We have some VERY big news to share with you! We are thrilled to announce that Red Deer Public Library will be piloting a new library location in the Collicutt Centre.
The Collicutt Branch of RDPL will open to the public at the end of August 2023, with the exact date to be determined. The duration of the pilot branch will be one year, at which time we will evaluate the success of the project and consider the feasibility of a more permanent arrangement within the facility.
The goal of this new location is to provide a convenient access point for community members to utilize basic library services in the southeast corner of the city, which is something that Red Deerians have been requesting for many years.
What to Expect
At roughly 600 square feet, the space can only accommodate a very small browsing collection, which will include an assortment of library materials for kids, teens, and adults. More exciting, the Collicutt Branch will also include holds pickup service, which allows library users to order materials from any of our other three library branches and pick them up from the Collicutt Branch!
Furthermore, our website and library catalogue make it very easy to browse the collection, explore staff picks and virtual displays, and place holds on items for quick and easy pickup at your preferred library branch. Therefore, even with only a small browsing collection at the Collicutt Branch, the entirety of RDPL’s collection will be available from this pickup point, with the exception of a few specialized items, such as toys, games, musical instruments, and some other non-traditional library materials, which will need to be picked up at another location.
The model for this new branch will be different from our other three locations in that it will be primarily a self-serve branch. This means that when you are visiting, library staff may not be physically present to provide assistance. However, clear on-site signage and instructions will be provided, and you will be able to contact staff at other library locations during the library’s normal operating hours by using the phone available in the Collicutt Branch.
With free and plentiful parking available at the Collicutt Centre, we are hopeful that this expansion of library services will be well-utilized by our community. An added benefit to the self-serve model is that we are able to provide basic library services at this location outside of our regular operating hours! The self-serve Collicutt Branch will be accessible to the public during all open hours at the Collicutt Centre, which are currently 5:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. on weekdays, 6:30 a.m. - 9 p.m. on weekends, and 12 p.m. - 5 p.m. on holidays.
How Did We Get Here?
Our pop-up location at the Bower Place Shopping Centre in 2022 was a great way to test out the expansion of library services to the south end of Red Deer on a temporary basis. We received an overwhelming amount of feedback, and it became clear that Red Deerians were very interested in having a more permanent location to access library services on the south end of the city.
Because of this feedback, when the opportunity came up to explore opening a small library branch at the Collicutt Centre, we knew we had to act! However, the library had to find a way to offer this access without new branch funding, which is how the self-serve model came to be. In this way, we are able to expand services in our community in a more economically feasible way, while also taking advantage of the longer operating hours in the facility.
The main critique of the Bower location was that customers were not able to pick up holds from other library branches; therefore, we are very excited to be able to offer this often-requested service at our new location in the Collicutt Centre!
We Want to Hear From You!
We will once again be seeking community feedback regarding the Collicutt pilot project on an ongoing basis in order to fine-tune our services at this location and hopefully explore a more long-term arrangement at the Centre.
We can’t wait to begin this exciting adventure! We will share updates as our plans progress – stay tuned!
