By Valérie Rioux
Reopened in March 2024 after extensive renovation and expansion work, the bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy in Québec City received the Public Library of the Year Award from the International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) at its annual conference held this year in Astana, Kazakhstan. This is the first time a Canadian public library has received this distinction.
This achievement has special significance for the Montréal-Ottawa-Québec (MOQ) chapter of the Art Libraries Society of North America (ARLIS/NA). Located in the heart of Québec City, this exceptional library is also the workplace of our member Jean-Philippe Marcoux-Fortier, coordinator at the Gabrielle-Roy Library since 2019.
As a member of our large family of art libraries, we asked Mr. Marcoux-Fortier to think about an aspect of the library’s renovation – something that really caught his imagination – that was produced over the last few years of work. He shared his admiration for the restoration of the installation Il semble y avoir comme une pluie d’or by Québec artist Micheline Beauchemin, a public work from the original building, installed in 1983 in the centre of the space. “This work is very encompassing and omnipresent in the space as it extends over four floors, in the architectural void at the centre of the library, under the skylight. Thousands of metal slats were removed during the renovation, stored and restored over four-and-a-half years of work. As employees involved with the refurbishment of the premises, we witnessed the patient reinstallation of this huge sculpture, which is suspended several metres in the air. It took more than a day to reinstall the entire work,” he informed us.
When the library closed in 2019, the artwork had taken on a coppery hue due to oxidation over the past thirty-five years. Mr. Marcoux-Fortier recalls its reinstallation with enthusiasm: “It came back to us completely golden and radiant. It is one of the few elements that remained unchanged and retained its original place, both before and after the renovation.”
For Marcoux-Fortier, the importance of this work lies in its constant presence throughout the library’s various incarnations. He emphasized that the installation is a common thread for generations of users who frequented the library before it closed for renovations, or who are discovering it for the first time today. “This work has remained in the same place and provides a form of continuity through all the changes we have experienced. Visible from almost every space in the building, it accompanies us and witnesses all the big and small events that users experience in our premises,” he observed.
ARLIS/NA MOQ is proud to join the Canadian library community in celebrating the triumph of the bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy at IFLA in 2025. This distinction also allows our association to highlight the impact of public artworks at the heart of public library planning here and elsewhere, and to celebrate the work of its members who work there.
For more information on the distinction received by the bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy in Québec City:
Fonteret, Adeline (2025). “La bibliothèque Gabrielle-Roy remporte le prestigieux Prix de la bibliothèque publique de l’année de l’IFLA.” L’Institut canadien de Québec. https://www.institutcanadien.qc.ca/la-bibliotheque-gabrielle-roy-remporte-le-prestigieux-prix-de-la-bibliotheque-publique-de-lannee-de-lifla/.
Translation, J. Latour
Published September 12, 2025