CHERRY Blossom branch? Heatley Street branch? Dude Chilling branch?
Vancouver Public Library’s newest branch – soon to be under construction – needs a name, and the library is asking Vancouverites for suggestions.
“We’ve been looking forward to a new location in this part of Vancouver for some time now,” says VPL Board Chair Catherine Evans. “This will be a new, full-service branch serving the communities of the Downtown Eastside, Strathcona and Chinatown, and it’s soon to be a reality.
“Now, we’d like to hear from residents about what name they would like to see.”
VPL’s new location – in the 700-block of East Hastings – is a joint project with the YWCA Metro Vancouver and the City of Vancouver, offering both a branch library and affordable housing for low-income single mothers and their children. It’s expected to open in mid-2015.
Names could:
* Celebrate a place – the branch could be named after a street, a natural feature, or a neighbourhood: Renfrew, South Hill, Tea Swamp or Little Mountain, for instance.
* Honour a person or event – VPL’s Joe Fortes branch in the city’s West End is named for the legendary English Bay lifeguard, as an example; VPL’s Marpole branch is named for Richard Marpole, who played an instrumental role with the Canadian Pacific Railway when the first passenger trains crossed Canada.
* Describe a symbol or concept, such as Cherry Blossom, Crabtree Corner or Cedar Cottage.
An online submission form at www.vpl.ca/name went live today, just the first phase of VPL’s outreach to the community as part of the naming process; a printed mail-in survey is in the works for distribution over the coming weeks.
Suggestions will be accepted until January 26, and the VPL board will review all submissions and make its selection. It’s expected the new name would be announced by the summer.
Now about the idea of Dude Chilling branch … It’s a fun idea, VPL notes, but the library wouldn’t want to detract from the informally labelled Dude Chilling Park, so named when a local artist humorously created a new sign – and name – for Guelph Park in Mount Pleasant.
