The long-standing library in B202 at Humber’s Lakeshore campus now sits empty. Humber Polytechnic says its services have been “migrated” to the L1000 Learning Commons. But what remains in L1000 hardly resembles a library.
What sits in the commons is a book vending machine with a handful of books, looking to serve the entire Lakeshore community.
The Learning Commons reception desk now doubles as library research support, leaving no dedicated space for students to sit with a librarian without blocking the pathway.
Students said they “didn’t connect the dots” that the new setup was a library.
“That’s nothing. Like, I didn’t even know it was related to the library. I thought it might be something like for picking up textbooks,” Doung Pham, an Artificial Intelligence - Integration and Governance student, said. “Like an exchange system for books. But I did not know that was a replacement.”
Alexandra Ross, the director of Humber and University of Guelph-Humber library services, says the move was based on data showing low foot traffic in B202. Humber says relocating the library to a high-traffic area, like the Learning Commons, has improved accessibility and convenience.
The books housed in B202 have been shipped to the North campus. Ross added the escalator in the B building would undergo construction in the summer of 2026, making it staircase access only.
With 85 per cent of the library’s resources now digital, students and faculty can request physical items from North Campus or have them delivered to their homes.
While the move may sound efficient, the current setup inside the Learning Commons is far from ideal.
The area gets extremely crowded during the day, being the main entry point to the campus, with an open cafeteria perched above it. Lakeshore students have long complained that the space is too noisy, particularly during lunch hours when nearby high school students spill in for food, making it harder even for Humber students to find a place to sit.
Just last week, an anonymous petition called for “immediate action” to address the situation.
“Their behaviour is consistently disruptive, aggressively loud, and entirely inappropriate for an academic environment. These students are not enrolled in our college, yet they interfere daily with our ability to study, work, and enjoy the facilities we pay for,” the petition said.
With only five quiet study rooms, Lakeshore simply cannot accommodate demand during exams.
Ross said the library-affiliated Idea Lab in G Cottage, popular for its 3D printing, recording studios, and creative tools, reports high usage.
Despite being part of the library, it was never housed alongside it. Now that the Idea Lab is set to temporarily relocate to the H building as the campus turns into a FIFA 2026 volunteer centre, Humber missed another opportunity to relocate it to the library and draw traffic back.
Visibility has also been a long-standing problem for the library. It had poor signage and little digital presence, leaving many students unaware it even existed, especially post-COVID. Et Cetera feels the B202 location’s proximity to residence and main street was an asset if promoted properly. A resource can’t thrive if no one knows it’s there.
College management has a responsibility to highlight and promote student spaces, not eliminate them. Humber emphasizes equitable access to textbooks across campuses, but the real issue is equitable access to a community-building space.
Libraries are more than shelves with books.
They are spaces for exploring both shared and differing interests with others. They often host events that highlight authors, themes, or even a “book of the month” curated by librarians. These are opportunities for students to engage with ideas beyond their textbooks.
“That kind of nurtures and promotes learning," Pham said. He says the library can and should play a very big role in that, but it needs physical space.
In group research settings, libraries provide the advantage of access to multiple sources that can be examined and debated collectively, with librarians present to support inquiry. For a campus like Lakeshore, which also offers degree programs, it is only sensible to provide appropriate research and discussion spaces.
The future of B202 remains uncertain. Lakeshore students are already short on study and event spaces, and the gap may only widen as Humber turns its attention to FIFA 2026 preparations.
Et Cetera believes this issue ultimately comes down to priorities. Students pay ancillary fees to support infrastructure, academic resources, and student services. Choosing a post-secondary institution is not defined solely by the programs it offers, but also by the quality of its spaces and supports. Students deserve the resources they were promised when they enrolled, not vending machines and digital stopgaps.
The library hasn’t been “migrated.” It has been massively downsized.
