Saskatoon’s ninth public library branch opened in Stonebridge Thursday morning.
The Round Prairie Branch is named after the Métis community of buffalo hunters who established a wintering site near Dakota Whitecap in the late 1800s.
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The community was forced to migrate to Saskatoon in search of work in the early 1930s and 1940s, creating a community near the new branch.
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“I mean it’s huge it’s honoring our ancestry and having something to carry forward for our children and grandchildren,” Shirley Isbister, who is a Round Prairie descendent and president of the Central Urban Métis Federation, said.
The new library is unique for its innovation lab with lego robotics, music and video editing software, and video games.
It cost approximate $1.3 million to build and has an annual operating budget of $870,000. The lease agreement provides an option for future expansion to keep pace with the neighbourhood’s growth.
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The new branch, located at 170-250 Hunter Road, has a variety of events throughout the week to celebrate.
A schedule is available on the Saskatoon Public Library website.
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