Nova ScotiaA community effort has helped reopen the library in the Advocate Harbour area less than a year after the previous branch was demolished due to safety concerns. Planning underway to replace entire community centreLuke Ettinger · CBC News · Posted: Nov 15, 2025 5:00 AM EST | Last Updated: 4 hours agoListen to this articleEstimated 3 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.Advocate Harbour has a new library after the building housing the former community centre had to be demolished. It will have an official opening later this month. (Courtney Morris/Facebook )There’s a new library serving the Advocate Harbour, N.S., area less than a year after the previous branch was demolished due to safety concerns.Carly Cleveland of the Advocate District Development Association said the condition of the local community centre had deteriorated. The Cumberland Public Libraries branch was in the basement.”Ultimately it came down to a determination that the building was, in fact, not safe for community occupancy,” Cleveland said.Demolition began in May. “So, that was a really kind of dark time in our community.”Cleveland said the development association’s first priority was to return library services to the community, located more than 90 kilometres from Amherst.However, space in the community was limited and did not meet the municipality’s standards. A decision was made to construct a building that is less than 1,000 square feet to house the library. Cleveland said the eight-month project cost about $118,000.The log building that housed the library had been deteriorating for years. (Carly Cleveland/Facebook )The building is on pillars so it could be relocated in future.”Our community members are a huge part of what has made this possible,” she said. “So, we really appreciate them.”The project received $26,000 in grants from both the Municipality of Cumberland and Christie-Smith Community Fund, in addition to interest-free loans and private donations.”There’s a whole crew of people down there that have been involved in this from Day 1 and they have worked extremely hard,” said Cumberland Mayor Rod Gilroy.Gilroy said library services were offered at the fire hall in Advocate Harbour on an occasional basis in the interim.The development association plans to build a larger community centre that will also include a bigger kitchen, gym and a space for events. It will be attached to the library.Gilroy said council is expecting to discuss financial support to replace Advocate Harbour’s community centre in next year’s budget deliberations. The municipality is also working on an approximately $3-million community centre in Parrsboro on the heels of a nearly $2.2-million library branch completion in Pugwash.Cleveland said there is no timeline for the Advocate Harbour community centre, which could cost up to $5 million.A grand opening ceremony for the new Advocate Harbour library branch is planned for Nov. 22.MORE TOP STORIESABOUT THE AUTHORLuke Ettinger is a reporter with CBC Nova Scotia based in Truro. Reach him at luke.ettinger@cbc.ca.
Advocate Harbour library reopens after previous branch demolished
