The Medicine Hat Public Library has a new specialized quiet room thanks to a local family’s donation.
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READ: Top five things to do at the library in January
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The library will on Monday open its new WhisperRoom, a sound isolation booth designed to reduce ambient and acoustic noise.
Chief Librarian Ken Feser said it’s great to have a busy, active library but such a room is required to meet the needs of more patrons.
“Sometimes it can be hard to find the peace and quiet that some people want,” Feser said in a released statement.
“Modular meeting rooms are a good solution to that problem, and the WhisperRoom is also a good acoustic space for audio recording and production.”
David Sameshima contacted the library in the fall of 2024 about making a donation, saying that he and his family are big fans of the library, according to a news release.
When Sameshima heard the library was considering purchasing a pair of quiet meeting booths and that one of them could be used for music practice, he wanted to help out.
“We love music and we have a few players in our family, so it sounded great to us,” he said.
His daughters Midge and Wren helped the library unwrap the booth at Christmas, and Abby played cello inside it.
WhisperRoom sound booths range in price from $5,000 to $40,000, according to the company’s digital store. The donation amount was not revealed by the library.
“A thriving library is an important part of any community,” Sameshima said.
“It’s something that we care about, and it was nice to be able to help support that.”
Library card holders can book the room now for use starting on Jan. 6.
A second modular meeting room has been ordered and is expected to arrive in the coming weeks, the library said.
The bigger booth will seat four people and is designed more for meetings as opposed to music practice, the release added.
