Township urges residents to fill out survey about future of Ripley Library

Residents of Huron-Kinloss Township are urged to participate in a survey about the future of the Ripley Library, a branch of the Bruce County Public Library.

The county library board is committed to the long-term usage of library space in Ripley since usage rates are very high. The library building is owned by the township which rents the space to the library board.

The existing building has an accessibility problem (washroom) and limited space issues (750 square feet is the existing space of the library). The estimated square footage of any proposed library renovation or addition for the population serviced by the Ripley Library is 2,500 square feet (minimum) as per guidelines for rural/urban public library systems.

Huron-Kinloss council has approved having municipal staff work with library staff to distribute a survey to all township residents, and to all users of the Ripley Library, to determine the preferred option for the future development of this building.

“Thanks to the hard work and commitment of library staff, the 55-plus website was launched, providing an information portal for residents and visitors," says Melissa Legacy, director and chief executive officer of the Bruce County Library. "The library staff introduced robotics and Minecraft kits to patrons of all ages and continues to provide literacy programs in every corner of the county.

"Library staff is focused on achieving the strategic goals of providing the information, knowledge and entertainment resources you need to achieve your goals, foster your interests, and realize your dreams - whether you visited one of the 17 branches, borrowed a fishing pole, or downloaded an eBook from the comfort of your home. Library staff couldn’t accomplish any of this without the support of the communities, volunteers, board members, county staff, and county council. Thank you for your support."

Any future developments of the Ripley Library would be under the assumption that grant funding be secured for any option with the exception of remaining status quo.
 
Take a few minutes to complete the survey, which will help determine the best path forward. The deadline is Wednesday, July 26. To complete the survey on-line, click on the following link: www.surveymonkey.com/r/Ripleylibrarysurvey

A public meeting will be held Thursday, July 13, at 7 p.m., at the Ripley-Huron Community Centre to present the options to residents and to provide an open forum for discussion.