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The Ottawa Public Library is exploring the idea of building a new central library in partnership with Library and Archives Canada.

While the nature of the partnership is still up in the air, Tuesday’s announcement comes as the library is the midst of an ambitious project to build a new main branch.

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There is still no site, budget or architect for the new central library, but at the heart of the partnership would be a shared facility, with space for exhibits, common spaces and auditoriums.

And that means the project will likely be bigger than originally envisioned.

“I don’t know how big. But I believe it would have to be bigger,” said Coun. Tim Tierney, chair of the Ottawa Public Library board.

And the collaboration could bring with it all kinds of possibilities, he added.

“This is great news for the taxpayer. We have a lot of synergies. There’s a lot of things we could do together,” said Tierney. “If you are looking for parties to come to the table, the federal government is a pretty good partner.”