Renovated Fort Garry Library reopens

Winnipeg, MB - After undergoing $900,000 worth of extensive renovations, the Fort Garry Library was officially reopened today by Mayor Sam Katz, Fort Rouge/East Fort Garry Councillor Jenny Gerbasi and Education and Advanced Learning Minister James Allum.

Significant improvements have been made to the facility. Accessibility and functionality has improved with a new layout of collections, technology, study, and program areas. An expanded multipurpose room allows for more programs and workshops for community learning.

“The City of Winnipeg has been making significant investments in our public libraries to meet the changing needs of citizens,” said Mayor Katz. “The improvements made to the Fort Garry Library will ensure that it continues to be a welcoming space for many years to come.”

“Libraries play such an important role in our communities,” said Councillor Gerbasi. “These renovations will help the Fort Garry Library to expand the valuable services they offer.”

The Province of Manitoba contributed $50,000 towards the renovation project.

“The province is pleased to provide funding through the Building Manitoba Fund to support the renovation of the Fort Garry Library, which is an important resource for this community,” said Minister Allum. “The key to knowledge and education is ensuring information and learning materials of all kinds are available to every member of the public.”

The Fort Garry Library will be the first branch to host a unique early literacy playground. The playground features interactive learning activities to encourage pre-literacy skills in young children, and was funded in part by the Friends of the Winnipeg Public Library.

The original Fort Garry Public Library opened in 1956 in a small room in the municipal hall of the former Rural Municipality of Fort Garry. The current library on Pembina Highway was built in 1960, with an addition built in 1967.

The Fort Garry Library is considered an excellent example of Modernist architecture, characterized by its flat roof, cubic shape and open, flowing floor plan. The Library is one of the busiest branches in the Winnipeg Public Library system, with almost 250,000 items borrowed, over 100 programs offered and over 31,000 questions answered every year.

• With the library now open, Fort Garry Library customers can change their requests to Fort Garry Library as the pickup location using the online My Account service â�" or ask staff to do so.
• All previously offered programs return, including book clubs, computer and technology workshops, and family programs such as the popular Baby Rhyme Time and Time for Twos.
• The book return will now be open for 24 hour return of borrowed items.

Fort Garry Library’s fall/winter hours are: