Hundreds packed in Memorial Park downtown for a party thrown by the Bracebridge Public Library to announce the first step of their rebranding.
“We thought we would use this opportunity knowing we’re moving forward to take a new stance on how we view the Bracebridge library,” Crystal Bergstrome, CEO and Chief Librarian, says. “We don’t want to just be that typical quiet library, come in, get your books and run out because you’re going to be shushed. We really want to be that community hub, that hotspot, for everybody.”
As part of the first step of the rebranding, the library now has a new logo with different colours.
She says the party also served as a way for everyone to get together again.
“Everyone has been really isolated and we want everyone to come back together and feel like a community,” Bergstrome says.
Bergstrome says ahead of the library moving to the Muskoka Lumber Community Centre (MLCC) when it opens in the summer of 2024, they want to implement some changes to make the transition smoother.
The 8,700 square foot building the library is currently in, 94 Manitoba Street, was built in 1908 and updated in 1984 and 1998. The new space in the MLCC will more than double in size and feature things like a recording studio, local history room, multi-media room, and self-checkout stations.
“While we’re still here, it doesn’t mean we’re limited,” Bergstrome says of the library’s current space. She adds they will be out at events almost every weekend and will be hosting pop-up library services.
“The Bracebridge library is now anything but the ordinary,” Bergstrome says, adding that’s their new slogan.
In the “next few weeks” a new website will be launched by the library as well.
“It’s a way to give Bracebridge what they need and deserve,” Bergstrome says. “Bracebridge is an amazing community and now we’re going to be serving them better.