Calgary Public Library
| Calgary Public Library | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Type | Public Library system of Calgary, Alberta Canada |
| Established | 1912--207.34.115.68 (talk) 18:38, 27 January 2012 (UTC) |
| Branches | 18 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | books, e-books, music, cds, periodicals, maps, geneological archives, business directories, local history, |
| Size | 2,332,581 |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | 16,012,748 |
| Website | Calgary Public Library |
The Calgary Public Library is a distributed library system featuring 17 branch locations including the Central Library. It is the second most used system in Canada (after the Toronto Public Library)[1] and the sixth most used library system in North America.[2] This is despite the fact that the Calgary Public Library is only 21st in per capita funding in the country, receiving as little as half the money of other Canadian public libraries.[citation needed]
Contents |
[edit] History
The Calgary Public Library Board of Trustees was established on May 18, 1908. R. B. Bennett, who would later serve as Prime Minister of Canada, was among the five people appointed to the board.[3] The first public library opened on January 2, 1912, thanks in part to the generosity of American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.[4]
Carnegie funded $80,000 of the $100,000 cost of Calgary’s Central Library, (now renamed the Memorial Park Branch), pressuring City Hall to fund the rest.[5]
[edit] Services
- Information and reference services
- Access to full text databases
- Community information
- Internet access
- Reader's advisory services
- Programs for children, youth and adults
- Delivery to homebound individuals
- Interlibrary loan
- Free downloadable audiobooks
[edit] History
The building was the first purpose-built public library in Alberta. It was designed by Boston architects McLean & Wright, and built out of local Paskapoo Sandstone (a soft stone that today presents a substantial preservation challenge). This library branch is a copy of a library in Attleboro, Massachusetts.
In 1929 the formal Victorian-style park surrounding the Central Library was dedicated to the honour of those who had died in the Great War. During construction of the original building, the Calgary Library Board sought out a librarian to oversee the opening of its new library. In January 1911, Alexander Calhoun, a thirty-one-year-old graduate of Queens University, was appointed Calgary's Librarian. Calhoun served as the head of the Calgary Public Library until his retirement in 1945.[6]
When a new downtown central library was constructed in the early 1960s, the original branch was renamed the Memorial Park branch, and still operates today. An addition to the 1960s Central Library was built in 1974, doubling the size of the building.[7]
Today, the current Central Library building is considered too small to meet the needs of Calgary's population, and lacks the infrastructure to support new technology. Preliminary planning and public consultation for a new central library have been completed, but funding for the project, expected to cost between C$225 million and C$250 million, is still being studied further. City Hall has pledged C$175 million to the project. The groundbreaking for the project was slated for 2012. The location of the new library will be in the Downtown East Village (just across 3rd St. S.E. from the new City Hall).[8] However, an update from City Hall has stated that the groundbreaking is delayed, until the general details of the project can be finalized.[9]
[edit] Branches
The 18 Branches are:
- W.R. Castell Central
- Alexander Calhoun
- Bowness
- Country Hills
- Crowfoot
- Fish Creek
- Forrest Lawn
- Glenmore Square
- Louise Riley
- Memorial Park
- Nose Hill
- Saddletowne (Opening January 2012)
- Shaganappi
- Shawnessy
- Signal Hill
- Southwood
- Thornhill
- Village Square
[edit] Statistics
Calgary Public Library Facts (2009):[1]
- Annual circulation: 16,012,748
- Number of items in collection: 2,332,581
- Total number of books to choose from: 1,861,712
- Total number of music CDs to choose from: 222,586
- Total number of DVDs to choose from: 60,913
- Percentage of households that utilize the Calgary Public Library: 72%
- In-person customer visits: 5.6 million annually
[edit] Logo
The Library's logo is a stylized book viewed on end, but also represents people, the Calgary Tower, and a gateway or keyhole to information and ideas.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Calgary Public Library Annual Report 2010 (under Benchmarks on page 19)". http://blog.calgarypubliclibrary.com/blogs/about_cpl/2010%20Report%20to%20the%20Community%28web%29.pdf. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ Potkins, Meghan (January 27, 2012). "Calgary Public Library sets new borrowing record (Becomes sixth busiest library system in North America)". Calgary Herald. http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Calgary+Public+Library+sets+borrowing+record/6057782/story.html. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
- ^ Gorosh,E. Calgary's "Temple of Knowledge": A History of the Public Library. 1975 Century Calgary Publications. p.5.
- ^ "Carnegie Library, Calgary, Alberta.". Community Heritage and Family History Digital Library. Calgary: Calgary Public Library. 2002-06-04. http://cdm280501.cdmhost.com/cdm4/item_viewer.php?CISOROOT=/p280501coll15&CISOPTR=1733&CISOBOX=1&REC=1. Retrieved 2010-07-12.
- ^ Gorosh, E. Calgary's 'Temple of Knowledge'. Calgary, Alberta: Century Calgary Publications, 1975. p. 6 http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=498191
- ^ Nicholson, Barbara and Donna Lohnes: Alexander Calhoun: The Cornerstone of Calgary's "Temple of Knowledge"
Citymakers: Calgarians after the Frontier. Max Foran, Shellagh Jameson (ed.). The Historical Society of Alberta, Chinook Country Chapter, 1987. p.152-153 - ^ Gorosh, E. Calgary's 'Temple of Knowledge'. Calgary, Alberta: Century Calgary Publications, 1975. p.106 http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=498191
- ^ Markusoff, Jason (August 11, 2011). "New central library will hug C-Train tunnel". Calgary Herald. http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/central+library+will+Train+tunnel/5237822/story.html. Retrieved 2011-08-12.
- ^ Komarnicki, Jamie (December 5, 2011). "Calgary's new central library may not break ground next year". Calgary Herald. http://www.calgaryherald.com/business/energy-resources/Calgary+central+library+break+ground+next+year/5810535/story.html. Retrieved 2012-01-28.
[edit] External links
- Official Website
- Annual reports and other publications
- Branch locations and hours
- Canadian Library Association - A Pocket History of Calgary
- Calgary Landmark Library - site for proposed new Central Library project
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Coordinates: 51°02′48″N 114°03′28″W / 51.046534°N 114.057773°W
