Surrey needs a revitalized library
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: October 08, 2009 3:52 PM
Re: The new City Centre library.
As a former Vancouverite, I remember walking up the steps to the massive Vancouver Central Library and seeing the Colosseum-like edifice rise up into the air.
I remember staring at the astonishing melange of shops and activity centres within the library itself.
I remember staring through the polished glass at the never-ending rows of books that dominated the interior of the building.
Having any structure comparable to this library would be an exceptional achievement for Surrey.
Indeed, although the proposed City Centre library would not be nearly as large as Vancouver’s Central branch, there is no doubt having such a resource would be a boon – especially if the new library could mimic the achievements of the Vancouver Public Library programs.
However, several questions are left relatively unaddressed, not the least of which is the necessity of building such a structure.
The recent federal-provincial grants are certainly welcome, but is it truly necessary to build a library at this time, when the government has innumerable monetary concerns?
And is Whalley, a site of ongoing violence and shootings, the best location for such a facility?
Perhaps the establishment of the new library will help alleviate these problems and perhaps the library will live up to its promise as a new centre for learning and progress. Perhaps it will not. But I, like many other skeptical optimists, fervently hope for the former.
Yesha Ouyang, Grade 10,
Fraser Heights Secondary School
v2
