Using Geographical Information Systems (GIS) Technology
To Make The Case For A New Branch Public Library

The City of Windsor, Ontario, Canada's southernmost city is situated on the south shore of the Detroit River and Lake St. Clair directly across from Detroit, Michigan. It is the oldest continuous European settlement in Ontario, with roots going back to 1728.

Windsor grew from a collection of French farmsteads along the Detroit River into four major communities which were amalgamated and annexed into the present day boundaries. As a result Windsor is a city of well defined neighbourhoods

The Windsor Public Library in Windsor, Ontario, Canada operates a Central Resource Library and eight branch libraries to serve a community of 200,000 people. Since it's founding in 1894 the library has expanded to serve neighbourhoods throughout a community that covers 120 square kilometers.

Fontainebleau is the name of a planned community initiated as a result of federal/provincial land assembly begun in the early 1960s when the area was still Sandwich East Township. The Ministry of Municipal Affairs and the Central Mortgage & Housing Corporation were involved, and about three phases were completed prior to annexation by the City of Windsor in 1965-6.

Initially both Fontainebleau and the neighbouring newly built planned community Forest Glade received library service from a branch library located in a busy shopping mall at the corner of the Lauzon Road and Tecumseh Road main intersections.

This worked very well until the lease for the Tecumseh Mall Library was not renewed in April 1988. Residents of Forest Glade were successful in working with Windsor City Council to get a new 5,500 square foot library built on parkland in the centre of their community. With no acceptable means of providing service to Fontainebleau the Windsor Public Library Board expressed an intention to build a branch library to serve the community.

For the next twelve years the Board carried the intention as part of their Capital Plan. Other library branches were rebuilt, relocated and renovated but there never seemed to be the community will to address the lack of a proper library in Fontainebleau.

This situation changed in May of 2000. Local resident opposition to a planned development on lands in the heart of Fontainebleau led to a decision by Windsor City Council to study the feasibility of developing a library on the site. A "Friends of Fontainebleau" residents group was formed to work with the Windsor Public Library Foundation to raise funds and act as an advisory body. At the same time the library administrative staff worked to build a case for the need for the new library.

As the date for the presentation of the need for a new library to Windsor City Council grew nearer a Geographic Information Systems (GIS) demonstration was conceived of as a way to effectively illustrate the situation and the need for library service in the Fontainebleau community. GIS technology and different urban land use criteria such as distance buffers, proximities to other amenities such as recreation centres and arenas, roads, population densities and projections, bus routes, geographic barriers, etc. would be used to illustrate that the proposed site was the best location for a new library in the Fontainebleau area.

Alice Grgicak-Mannion, RS/GIS Coordinator for Earth Sciences at the University of Windsor provided her expertise to the project. Amanda Juracic carried out the required work. City of Windsor Planner Alex Shinas provided population statistics for forecasting purposes. Janet Woodbridge, Edith Hopkins and Steve Salmons provided input into the process and feedback with regard to the final version.

Three years of effort by the Friends of Fontainebleau, the WPL Foundation and the library staff culminated in the Windsor City Council meeting of March 19, 2003.

Among the speakers that evening was Library Board Chair Peter Wright, who expressed the Board's support of the need of the Fontainebleau community. WPL CEO Steve Salmons and Amanda Juracic gave the Geographic Information Systems presentation on the need for a library, speaking about the geographic isolation of the Fontainebleau community, difficulties for pedestrians, needs of youth, seniors, and individuals living in social housing, proximity of elementary schools, the Board's service goal of locating a library within 2 km of all residents, and the benefits of the proposed site. At the end of the presentation they left the final view on the overhead screen so that following speakers and Councillors could refer to it during the balance of the meeting.

Ron Marshall and Beth Nikosey spoke on behalf of the Friends of Fontainebleau and described the community support for a library. Neighbourhood school children representing the community talked about what a new library would mean to them and their friends. Library Foundation Vice-President Stan Cunningham spoke to the successful fundraising efforts that had been carried out to date and pledged to continue them until the pledge had been fulfilled.

After listening to all the delegations the Council voted unanimously to build the new library. The GIS presentation was an effective tool for illustrating the rationale for the new library through building up the evidence layer by layer. The approach used by WPL can be a model for all libraries that may be tackling similar issues in building new facilitites or relocating existing branches in their communities.

Many thanks are due to all who worked on the project. A groundbreaking was held in September, 2003 and the new library is expected to open in the fall of 2004.


For a slideshow, click on one of the images


For a slideshow, click on one of the images

There are currently nine public libraries in the City of Windsor operated by the Windsor Public Library Board. The City Council's strategic plan calls for neighbourhood services but there is no public library to serve Fontainebleau.


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The City of Windsor owns and operates leisure and recreation facilities which contribute to the health and quality of life of the residents. This layer shows that relatively few of these facilities are located in the Fontainebleau neighbourhood. A new library would considerably enhance the quality of living in the community and provide a venue for much-needed recreational and cultural activity.


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Public libraries support the education system through providing supplementary materials, a location for individual and group study and research assistance for students. They allow students a place to conduct their homework, access computers or even just to socialize in a public setting. Those who do not have a library located within walking distance of their homes and schools are lacking an important element in support of learning. Considered from the opposite point of view, libraries that are located near schools enjoy a high level of use. It is very important for public libraries to be located close to schools. This layer shows that there are a number of elementary schools in the Fontainebleau area but no public library to support their students.


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Governments fund social housing as a way of supporting low income families and the optimal development of children. Neighbourhood public libraries and their caring staff members offer children refuge from troubled home situations and positive role models. These children are the most in need of extra support to help them grow and develop into useful citizens but are the least likely to have parents who will provide transportation to the library. Locating public libraries near social housing developments is a way to offer these children both hope and help.
Seniors often suffer from social isolation through a lack of transportation opportunities and limited mobility due to health issues. The public library can provide not only learning and leisure through books and other resources but also the chance to experience friendly social interaction with the staff.
Turning on this layer reveals the presence of social housing and seniors residences in the Fontainebleau neighbourhood.


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The Windsor Public Library Board has adopted acceptable and achievable standards for the planning of public library service. With regard to access, community libraries should be available within a 2 kilometre radius of the population to be served. The actual boundaries of a library service area should follow the natural geography of the neighbourhood and consider geographical barriers as well as local walking and traffic patterns.
In support of the City of Windsor's Community Strategic Plan the WPL Board endeavours to locate facilities in an area that is visited by all members of the community in their day-to-day activities and locate facilities within a five minute drive or a twenty minute walk of any person in the catchment area.
When the layer describing a 2km radius around the existing Windsor Public Library facilities is turned on it becomes obvious that there is no library that would serve to meet the Board's access criteria in Fontainebleau.


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The WPL Board's access criteria call for the location of library facilities on public transit routes. This is important because children and many seniors and young families do not own cars.


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The land use layer illustrates the barriers to access to public library facilities posed by industrial and commercial lands. Neighbourhood libraries are best located in residential areas especially when independent access by children and seniors is a goal.


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This layer provides information on current and projected population levels. The Fontainebleau area is projected to remain stable or grow slightly over the next decade, ensuring that a new library branch would be well used.,


For a slideshow, click on one of the images