Funded by the City of Vancouver, the Vancouver Public Library is the third largest public library system in Canada, with over 395,000 cardholders and more than 8 million item borrowings annually. The central branch opened in Downtown Vancouver on May 26, 1995 and cost 106.8 million CAD to build. It currently holds over 1.3 million items.The building is located in the eastern portion of the Vancouver Central Business District. The address of the library is 350 West Georgia Street, and the Federal office tower is addressed at 300 West Georgia Street. Level 8 and 9 are leased to the Provincial government. Their address is 360 West Georgia Street.
The Square is bordered by Robson Street, Homer Street, West Georgia Street, and Hamilton Street. Across West Georgia Street is Canada Post. Across Hamilton Street is the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre Vancouver. Across Homer street is the The Centre in Vancouver for the Performing Arts, (formerly The Ford Centre for the Performing Arts) also designed by Moshe Safdie as a complementary building to library square.
