When Magog dared to set up its municipal library in a church

Magog had the audacity, 15 years ago, to fill a church with shelves of thousands of books. Even if the project was skeptical at first, it now seems to have won over a majority of Magog residents.

The splendid Memphrémagog library, housed in the former Sainte-Marguerite-Marie church, in the Tisserands district, is enough to be the envy of many municipalities. The building, scrupulously maintained by municipal employees, shines like the first day, even if its transformation was carried out at the turn of 2010.

The numerous stained glass windows through which daylight passes recall the ancient religious vocation of the place. However, the layout is modern and comfortable. It makes you want to sit down and immerse yourself in a good book without seeing the time pass.

We have preserved its rich heritage, its historical aspectindicates the mayor of Magog, Nathalie Pelletier, for whom the building brings back many childhood memories.

I went to Sainte-Marguerite school, which was two blocks away. At that time, we had catechism classes, we came to church a lot, so I still recognize certain elements of this church in the library.

More than a library

The Memphrémagog Library is in fact much more than a place where we borrow documents. Its manager Françoise Ménard and her team have made it what we call a third place. A place of free access to culture, but also a space for socialization. It is a safe and open place.

There is always someone to smile at us in a library.

She adds that it is a place where it is possible to borrow documents, but also to obtain all kinds of services. There is the Techno Café, the Neural Gym, reading and writing clubs, she lists. A public writer also offers literacy support to help people write Christmas cards to loved ones, for example.

We also have thematic meetings on different subjects, explains the library manager. How to prepare your bike to go hiking, how to prepare for Compostela? There are some things that are very focused on literature, but others that are more focused on culture in general.

And that’s without mentioning other spaces set up in the former basement of the church, including a performance hall and premises for holding a variety of activities.

The social mission of a school library

The professor at the Faculty of Education of the University of Sherbrooke, Olivier Dezutter, explains that the library of 21^e century often plays an important social role, even for newcomers trying to integrate and learn the language. These libraries are essential places for both social integration, but also linguistic integration and cultural integration.

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Other libraries even go so far as to offer the services of a social worker in residence, as is the case in Drummondville, recalls the specialist. We integrate certain services that are sometimes offered by the City or other organizations into the library space.

From this perspective, the Magog library is the municipal service which offers the longest opening hours. By going to the loan counter, the user can, for example, kill two birds with one stone, by registering their documents and purchasing a parking sticker.

Strong sense of belonging

This diversified approach inevitably has an effect on the feeling of belonging that a community develops towards its library. Françoise Ménard rightly points out that in Magog, attendance has increased by 52% over the past 15 years. The library has become an important hub for residents of the neighborhood, but also for the entire population.

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The devoted librarian even thinks that her presence has emulating effects on the surrounding life. There are all kinds of little things growing around. There are renovations, there are new buildings, there are new condos. There are many things growingshe indicates.

An observation also made by Mayor Nathalie Pelletier. The latter, however, judges that the changes are taking place gradually. We feel that the wheel is turning.

A project that initially divided citizens

It was in 2009 that the elected officials of the time made the choice to establish the cultural venue in the majestic heritage building in an area where, in a distant era, families depended on the textile industry.

The mayor recalls, however, that initially, the idea of ​​transforming the religious building was far from consensus. She remembers the lively debates around the project led by the former mayor, Marc Poulin. Dissension was strong in the council room, but also among citizens.

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It was very much the costs that tore the population apart. People had fears that it was a bottomless pit.

To move forward with the nearly $11 million project, the municipal council had to adopt a loan by-law worth several millions which required the approval of the population. After keeping a register, a referendum was necessary. At the end of the exercise, in June 2009, 63% of the population finally said yes to the project, but only 37% of citizens came to vote, specifies the mayor.

Political repercussions

Even though the project seemed to be on track, a few months later, Mayor Poulin was defeated in the municipal elections. Vicky May-Ham became mayor. Nathalie Pelletier was elected councilor. The population was still torn over the library issue. It is certain that at that time, I think that it may have left its mark on the election.

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After her election as councilor in 2009, Nathalie Pelletier was closely involved in the realization of the project, since she was president of the Culture Commission. Today, as mayor, the library remains an important issue. She had to undertake $10 million in work to redo the masonry and roof, work financed by the City of Magog, but also by Ottawa and Quebec given the heritage status of the old church.

Even if giving a new vocation to a church has a cost, the mayor does not have the impression that her administration is carrying a financial burden, and still believes that it was a good move.

We are putting money into this building, but we see it more as an investment in culture and knowledge.

The district of Fleurimont and its future library

After the failure of the library project in the former Sainte-Famille church last fall, the Committee on Culture, Leisure, Sports and the Outdoors of the Sherbrooke municipal council will look into the matter again in the next months. What will its directions be? Professor Olivier Dezutter believes that nothing is lost for the eastern district of Sherbrooke.

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He believes it would be interesting to explore new avenues, such as developing a partnership with the school service center to set up a school and public library. I think this is a great opportunity to perhaps open this path, he says. It is also a model that has existed for around thirty years in Quebec.

Far from wanting to lecture Sherbrooke, the mayor of Magog, Nathalie Pelletier, believes that everyone came out a winner from the library project. These are not always easy projects, giving a second life to heritage buildings. But when you manage to overcome the pitfalls, in the end, it ends with something positive. Today, all Magog residents are very proud of their magnificent libraryshe rejoices.