2008 Public Consultation Process
In order to ensure that the development of the building program was an open and transparent process, the Library involved as many people as was possible. The three-phase public consultation process was an iterative one, encouraging several rounds of participation in meetings held in February, April, and June, 2008.
Focus Groups
The focus groups included throughout this consultation process were the following:
- Board Members & Capital Steering Committee
- Municipal Representatives, Directors and Councillors
- Halifax Public Libraries Staff
- Arts, Educational, Young Professionals
- Merchants, Business Associates, Chamber of Commerce
- Teenagers
- Local Partners
There was a strong turnout for each of the focus group sessions and all of the responses were recorded. In addition to each of the focus groups, senior management representatives from the Halifax Public Libraries were also in attendance and were available to answer questions or issues specific to the Spring Garden Road Memorial Public Library or the public library system in general.
- Focus group responses (53kb pdf)
Public Surveys
Over 700 people responded to the survey made available following the first public meeting, answering each of the questions and writing very thoughtful and insightful comments.
- Highlights of the survey (0.4mb pdf)
Graffiti Wall
Library patrons were invited to jot down what they want to see in a new Central Library. Comments were collected between March 4-17, 2008.
Phase One - February, 2008
The first phase of the consultation process was based on meeting with a broad cross section of stakeholders who were invited to attend a series of sessions over a three-day period in early February, concluding with a public meeting on the evening of February 6, 2008 at the Lord Nelson Hotel. Read more »
Phase Two - April, 2008
Phase Two was the result of feedback and information gathered during the first phase of the project. Read more »
Phase Three - June, 2008
The final public meeting was held on the evening of June 2, 2008 where Rob Marshall and Susan Kent presented the complete building program and space requirements for the proposed Central Library. Read more »