Calgary Public Library sets bold vision for growth to 2040

Eight new libraries, 18 million visits, and 30 million stories shared

Driven by values of curiosity, collaboration, and equity and belonging, Calgary Public Library today announced its 2027 – 2030 Strategic Plan, with a future-oriented twist. For the first time, the Library is setting out a long-term horizon beyond the plan period, writing the story of a library system for the future of our city. In this vision, the Library will see three out of every four Calgarians become active Library members by 2040, up from half today.

“We all know the power of stories — they animate our lives and make them richer,” says Sarah Meilleur, CEO, Calgary Public Library. “For over a century, the Library has helped shape the city by celebrating and supporting your stories. Now, we are calling on Calgarians to be our co-authors as we build the Library of tomorrow — one that meets the needs of Calgary’s growing, evolving, and culturally diverse community. Building this future together means imagining the city in which we wish to live in 2040 and bringing it to life.”

The new Strategic Plan, A Better Tomorrow Through Stories, lays out five service mandates for 2027 – 2030, along with visionary success measures for what these mandates aim to deliver in the long term:

• Experiences: Library-curated experiences will help people realize their potential by focusing on literacy, reading, creativity, skill-building, equity, and supporting youth. Annual visits will approach 18 million by 2040, up from 7 million in 2025.
• Spaces: Welcoming, flexible, intentional spaces will be created and enhanced across the network, with 40 per cent of space supporting collaboration and learning activity.
• Collections: With Library cards free for all, the Library’s collections are its most used and impactful service. The vision sees the collections growing to at least two items for every person in the city, and total circulation approaching 30 million by 2040, up from 17.5 million in 2025.
• Expertise: The Library’s extraordinary staff are skilled in navigating information, thinking critically, and troubleshooting technology. Engaging visitors in a multilingual environment that reflects the diversity of Calgary is a key part of our service mandate.
• Technology: Facilitating equitable access to resources and connecting people to community service providers requires powerful technology supports. Library technology will be immersive and adaptive, driving digital equity and literacy.

Along with the Strategic Plan, Calgary Public Library released an ambitious Facility Master Plan that calls for at least 200,000 net new square feet of library space in Calgary. Eight new and three redeveloped locations are planned across all four city quadrants, and, for the first time, the Library is sharing with Calgarians more details about these future projects. The goal is to reach 0.3 square feet per capita by 2040 — meeting a North American benchmark.  

The Library is working with the City of Calgary, the Government of Alberta, other community partners, its hundreds of staff and thousands of volunteers, and generous donors to realize this bold vision. Calgary is a rapidly growing, globally connected city and the Library must grow with it.

“In an era of complexity and polarization, libraries represent a rare public space where everyone is welcome and we can challenge each other, respectfully, to broaden our thinking, and build a better tomorrow, through stories,” says Meilleur. “We have 22 locations today and if we achieve our vision, we’ll grow to 30 locations by 2040. We are excited to collaborate with community as we build the Library and the future of our city together.”

To learn more about Calgary Public Library’s new Strategic Plan and its vision to 2040, visit calgarylibrary.ca/strategic-plan.