Brantford Public Library’s new Shellard Lane Branch officially opened to the public on Tuesday, October 13, 2026.
Located in West Brant at the corner of Shellard Lane and Strickland Avenue, the 13,500-square-foot library is part of a joint facility that includes the new Blanche E. Williams elementary school, child care centre, city-operated recreation centre and park with several outdoor amenities.
Brantford Public Library CEO and Chief Librarian Rae-Lynne Aramburo said the addition of the City’s third library branch has been a long time coming, marking the culmination of years of planning.
“It’s the first new branch in 51 years, which is very exciting. I’ve been in this role since 2018 and I’ve been working on getting this new branch, doing budget projections. feasibility studies and things like that since then, but the concept of a new library had been floated around about a decade before that,” she said. “I almost don’t have words to describe what it feels like to finally be at this point. It’s not very often in your career that you get to say you’ve been part of making history. The staff have put a lot of effort into capturing the excitement as we were building up the space in September, putting together time-lapse videos of the shelves going up and the books going in, so we can really remember this moment in time.”
The new library sports an open-concept layout, with an abundance of natural light pouring in from the windows lining the space, as well as an outdoor terrace opening in 2027. Amenities include public computers, three private study rooms, a children’s area and storytelling space, dedicated children’s computers, a program room, and ample seating and work areas. Visitors can also access printing and copying services, a water bottle-filling station, an accessible washroom and Wi-Fi, among other resources.
“We’ll also have some maker and kit resources here,” said Aramburo. “We’re going to have a 3D printer here and some creative tools as well. We also have quite a bit of parking here compared to the other branches, which we are so excited about.”
While the staff are expecting to expand its catalogue even more, the library already features 30,000 new books for children, teens and adults alike, as well as DVDs, audio books and video games.
Beyond its books, technology and other resources, Aramburo said the new branch is intended to provide a welcoming space where people from West Brant and across the wider community can work, connect with others or simply spend time.
“The beautiful thing about libraries is that we have something for everyone and we’re constantly evolving to meet the needs of the community. It’s a space where people can come and focus on schoolwork or work, where they can come with their families and friends, or just have some quiet time,” she said. “It’s also a convenient space for people who are in the area. Because we don’t have very many library branches in the city, I feel like having that convenience is going to be a fantastic thing for people who are not just in West Brant but for the whole community.”
Aramburo continued, saying she hopes the new branch will help remind people of the important role libraries continue to play in the community.
“It’s very easy and common for people to think, ‘who needs libraries anymore?’ but I hope that the people of Brantford will come in and see all the things we can offer them,” she said. “Our staff are incredible. They’re so helpful and friendly, and they’re trained to listen to what you need and try to find ways to help you and meet you where you’re at.”
Noting that the new Shellard Lane Branch also serves as the school library for students attending Blanche E. Williams, Branch Manager Katilyn Laslo said that the response from the students and staff have been incredible.
“We opened up to the school before opening to the public and the response has been wild. They’re just thrilled,” she said. “The kids have been wonderful, and even when the teachers entered the space for the first time, you could tell it wasn’t what they expected. This isn’t the sort of library you find in a school these days; usually it’s this capsule collection they have for the kids, so they’re just flabbergasted that they get to have access to 30,000 books.”
When asked what the first day opened to the public had been like, Laslo said it was overwhelmingly positive.
“We’ve had hundreds of people come through already,” she said. “The response has been super overwhelming in a good way and there’s been so many people already so many people asking to have their holds switched over here.”
Kimberly De Jong’s reporting is funded by the Canadian government through its Local Journalism Initiative.The funding allows her to report rural and agricultural stories from Blandford-Blenheim and Brant County. Reach her at kimberly.dejong@brantbeacon.ca.
