The history of the Winnipeg Public Library

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 22/10/2018 (2784 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Even before publishing an extensive history of the Winnipeg Public Library, Eve Dutton jokes she was already thoroughly invested in the institution.

“I’m a longtime stakeholder of the Winnipeg Public Library in the overdue fines that I’ve given them over the years, which has been numerous,” Dutton said.

Dutton is co-author of More Than Books: The History of the Winnipeg Public Library with Riverview-based author Kathleen Williams. The book was edited by Joan Blakey and published by the Winnipeg Public Library with funding support from the City of Winnipeg and the Winnipeg Public Library Board.

The chronological look at the library follows its development from the days of the Carnegie Library, to the opening of the Millennium Library, to today’s current operating climate, through thick and thin funding, over the decades.

“I think public libraries are fascinating and have a very storied past,” Williams, who is also administrative coordinator of adult programming and outreach with the WPL, told The Sou’wester. “But the evolution of libraries through the years I find really fascinating and it’s also a reflection of the city and times of each decade.

“So the story of the public library is also a story of Winnipeg,” Williams said.

Parsing the relevant documents to get a more complete idea of the library’s progression over the course of a hundred years was no small feat, Dutton admitted.

It took over a year to go through the minutes of board meetings stretching back decades and the library’s earliest annual reports.

“There was a lot of paperwork and the library gave me a couple of boxes of archival materials that I still have in my spare room and need to get back to them,” she said with a laugh. “They should have known this about me because of my overdue fine situation.”

Dutton then turned to the primary sources working and volunteering at the city’s libraries.

“And when I was working on writing the book one of the things the library kindly facilitated for me was giving me the opportunity to go to different library branches and interview the staff and patrons,” Dutton said. “That was probably the part of the book that I spent the most time doing, which was not what I expected when I set out to write it.

“I thought it would be a straightforward corporate history and it turned into very dynamic and personal account. People who care about libraries care about them so passionately.”

In addition to those interviews, More Than Books features 160 photos, archival images, and maps and is a mix of narrative prose and short stories capturing moments in time, such as the days of the bookmobile, pay duplicates, book shortages, card catalogues, and censorship.

“I think it’s a book that will really resonate with a lot of families and people. There are hundreds of thousands of library card holders in the city,” Williams said. “And I think it’s important to reflect on the past to also know where we are now and where we will be in the future.”

Copies of the book are available for $12 at the Best of Friends Gift Shop, located at the Millennium Library and for free download as an eBook.