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Town of Orangeville celebrates the local library’s impact on the community

October 23, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Joshua Drakes

The Town of Orangeville celebrated the dedication and services of the Orangeville Public Library as the country celebrates Public Library Month and the province recognizes Ontario Library Week.

At the Mill Street Public Library in town, members of the public, staff of the library, local councillors, and members of the Orangeville library board gathered to recognize the monumental impact libraries have on their communities.

Orangeville Mayor Lisa Post was joined by councillor Joe Andrews as they opened the celebration.

Mayor Post highlighted the significant role libraries play in promoting unity in the community. She also highlighted the role the Orangeville Library plays in engaging new thought, dialogue, and discussion.

“I’m so glad to see such a great crowd here today,” she said. “Libraries are vibrant places where Canadians visit to learn and share ideas, and meet fellow residents. The Orangeville Public Library builds community through partnerships that champion inclusivity, freedom of expression, and ensuring equitable access for all.”

She said that she hopes more members of the community come to see the library as a place to grow, and recognize and celebrate its legacy.

“I urge all citizens to celebrate both Canadian Library Month and Ontario Library Week,” Mayor Post said. “Participate in the special activities we have planned in the Town of Orangeville.”

Coun. Andrews, who was representing the Orangeville Library Board, echoed Post’s words with his praise of the work that the Orangeville Library dedicates to bringing in new people to use and enjoy the space. He also said that through the tireless work of the team behind the library, it has become the standard that others follow.

“The mission of our Orangeville Public Library is to have a place for everyone to connect and discover, and to be a place where learning and possibility allow for each member to soar,” he said. “We have a number of libraries that look at Orangeville’s library and say, ‘hey, this is really cool!’ The library was shut down for 18 months for renovations, and guess what happened after? Our number of patrons is going up. More and more people are using the library.”

The Orangeville library offers a plethora of spaces and programs for all ages. There’s a kids’ zone upstairs called Storyland, which had its entrance built in collaboration with Theatre Orangeville. It will also soon have the Exploratorium, a new area catered towards technology and its many applications. It will feature new and old technology for guests to use, and staff will be on site to facilitate it.

Peter Leblanc, the chair of the Orangeville Public Library Board, said that these additions make the library so much more than just a place for books. He said it’s become a community meeting area, a learning zone, somewhere that’s familiar for visitors, new and old.

“The library is more than books, it’s a hub to our community,” he said. “It is a place where people can come and gain information, but it’s not just through books. It could be through our online access or our staff and experts that work right here at the library. It supports kids going into school, and it’s here to support them afterwards. It’s one of those pathways to lifelong education, whatever that learning looks like.”

Leblanc said that it’s not just knowledge they are offering, but applied experience as well. The library offers programs that work with other organizations in the area, and allows people to borrow passes that take learning beyond the halls of the library.

“We have passes that families can come and take out to enjoy one of the plays put on by Theatre Orangeville, we have family passes for Island Lake Conservation,” he said. “We offer learning through experience as well. The library is really just a place that allows anyone to safely learn and grow, and there’s something here for every member of the community.”

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