Cool Idea of the Day: Outdoor Library

Dartmouth North Public Library in Nova Scotia "is now home to what the head of Halifax's library system calls the first outdoor library space in Canada, and one of only a handful of similar examples in the world," the CBC reported. The exterior wall of the building was replaced with glass sliding doors looking out on a deck and new playground. "Books and deck furniture will be moved to the outdoor space in the spring, as soon as the weather allows it. The bookshelves will be mobile so staff can shift them back indoors during poor weather."

"Dartmouth North is blazing a trail," said Asa Kachan, chief librarian of Halifax Public Libraries. "I have colleagues across the entire country watching this project very closely.... It just gives us room to stretch out, it invites people to linger and connect to their neighbors. It's a community where most people are in apartments, so we're imagining this to be their back garden."

The renovations were paid for with a C$500,000 (about US$407,400) grant from TD Bank's Friends of the Environment Canada 150 program, and a matching grant from the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.

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