Africville launch Thursday, September 13, 11am Africville Museum, 5795 Africville Road Word on the Street reading Saturday, September 15, 11am Halifax Central Library, 5440 Spring Garden Road, Lindsay Room (second floor) Home takes on different meanings for everyone, but for Shauntay Grant, it comes in the form of her latest children’s book, Africville. The book […]
The new library
Posted inNews + Opinion
By the books
For those of us who still love the crackling sound of a book spine, there wasn’t any bigger local news in 2010 than the announcement of the new downtown Halifax Central Library. For the past year library staff and the co-architectural teams, Fowler Bauld & Mitchell and schmidt hammer lassen, have listened to Haligonians’ dreams […]
Posted inArts + Music
Pegging down the Jazz Fest tent
After this year’s Halifax Jazz Festival wraps up, it’s curtains for the tent at the corner of Queen Street and Spring Garden. “Right now the jazz festival takes up that whole corner. Clearly that’s going to change,” says Susan McLean, deputy CEO and director of public services for Halifax Public Libraries. The new Central Library […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
A first look at Halifax Central Library
Last night Morten Schmidt‘s rough sketches for the Halifax Central Library were unveiled. They’re still rough, but from what we can see at this point, the early plans demonstrate a solid understanding of community and staff desires and values, without watering down its architectural interest: plenty of green space, including indoor/outdoor trees, rooftop gardens and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Shelving thoughts
Local architectural firm Fowler Bauld & Mitchell and Danish firm Schmidt Hammer Lassen were recently hired to design and build Halifax’s soon-to-be Central Library, and are starting the public consultation process this week with the first public meeting. With projects such as Citadel High School and Dalhousie’s New Academic Building under FBM’s belt, and both […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Fowler Bauld & Mitchell: architectural team for the Halifax Central Library
Grab the popcorn: Tomorrow night, the funding strategy for the Halifax Central Library goes to council. According to a report from Friday, HRM staff are recommending Halifax firm Fowler Bauld & Mitchell, along with their Danish partners, Schmidt Hammer Lassen Architects, for the $4.3 million design contract. As usual, you can follow the action at […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Library suggestion box
Mr. Dewey Decimal no longer rules the stacks. The new central library promises more than just books–it will dramatically change the face of downtown Halifax. So what do you think the library should look like? What would you like to see, both inside and out? Enter your suggestions here.
Posted inNews + Opinion
Beyond the walls
“Don’t screw it up.” This was the not-so-subtle message that Haligonians sent Halifax Public Libraries CEO Judith Hare and her staff during public consultations for the new central library design. And many of us want a building worthy of international architecture magazines, Hare told a group of library students and practioners at the Information Without […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
More library lessons learned
Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library Why ask a librarian from rural Nova Scotia for advice? Well, city slicker, because Eric Stackhouse, chief librarian of the Pictou-Antigonish Regional Library, is a few steps ahead of us. His library system, along with a local architect and multiple community partners, are in the homestretch of building a new 16,000-square-foot library […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Channeling history
The wind’s whipping pedestrians into shape, insisting they play its game of Dodge the Debris. Another kind of detritus tells a story of the city. Susan McClure, HRM archivist since 2005, calls it “the byproduct of people’s activity.” For Dawn Sloane, some of those byproducts could end up in a Halifax history museum. “What we […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Community building
This week’s Coast takes a detailed look at the intriguing possibilities for Halifax’s central library—everything from the potential for an inspiring new building with beautifully designed public spaces to the opportunities for a vigorous balance between old and new media. Our reporting celebrates what we see as a victory in the clash between town and […]
Posted inNews + Opinion
Judging a library by its cover
Our cover illustration by Jesse Jacobs may look like it bounced off the set of V, but really, it represents the library of the not-so-distant future. We polled librarians, library science students and experts, travellers and book lovers to build our own vision of the modern library. Fear not, bibliophiles, books aren’t going anywhere. Though […]