A wet day didn’t dampen the spirits of the crowd attending the groundbreaking ceremony for the new central library in downtown Saskatoon at 321 2nd Avenue North. Mayor Charlie Clark was especially animated, urging the crowd to celebrate the new library, which has been a long time coming.  He notes that there were discussions on Council 18 years ago about where a new library should go. Clark believes the new building is not a ‘nice to have’, it’s a ‘need to have’.

In 2009, planning began in earnest with a library levy for taxpayers, which had small increases each year. SPL’s website states that the average homeowner, with an assessed home of $371,000, will see a 13 cent a month increase next year for a total increase of $1.58 for the year and in 2026, it will be another 13 cents a month increase. Chair of the Board of Trustees for the Saskatoon Public Library, Jim Siemens, adds that fundraising is also part of the budget for the new build.

There was a glitch in the timeline for getting the library done when costs began to rise. Interim director and CEO of the SPL, Beth Côté, says they were able to make the building a bit smaller by reducing non-public spaces. The site had a gas station and a dry cleaner on it at one point, so remediation is needed, which begins at the site in July. Cote expects construction will begin in October, with doors open in 2027.