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Basements |
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The basements of the Library of Parliament have been essential over the years both as workspaces—housing librarians’ offices—and as repositories for the collection. From the day the building opened its doors, there has not been sufficient space to house all of the Library’s holdings: just roughly 60 percent of the books have been able to be stored on site. The installation of mobile shelving helped create some space, but was never ideal due to the basements’ low ceilings. (These were effectively made lower by a sprinkler system added to meet fire-safety codes; certain spaces on the mobile shelves could not be used because books in those slots would knock against the sprinkler heads when the shelves were moved.)
Basement condition, collection level, before. August 31, 2001
To increase the amount of space available, the Library renewal project team decided to dig deeper into the cliff rock on which the Library stands. This excavation—taking the basements down an additional 8.75 metres—was done without any blasting in order to protect the Library and other nearby structures on Parliament Hill.
Basement excavation.
July 23, 2002 (Roy Grogan) |
Excavation equipment in basement.
October 31, 2003 |
Three new spacious basements were created: two for the collections and support areas, and one for new mechanical systems. Unlike the old basements, these are not cluttered with columns: there used to be 76; today there are just four in the shelving area. The mobile shelves now reach a height of 2.1 metres (seven feet)—which was the height of the ceilings in the original basements. As well, there is now appropriate space for full and modern mechanical systems. These provide superior control over air quality, humidity and other indoor environmental elements—for the benefit of the books, the well-being of Library staff, and for protection of the building fabric.
New mechanical basement level.
February 24, 2006 (Roy Grogan) |
New basement, collection level, after. May 3, 2006 |
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