The Surrey City Centre Library is the main branch of Surrey Libraries (
Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South East England, bordering Greater London to the south west. Surrey has a large rural area, and several significant urban areas which form part of the Greater London Built-up Area. ...
,
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
's public library system). It was opened in September 2011 and replaced the Whalley Public Library. Part of a re-vitalization project for the City Centre area, the building was designed by the late
Bing Thom
Bing Wing Thom, (Chinese: 譚秉榮; 8 December 1940 – 4 October 2016) was a Canadian architect and urban designer. Born in Hong Kong, he immigrated to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada with his family in 1950. The library is located northwest of
Surrey Central station
Surrey Central is an elevated station on the Expo Line of Metro Vancouver's SkyTrain rapid transit system. The station is located in the Whalley / City Centre district of Surrey
Surrey () is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in ...
Part of a long-term re-vitalization effort by the City of Surrey, dubbed "Build Surrey", the City Centre branch library project was launched in 2009. It replaced the Whalley Public Library. The library is part of a new complex of buildings still under construction, including the City Centre shopping and education complex, a performing arts centre, and a new City Hall. The design was awarded to Bing Thom Architects, who had designed the nearby City Centre complex as well as Vancouver-area buildings such as the
University of British Columbia
The University of British Columbia (UBC) is a public university, public research university with campuses near Vancouver and in Kelowna, British Columbia. Established in 1908, it is British Columbia's oldest university. The university ranks a ...
's
Chan Centre
The Chan Centre for the Performing Arts is located on the campus of the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It is situated within the natural landscape of the campus and is surrounded by evergreens and rhododendr ...
. The total budget was set at $36 million; the provincial and federal governments each contributed $10 million with the remainder supplied by the city. It is
LEED
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a
green building certification program used worldwide. Developed by the non-profit U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it includes a set of rating systems for the design, construction ...
Gold certified.
Faced with a short public consultation period, the architects used social media to gain input from the community. Through Facebook, Twitter, and a blog, respondents compiled an "ideasbook" of desired elements. Construction finished in the summer of 2011, and the branch was opened to the public in September of that year.
Facilities
The library has of usable space spread over four floors. Its 100,000-item collection of print materials is modest for a large urban library; the library is focused on community services such as language programs for Surrey's large immigrant population, youth and adult programs, and computer access. The library features non-traditional facilities like a cafe, an iPad station for children, a meditation room (which also serves as a prayer room), and bookable study room spaces.
Appearance in media
Surrey Central Library appears in the following media:
* City-building computer game '' Cities: Skylines'' as a "Grand Library"
* TV series ''Continuum'': Season 4, Episode 5 as a "Piron Labs"
* ''
Supergirl
Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. The character made her fir ...