CEO message

The numbers are in and to our delight Thunder Bay poured into the Library in 2023. We had a 70% increase in the number of visits to our Libraries! We saw a 22% increase in the number of items loaned, a 44% increase in program attendance and an average of 3,919 visits per day to the Library.

2024 is shaping up to be a transformational year. We’re in the middle of launching a brand-new website that will knock your socks off. We’re making it even easier to find the books you love, the programs you enjoy and experience a digital platform that makes Thunder Bay a national leader for public libraries.

Our plans for revitalizing and modernizing our branches are set to be presented to the City Council in June. See page four for details about our public engagement sessions where you can see the incredible designs that will transform the Library experience and draw thousands of new users to our doors. Brook Mcllroy, the architects who brought you the Waterfront Revitalization and the North Core redesign, are spearheading this project to make the Central Library an iconic Thunder Bay experience. With a new mission to embed Indigeneity into the very fabric of the Library, Thunder Bay born Indigenous architect Ryan Gorrie aims to ensure our new facilities embrace the history and traditions of this land and its peoples.

A partnership between the Library and the City Council Composition Committee is also underway. The Library will be hosting four major engagement sessions this spring where residents will be able to participate directly in the Committee’s work. The input provided at these sessions will help inform the work of the Committee as they make their recommendation of how City Council could change by early 2025.

A special thank you to City Council for fully supporting the Library’s core budget for 2024. Please take the time to thank your City Councillors for voting to grant the Library the funding we need to ensure you have the Library you deserve.

Richard Togman, CEO

Richard Recommends:

The Almost Perfect People: Behind the Myth of the Scandinavian Utopia by Michael Booth

Children of Ash and Elm: A History of the Vikings by Neil Price

Seeking Social Democracy: Seven Decades in the Struggle for Equality by Ed Broadbent