 Monday, October 15, 2001 will be recorded
as a significant turning point in the history of the City of Greater
Sudbury. On that day the librarians were transformed into Citizen
Service Representatives as the City launched a unique model of operation
which is being watched closely by municipalities from across Canada. The
New Citizen Service Centres combine the library and municipal services
under one roof in six locations around the City - namely Valley East,
Capreol, Lively, Dowling, Chelmsford and Garson - at the public library
sites in each outlying community. The Centres will replace the former
Town Halls which closed at the end of the business day on October 12.
The Citizen Service Reps at the Valley East location are show in the above photo. From the left: Caroline Hallsworth (General Manager of Citizen and Leisure Services), Lynn Leroux, Corrie Joe Caporale, Yolande Charbonneau, Carmen Blais, Jim Rule (C.E.O. of the City of Greater Sudbury), Lynn Imbeau (Lead Rep of Valley East and Capreol Citizen Service Centres), Martha Werner and Louise Rainville, with Ron Henderson (Director of Citizen Services) in the background. Richard Clouthier, Manager of North Customer Service Centres and Neighbourhood Libraries was missing from the photo. "The opening of the new Citizen Service Centres marks the beginning of a new era in the delivery of municipal services," said Greater Sudbury Mayor, Jim Gordon. Jim Rule explained that, "Citizens will be able to borrow a library book, access the internet, pay their taxes, get a dog licence, buy a bus pass, register for recreation programs or obtain information about municipal government services at any of these Centres." "We have combined library and municipal services to give citizens one-stop access, making the Citizen Service Centres close and convenient," said Caroline Hallsworth when explaining the purpose of the centres which have been located in each of the former area municipalities. One of the main services offered by the new centres is the extended hours of operation. Each centre will be open Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering both municipal and library services. Library services only will be available on Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Ron Henderson, Director of Citizen Services, had the responsibility for assigning staff to the Centres, "When we were deciding on staff, we realized that the people who were best suited to provide this kind of personal service to residents of the City were librarians, who by their very nature, are very much people-oriented and accustomed to providing direct service to people of all ages and answering all of their questions." "This will be a big plus for the people of Valley East and all other areas of the community," stated Ron Dupuis, Councillor for Ward 3. "I want to congratulate our staff for making this happen so quickly." Louise Portelance, Councillor for Ward 3, expressed confidence that people in the area will learn to accept and like the enhanced services provided at the Centre, "Our library in Valley East is perhaps the best suited for this type of service delivery. It is the 2nd largest library in the region and it has a perfect lay-out for the combined services. It will take time for people to get used to going to the library for their municipal services, but I am sure they will learn to like it." A spin-off benefit of the new Citizen Service Centre model is that it will definitely generate an increase in traffic for the local libraries as more people get a chance to visit the facilities and see what they have been missing. The Valley East library is one of the most attractive libraries in the entire region and will certainly be a showcase for this model. |