Library opens doors to a world of opportunities
The Harris Learning Library is open and ready to connect students, faculty and community to a world of learning and opportunities.
Canadore College and Nipissing University held a grand opening for the $25 million state-of-the-art facility on Saturday to celebrate the many donors who contributed to the successful campaign.
“Today marks a very exciting day for our two institutions, our students and faculty, and our entire community. All will benefit greatly from this wonderful building, which provides an outstanding environment for learning and collaboration. Here our students, faculty, staff and members of our community can access the world of knowledge and understanding, in a building that is truly beautiful,” said Nipissing University President Lesley Lovett-Doust. “Thank you to our donors, both public and private, whose generosity and investment in our vision have made this wonderful new library a reality.”
“We are so excited to be opening the doors of our new library to our students, donors, partners and communities. This building is a tremendous resource for all and is a testament to supportive working relationships between regional communities and the postsecondary institutions that serve them, as well as the unique partnership between Canadore and Nipissing,” said Canadore College President George Burton. “This resource will provide ongoing support for our current and future students.”
The new 56,000 square foot, three-storey facility was designed by world-renowned Diamond + Schmitt Architects, with on-site architectural support by Evans Bertrand Hill Wheeler Architecture Inc. It is twice the size of the previous library and includes more space for collaborative work as well as individual study. The Harris Learning Library also provides increased connectivity with regional campuses and the ever-expanding world of digital resources available today.
There will be immediate benefits to the entire region as well. Through the PALS (Public and Academic Libraries Sharing) initiative, surrounding community libraries will be able to access resources and services in the Harris Learning Library, and Canadore and Nipissing students will in turn have access to the holdings of nine regional public libraries.
A special feature of the Learning Library will be a suite of rooms, the Treaty Learning Centre, designed for study and discourse on the vast history and experiences of First Nations in Canada, and the experiences, obligations and promises for all Canadians embodied in Treaties.
Investment in the Harris Learning Library came from a variety of sources. Nipissing and Canadore raised $7 million from individual donors and corporations in a successful fundraising campaign. The Ministry of Training Colleges and Universities contributed $18 million, Northern Ontario Heritage Fund contributed $1 million and FedNor contributed $500,000 to the project. To recognize and thank donors, Canadore and Nipissing have built a unique and eye-catching donor tree that features prominently in the building.
“It was an absolute joy and an honour to be a part of the campaign for this amazing new building that provides so much for this region. The original campaign slogan was, ‘Connect to a World of Opportunities’, and today we can see exactly how appropriate that statement is, with the incredible resources available that will provide so much opportunity for so many groups in our community as well as the several regional campuses of Nipissing and Canadore,” said Campaign Co-Chair David Liddle. “I’m very proud of this community; how it recognized the benefits this library would bring and how it offered support to the project on so many levels. This wonderful building is truly the result of a wonderful community.”