#TBT


#ThrowbackThursday: Library Entrance Before and After 1

Last week, I was asked to participate in a panel for the National Capital Association of Law Libraries on the topic of library renovations. As some of you may know, the Library of Parliament has undergone significant renovations in the last few years, and will actually be moving out of Centre Block for the duration of their upcoming renovation work. Our renovation was nothing like the scale of their project, but we did have some similar experiences in renovating a library all the same.

As I was preparing for the panel, I put together some before and after shots of the library, and it was staggering to look at the pictures so closely side by side. Our renovation project is slowly creeping toward the finish line (we have some heating issues to resolve, and I’m sure we can agree that an Ottawa winter without proper heating wouldn’t be ideal!), and we still need to hang art work, but take a look at these four pictures from when you enter the library.

   

 

   

I’m struck by how narrow everything feels in the before photos. Many people remark on how huge the space feels when you walk in now, and it’s easy from these to see why!


#ThrowbackThursday: Civil Litigation Updated 1998 1

As the steady stream of Ottawa litigators heading to Mt. Tremblant begins this afternoon, we’re looking back at the conference program from 20 years ago. As it happens, the conference that year was also held in Tremblant.

The resolution of the only copy of the agenda that we have for the 1998 conference is unfortunately pretty hard to read, but we’ve done our best. Unless someone knows how to convert a 98 File to .docx, this will have to do! I love that there was a session on Y2K. Remember Y2K?


#ThrowbackThursday: Criminal Law Conference 1988

So about today’s Throwback Thursday: our copy of the 1988 DCAO / CCLA Criminal Law Conference materials doesn’t have a conference program or agenda included. It’s a rather slim volume of materials, and it might actually be comprised entirely of re-prints of other articles and court filings. If we had a version of the agenda saved electronically from back then, we don’t anymore. So I went searching through our old newsletters, and at least found an advertisement for the conference. It’s not a very robust ad (our ad budget obviously extended as far as the paper for the dot matrix printer it came out of), but there’s a rather fascinating note in the guest speakers section:

 

 

So, did Dr. Henry Morgentaler speak at that conference? Anyone remember? That would be quite the get, and particularly in spring 1988!

This year’s Criminal Law Conference is taking place next weekend (October 13 and 14) at Château Montebello. Registration is open until October 9th – you can do that from the CCLA website.


#ThrowbackThursday: Renovations Before and After (Plus Coats!)

Construction on Phase 2 of the renovations project continues to march forward, and I’ve recently been through the space to take a look. Back when Phase 1 was still being renovated, we had to come into the space far more frequently, so I was able to get more photos. For the second half of the project, my trips in are far more irregular, but it does mean I see more significant changes every time I venture in!

Today’s throwback quite honestly makes me shudder. I’m talking of course about the old coat storage area / corridor when you walked into the lounge. Behold!

Before:

Those dingy ceilings, the inadequate storage, the poor lighting, those carpets! I don’t think any of us will miss any of those. From standing in this perspective now, the view is quite different …

After:

Yes, that’s the same area! We’ve moved the coat storage right out of there (see below for more on coat storage), and raised the ceiling up to the slab. When all is said and done, there are going to be beautiful new light fixtures, new flooring, and our donor wall will be on the wall where the coat closets were. It feels so spacious and bright through this area now – I really can’t wait to see it all finished. For those wondering, to the left is the space for our new training rooms. The perspective on that is a bit hard to show right now, so you’ll have to wait a bit longer to see the reveal there.

So as for coats, as it’s now getting into coat season, let’s look at the new coat storage options!

When all is said and done, there will be three coat closets available.

In the lounge, two of the three closets are currently being constructed. You can see these below (pardon the bad angles – it’s not easy to get a shot of them!):

The third, and biggest, coat closet is located in the library, immediately to your left when you enter the front doors. That space is already open for business, and since this picture was taken, actually has hangers!

In total, these three rooms will provide greater storage capacity for coats that we had previously. This should alleviate the coat mess that erupted every winter in the old lounge. Also not pictured above are new stools currently on order for this space, to aid in boot and shoe removal in the winter months. We will be cracking down on items left overnight in the closet, however: there were far, far too many items left behind and creating clutter in the old lounge, and we hope to keep the new space clean and running smoothly.

 


#ThrowbackThursday: Renovations Before and After

Visitors to the Library have been raving about our new space, but construction carries on in Phase 2 of our renovations. We haven’t shown too many pictures of the work being done in the Lounge side of the space (simply because we don’t have access to the space like we did to the library), so here are a couple of new before and afters! This side has enormous change happening, and the biggest might be how fresh it feels! So much fresh air and natural light!

Before:

These shots are looking into the library from the Lounge doors. There were cubicle offices along most of the windows, blocking all of the light and views, and lots of bookshelves. Unfortunately, many of the books back here were seldom-used, and aisles became overflow storage.

After:

The lounge will now be extending into this space, and we’ve taken everything off the windows! If you’ve been into the library and seen our massive lights, stay tuned: there will be large, equally impressive lighting going into this space as well. In addition to the nice, new soft seating we’ll have, we’ll also have a long, bar-height counter with stools and power outlets along the windows for a portion of the space (essentially, along the windows where that red work platform is in the first After photo). We expect those seats will be very popular, as the view from this room is pretty great.

Construction of this space is still on schedule, so provided everything continues to go well, we should be ready to welcome you in this fall!

 


#ThrowbackThursday: Demolition Before and After 1

Our apologies for the radio silence on Robeside Assistance this last week or so. We have been *busy* moving back into the Library, and we’re very happy to say that we’re almost ready to open up!

Before:

You’ll certainly remember our old front desk and reception area. This was the first view when you got around the corner, and where the library staff worked. That make-shift wall constructed out of bookshelves served us well, but it was definitely time for a change!

After:

You didn’t think I was going to give that away so easily, did you?! Here’s a mere fuzzy glimpse. You can see the real thing next week!

A few notes on when we open:

  • There are still a few little finishes and tweaks before the space is done done. You’ll still love the space anyways – trust us.
  • We’re only going to have a few computers available, and almost no new furniture, so bear with us! The new stuff (which is really nice and comfortable!) will be here in just a few weeks.
  • We’re shifting our hours a tiny bit, so if you want to talk to any of us in person, we’ll only be here until 4:30 (not 5:00, as it was before).
  • The lounge is still closed, and will be until the fall. We think you’ll be ready for the wait when you see how nicely the library turned out.

#ThrowbackThursday: GCTC / CCLA Lawyer Play 2008

The 2018 GCTC / CCLA Lawyer play starts next week (previews are sold out!), so we’re looking back in today’s #TBT to the 2008 play. When I first started working at the CCLA, I was surprised to hear there was a lawyer play (or lawyer bands, or anything artistic really!). The lawyer play is a long tradition, however, with proceeds going to 18 different charities over the years. This year, the play is “Rule of Three” (by Agatha Christie!), and the charity partner is Tungasuvvingat Inuit.

Back in 2008, the play was “Inherit the Wind.” I love the poster for this!


#ThrowbackThursday: Demolition Before and After

We are getting SO CLOSE to the renovation of the library side of our space being complete! For a project that has taken so many years to get going, that we’re a few weeks away from the new library side of the space is pretty unbelievable. I went in for some recent photos, and lined up a before and after. This week we’ve had flooring installed (as well as some other major milestones, but I won’t spoil the surprise on that!).

Before:

Continue Reading…


#ThrowbackThursday: Demolition Before and After

We should have some exciting news on the renovations project coming soon (subscribe to the CCLA newsletter for all the latest info, of course), but in the meantime, here’s a recent progress shot for you.

This was the old view when you came in through the front doors. Us library staff never particularly liked that we were tucked around the corner, which lead to plenty of awkward moments of people coming in and not knowing where anyone was to talk to.

Continue Reading…
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