Bata Library Transformation Project Selected for National Campaign to Restore Canadian Heritage
Trent University’s iconic library selected as one of 26 historical sites to participate in crowdfunding competition
Trent University’s iconic Bata Library has been selected as one of 26 historical sites across Canada to participate in the 2017 National Trust for Canada’s “This Place Matters” crowdfunding competition, providing an opportunity to compete for a $60,000 heritage restoration prize, with proceeds going to reconstruct the uniquely designed wooden trellises that overlook the Otonabee River.
To celebrate Bata Library’s upcoming milestone 50th birthday, the Bata Library’s 50th: Share Your Voice, Share Your Vote campaign will focus on restoring the trellises – an integral part of Thom’s brutalist/modernist architectural vision – to their original state. The initiative is part of the Bata Library Transformation project, an $18 million renewal which will transform the Bata Library into a library of the future.
From June 15 to July 17, participating groups, including Trent, will promote their campaigns on social media to encourage friends, family, colleagues and residents of the community to vote for and donate to their project. To give each campaign a further boost, every dollar donated to a project will count for one additional vote to that project. Prizes will be distributed to the projects with the highest number of votes. Supporters are eligible to vote once every 24 hours.
“We appreciate this opportunity, provided by the National Trust of Canada, to participate in this exciting crowdfunding competition,” says Lee Hays ’91, director of Alumni Affairs. “We hope members of the community will go online to vote for the Bata Library project. This is an exciting time in our history – Bata Library is turning 50 and what a better gift to give our library than the restoration of the unique outer trellises designed by renowned architect, Ron Thom.”
Trent has set a goal of raising $50,000, which represents a potential $110,000 investment should the University win the national competition.
To support the Bata Library’s 50th: Share Your Voice, Share Your Vote campaign, please visit thisplacematters.ca/project/bata-librarys-50th-share-voice-share-vote/.
Participants are encouraged to use the project’s hashtag #Bata50 to join the conversation on social media.
About Trent University
One of Canada's top universities, Trent University was founded on the ideal of interactive learning that's personal, purposeful and transformative. Consistently recognized nationally for leadership in teaching, research and student satisfaction, Trent attracts excellent students from across the country and around the world. Here, undergraduate and graduate students connect and collaborate with faculty, staff and their peers through diverse communities that span residential colleges, classrooms, disciplines, hands-on research, co-curricular and community-based activities. Across all disciplines, Trent brings critical, integrative thinking to life every day. Today, Trent's unique approach to personal development through supportive, collaborative community engagement is in more demand than ever. Students lead the way by co-creating experiences rooted in dialogue, diverse perspectives and collaboration. In a learning environment that builds life-long passion for inclusion, leadership and social change, Trent's students, alumni, faculty and staff are engaged global citizens who are catalysts in developing sustainable solutions to complex issues. Trent's Peterborough campus boasts award-winning architecture in a breathtaking natural setting on the banks of the Otonabee River, just 90 minutes from downtown Toronto, while Trent University Durham – Greater Toronto Area, delivers a distinct mix of programming in the east GTA.
Kathryn Verhulst-Rogers, manager, Communications, Trent University, (705) 748-1011 x6182 or kathrynverhulst@trentu.ca