal devices such as smartphones and laptops has grown, while demand for library computers has decreased. We are increasing the spaces where people will be able to plug in easily and work comfortably using their own devices.

Why isn’t the program room closer to the children’s collection? Is it safe to have the 3D printers in the same room as the children’s programs?

The enclosed programming space is going to serve people of all ages, not just children.  This makes placement of the space a little tricky, as while we want it close to the children’s area to encourage children and caregivers to use the children’s area and to borrow materials, we also don’t want crowds of people having to travel through our children’s area on their way to and from adult or teen programs. We also want to highlight some of the programs happening in the library to encourage others to join in or find out more information, so we wanted it to be as visible as possible, while minimizing the costs involved in constructing walls. We believe we have achieved that with the placement of the program space.

We are trying to make our spaces as flexible as possible. We will be able to separate the programming space into two smaller spaces with a moveable partition, allowing us to run two programs simultaneously or offer one larger program. Any equipment in the room that could pose a health and safety concern to members of the public, such as the 3D printers, will be properly secured.

Is there a service desk on the second floor? What about staffing for the children’s area? There are no sightlines from the main desk to the children’s area.

Yes! There is a service desk on the second floor. It will be located at the top of the new stairs, close to the elevator.  We have positioned it here so that staff can greet patrons as they arrive on the second floor and will be able to assist them in finding what they are looking for.  Its location at the threshold of the non-fiction and learning commons area also ensures there will be less disruption to people trying to study quietly when library staff are assisting other patrons.

There is a service point noted on the plans between the adult fiction and children’s area. A staff member will use this desk as their base to serve patrons in both of these areas. There is another service point located just outside the teen area that will serve the marketplace and teen area. These service points are in addition to the main desk near the entrance.

September 7, 2016

Heritage Approval Granted

A heritage permit for the Central Branch Renovations project was granted by Kingston City Council at its meeting on September 6, 2016. At the meeting, City Planning staff provided a report to Council, and KFPL board member and chair of the Central Branch Renovation Committee Monica Stewart, as well as Dr. Carl Bray from Bray Heritage and Ms. Susan Croswell from HDR Inc., the Library’s architectural consultant, spoke about the much-needed improvements to the building. You can view the delegation presentation in its entirety, as an archived recording will be posted on the City’s website.

The 1978 red brick building at 130 Johnson is designated as a historically important property, and sits on the edge of the Old Sydenham Heritage Conservation District (HCD), which is covered under the Old Sydenham Heritage Conservation District Plan. Due to this designation, alterations to the building have to conform to the guidelines of the plan. While, under these guidelines, we were not able to implement the original design featuring an expansive glass front with the arched windows outlined behind it, we will be able to implement many new features that greatly improve accessibility, improve the current problems with ice and snow falling on the walkway below, and make the building more energy efficient.

The main public entrance will be relocated one bay to the west, which will allow for better security when rooms are being used for community meetings after the library is closed. The corner parkette will be re-designed to offer a place to rest on a busy corner under the 40-year-old Honey Locust tree. The Wilson Room will be given a facelift, and the large 2nd floor bay window (the current foyer in front of the Wilson Room) will be re-constructed to deal with water and ice run-off problems. The new design of this window, featuring a large translucent piece of glass including “Public Library” signage, will mimic the current brick panel and signage but will allow for better views of the City and Lake Ontario for the new, additional meeting room that will be created in this space.

Thank you to the many patrons and interested community members who came out to our recent community sessions or viewed the proposed designs and provided comments. All comments have been recorded and will be considered as we move forward with the project. With the heritage permit now in place, we are now able to move the project forward on budget and on schedule. Next steps will include more detailed plans, applications for building and site plan approvals, tendering of the project and the hiring of a general contractor. Stay tuned!

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