Regina Public Library to temporarily move downtown branch

Regina’s Central Library will be relocating sooner than expected, albeit temporarily.

In September, the Regina Public Library’s board of directors voted to demolish the current downtown branch and build a new building on the site at some point in the future. A new branch was one of the mega-projects proposed by the city’s catalyst committee.

If a new branch is built, the downtown library would have to move its services eventually. On Tuesday, the board voted to move sooner rather than later — likely in the fall of 2024 — due to what it called “concerns with failing building infrastructure and its effects on business continuity” at the current downtown branch.

“Central Library services will have to be temporarily relocated as construction of a new building advances,” board chair Marj Gavigan said in a release. “We are simply moving forward with our relocation sooner than anticipated.”

In the release, the board said the investment needed to maintain the current building would be so great that leasing a temporary location makes more financial sense. The move also would remove the possibility of unplanned closures due to the current building’s state.

“The Board has determined that the risks of staying outweigh the benefits, and a temporary relocation downtown is the most prudent way forward,” Gavigan said in the release. “Remaining in the current building puts service delivery at risk and isn’t an effective use of taxpayer money.”

The library will make short-term fixes to the building — like patching the roof — so it can remain useful until the temporary move is completed.