Halton Hills Public Library
Encyclopedia
Halton Hills Public Library (HHPL) is the public library system for the Town of Halton Hills, Ontario
, Canada
.
Through its two branches (Georgetown Branch and Acton Branch) and its website, www.hhpl.on.ca, the Halton Hills Public Library provides a range of services for Halton Hills residents. There are approximately 14,000 active cardholders, most residing in the communities of Georgetown
, Acton
, Limehouse, Glen Williams
, Speyside, Norval
, and surrounding areas.
The Acton Branch is a stand-alone facility of 3074 square feet (285.6 m²), built in 1967 as a Centennial project. A new facility of 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) is currently being built just east of the existing branch. It is being made possible through an Infrastructure Stimulus Fund grant of $2.3M, with the remaining 1/3 of the cost being covered by the Town of Halton Hills. The new Acton Branch is planned for completion by March 31, 2011.
The Georgetown collection sprang from a related tradition—that of the Mechanics' Institutes
. These were associations whose principal purpose was to encourage those who had finished school, particularly members of the working class, to continue their education. Evening classes and special lectures were a significant part of the program of the Mechanic's Institutes, along with a library and a reading room stocked with newspapers and magazines. The number of Institutes in Ontario had grown substantially since the first two were formed in 1835, but a large number were formed after 1877, when the provincial government, through the Department of Education, began matching local dollars raised. The Georgetown Mechanic's Institute's collection grew rapidly for about three years and slowly, if at all, for the next dozen. The number of active members in a community of about 1500 slid from more than 100 down to between 60 and 70. Occasionally helped out by a grant of $25 or $40 (and free rent) from the village council, the Georgetown Mechanic's Institute frequently failed to qualify for any money from the province. Annual membership fees of a dollar were a day's wage for the working men the Institute was supposed to benefit. By 1895, new provincial legislation encouraged its directors to turn the whole collection (nearly 1300 volumes) over to the village on the condition that access to it be free for all residents of the village.
So long as the collection consisted of only a couple of thousand titles and library business was only done on two or three nights of the week, only one staff person, typically a young woman, was hired. Acton's first public librarian was Miss Ettie Laird, a girl of 16 who also worked at the post office, where among other things she did telegraphy. For $40 a year she was to enforce all rules, keep the books in systematic order, keep a record of membership, notify delinquents, keep the books, shelves, etc., carefully dusted, to be courteous at all times to members and to report to the board any discourtesy or misconduct on the part of those who visit the library. Wages were raised to $50 in 1901, $90 in 1913 and $120 by 1918. These wages brought Acton in close line with Georgetown where Miss Alberta Glass was hired in 1899 for $100 a year. The rules of the Acton Library were fairly simple. You had to be fourteen years old and known to the librarian or vouched for by "responsible citizens". A library card cost five cents, a copy of the printed catalogue another ten. The Dewey Decimal System would not arrive until 1915, and a card catalogue well after that. Members could borrow one book at a time, and overdue fines after two weeks were charged at the rate of five cents a day. There were additional fines for turning down the leaves, and marking or defacing books. Noise and loud conversation were forbidden, as was smoking. The Acton Library was open 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. From the beginning, Georgetown's hours were substantially longer: 12:30 to 5:30 each afternoon and 6:30 to 8:00 (summers) or 9:00 (winters).
Both collections continued to be housed in the respective Town Halls. In Georgetown, the Board applied to the Carnegie estate, which had been so generous with other public libraries across North America, to donate towards a new building. They were turned down in 1903 and again in 1910. The solution presented itself in 1912, when the members of the local Congregational Church, anticipating the union of the their church with those of the Methodists and Presbyterians, decided to move next door to Knox Presbyterian. The founding president of the Georgetown Mechanics' Institute, and local industrialist, John R. Barber, with the other trustees of the Congregational Church deeded the building to the Town to be used as a library. The conditions of sale included the provisos that no "gambling of any kind" be permitted on the premises, that the Memorial window remain, and that the church bell "be rung each Sabbath for church services". The Carnegie Foundation
was promptly asked for $4000 to cover the cost of renovating the building, and quickly refused. J.B. McKenzie of Acton was given the contract for renovations (rest rooms, a new metal ceiling) and the library opened in its new official home on October 10, 1913. It was equipped with gymnastic equipment, which during World War I
was used for training recruits. Just after the war, the YMCA used the facilities.
The Acton Library occupied a 15 by 19 feet (5.8 m) room which was inadequate for the collection, let alone the possibility of a "reading room". Again the Carnegie Trust was applied to without success. In 1923, the board was taken to task at the annual provincial library convention for not spending enough on books. In their defense, the board claimed that they had indeed bought 140 books the previous year, but that there was no room for many more. In the spring of 1933 the Murray family left money to be used to improve library facilities, either in a new building or through renovations in the Town Hall. In the spring of 1935, the library moved around the corner onto Mill Street into what seemed like spacious new quarters in the front of the new YMCA
building.
The years after World War II
dramatically changed the character of both communities. Although in 1901 Acton had stood second only to Oakville
in size among Halton's urban communities, there was almost no growth in population between World War I
and World War II
. Georgetown, by contrast, had seen steadier growth. Then between 1951 and 1971, Acton's population nearly doubled while Georgetown grew fivefold.
Most of these new residents lived in young families. New schools were opened, bringing with them (in some cases) special school library facilities. In Georgetown, some of the pressure was relieved when the junior collection was moved into the basement.
With Canada's Centennial still some years off, the federal government announced grants towards community projects to celebrate the nation's 100th birthday. The Acton Library Board was selected ahead of projects like a band hall, a swimming pool, or a chapel at the cemetery. The Board of Education chipped in with a corner of the Robert Little Public School property, and in June 1967, the new library facility opened. The new facility sparked a change in the way the Acton Library operated. Hours shifted from 4.5 to 24.5 per week. It had its own meeting room, tables and chairs for students to work at, and improved parking. The library now had a telephone, and was in a position to request books on interlibrary loans from other libraries in the region.
The telephone installed in the new Acton Library was, in many way, symbolic of a new era in library service on a number of levels. Since World War I, high stands of inflexible wooden shelves overflowed with books, the occasional newspaper and National Geographic. The collections had been small enough that the two or three staff knew virtually every title. Many of the staff stayed on for decades or more. The card catalogues were housed in a range of wooden units, and featured handwritten cards, typewritten cards and the occasional printed card purchased with a book. Some books on the shelves still had the bottom of the cloth spine painted black, with white letters neatly painted on for the call numbers. A professional cataloguer had helped in the move of the Georgetown Library in 1913 and in the conversion to "Dewey" in 1915, but the subject catalogues were full of "local variations". The staff were all from the community, and had little or no formal education in librarianship. The 1960s, in a great many other fields as well as libraries, saw a growing movement to professional education, and provincial and national standards of service.
. In accordance with the Public Libraries Act, there could be only one Public Library Board and in 1974 the Boards merged, creating the Halton Hills Public Library.
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
.
Through its two branches (Georgetown Branch and Acton Branch) and its website, www.hhpl.on.ca, the Halton Hills Public Library provides a range of services for Halton Hills residents. There are approximately 14,000 active cardholders, most residing in the communities of Georgetown
Georgetown, Ontario
Georgetown is a community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada and is part of the Regional Municipality of Halton. It is situated on the Credit River, located approximately 60 km west of Toronto making it part of the Greater Toronto Area...
, Acton
Acton, Ontario
Acton is a community located in the Town of Halton Hills, in Halton Region, Ontario, Canada.Acton is located on Highway 7 and the former Highway 25. Acton is served by GO Transit bus service on the Georgetown line corridor.-History:Acton was first named Danville when Settler Wheeler Green opened...
, Limehouse, Glen Williams
Glen Williams, Ontario
Glen Williams is a hamlet in the Credit River valley in the province of Ontario, Canada. It is part of Halton Hills in the Halton Regional Municipality. The Credit River extends over 1500 km from the Niagara Escarpment, emptying into Lake Ontario at Port Credit, Mississauga...
, Speyside, Norval
Norval, Ontario
Norval is an unincorporated community in the town of Halton Hills, Ontario, Canada. Situated on the Credit River, it is located approximately 55 km west of Toronto and is part of the Regional Municipality of Halton....
, and surrounding areas.
Branches
The Georgetown Branch shares a facility with the John Elliott Theatre and the Gallery. It began in 1913 in what was formerly the Congregational Church. The space was expanded in 1981, and now occupies 12100 square feet (1,124.1 m²). The Georgetown Branch will be undergoing renovation and expansion over the next two years and will be moving into 224 Maple Avenue for some of this time.The Acton Branch is a stand-alone facility of 3074 square feet (285.6 m²), built in 1967 as a Centennial project. A new facility of 9000 square feet (836.1 m²) is currently being built just east of the existing branch. It is being made possible through an Infrastructure Stimulus Fund grant of $2.3M, with the remaining 1/3 of the cost being covered by the Town of Halton Hills. The new Acton Branch is planned for completion by March 31, 2011.
Branch Locations
- Georgetown Branch - 9 Church Street, Georgetown, Ontario, L7G 2A3, Tel:905-873-2681
- Acton Branch - 17 River Street, Acton, Ontario, L7G 1C2, Tel:519-853-0301
Service Offerings
- Books
- Magazines and newspapers
- Local history archives
- Delivery to homebound individuals
- Interlibrary loan
- DVDs, videos, CDs
- Books on CD
- Public Internet access
- Children's and adult programming
- Reference and reader's advisory
- Free downloadable audiobooks
Traditions
Through the middle of the nineteenth century, the formal education of the province's youth was a major priority, making attendance compulsory for an increasingly broad range of age groups. Approved textbooks were at the core of education, but a broader range of books was approved for school "libraries" (usually little more than a couple of shelves in the corner of the single classroom). Under certain conditions, the materials could be made available to others in the school district. By 1883, the Board of Education for Acton voted to transfer its collection from the overcrowded public school to the new Town Hall, where on Monday evening at 7:00 the public could go and select from nearly 1400 items. Practically the first order of business at the founding meeting of the Acton Free Library Board, 1 April 1898, was to accept the collection from the Acton Public School Board.The Georgetown collection sprang from a related tradition—that of the Mechanics' Institutes
Mechanics' Institutes
Historically, Mechanics' Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men...
. These were associations whose principal purpose was to encourage those who had finished school, particularly members of the working class, to continue their education. Evening classes and special lectures were a significant part of the program of the Mechanic's Institutes, along with a library and a reading room stocked with newspapers and magazines. The number of Institutes in Ontario had grown substantially since the first two were formed in 1835, but a large number were formed after 1877, when the provincial government, through the Department of Education, began matching local dollars raised. The Georgetown Mechanic's Institute's collection grew rapidly for about three years and slowly, if at all, for the next dozen. The number of active members in a community of about 1500 slid from more than 100 down to between 60 and 70. Occasionally helped out by a grant of $25 or $40 (and free rent) from the village council, the Georgetown Mechanic's Institute frequently failed to qualify for any money from the province. Annual membership fees of a dollar were a day's wage for the working men the Institute was supposed to benefit. By 1895, new provincial legislation encouraged its directors to turn the whole collection (nearly 1300 volumes) over to the village on the condition that access to it be free for all residents of the village.
The New Free Public Libraries
In charge of the newly created "Free Public Libraries" were the newly appointed Public Library Boards. In both communities, Board members included a representative of council. Acton's board included H.P. Moore, editor and owner of the Acton Free Press, John Cameron, a local builder, and the Presbyterian, Anglican and Methodist ministers.So long as the collection consisted of only a couple of thousand titles and library business was only done on two or three nights of the week, only one staff person, typically a young woman, was hired. Acton's first public librarian was Miss Ettie Laird, a girl of 16 who also worked at the post office, where among other things she did telegraphy. For $40 a year she was to enforce all rules, keep the books in systematic order, keep a record of membership, notify delinquents, keep the books, shelves, etc., carefully dusted, to be courteous at all times to members and to report to the board any discourtesy or misconduct on the part of those who visit the library. Wages were raised to $50 in 1901, $90 in 1913 and $120 by 1918. These wages brought Acton in close line with Georgetown where Miss Alberta Glass was hired in 1899 for $100 a year. The rules of the Acton Library were fairly simple. You had to be fourteen years old and known to the librarian or vouched for by "responsible citizens". A library card cost five cents, a copy of the printed catalogue another ten. The Dewey Decimal System would not arrive until 1915, and a card catalogue well after that. Members could borrow one book at a time, and overdue fines after two weeks were charged at the rate of five cents a day. There were additional fines for turning down the leaves, and marking or defacing books. Noise and loud conversation were forbidden, as was smoking. The Acton Library was open 7:00 to 8:30 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. From the beginning, Georgetown's hours were substantially longer: 12:30 to 5:30 each afternoon and 6:30 to 8:00 (summers) or 9:00 (winters).
Both collections continued to be housed in the respective Town Halls. In Georgetown, the Board applied to the Carnegie estate, which had been so generous with other public libraries across North America, to donate towards a new building. They were turned down in 1903 and again in 1910. The solution presented itself in 1912, when the members of the local Congregational Church, anticipating the union of the their church with those of the Methodists and Presbyterians, decided to move next door to Knox Presbyterian. The founding president of the Georgetown Mechanics' Institute, and local industrialist, John R. Barber, with the other trustees of the Congregational Church deeded the building to the Town to be used as a library. The conditions of sale included the provisos that no "gambling of any kind" be permitted on the premises, that the Memorial window remain, and that the church bell "be rung each Sabbath for church services". The Carnegie Foundation
Carnegie Foundation
The Carnegie Foundation is an organization based in The Hague, Netherlands. It was founded in 1903 by Andrew Carnegie in order to manage his donation of US$1.5 million, which was used for the construction, management and maintenance of the Peace Palace...
was promptly asked for $4000 to cover the cost of renovating the building, and quickly refused. J.B. McKenzie of Acton was given the contract for renovations (rest rooms, a new metal ceiling) and the library opened in its new official home on October 10, 1913. It was equipped with gymnastic equipment, which during World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
was used for training recruits. Just after the war, the YMCA used the facilities.
The Acton Library occupied a 15 by 19 feet (5.8 m) room which was inadequate for the collection, let alone the possibility of a "reading room". Again the Carnegie Trust was applied to without success. In 1923, the board was taken to task at the annual provincial library convention for not spending enough on books. In their defense, the board claimed that they had indeed bought 140 books the previous year, but that there was no room for many more. In the spring of 1933 the Murray family left money to be used to improve library facilities, either in a new building or through renovations in the Town Hall. In the spring of 1935, the library moved around the corner onto Mill Street into what seemed like spacious new quarters in the front of the new YMCA
YMCA
The Young Men's Christian Association is a worldwide organization of more than 45 million members from 125 national federations affiliated through the World Alliance of YMCAs...
building.
The years after World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
dramatically changed the character of both communities. Although in 1901 Acton had stood second only to Oakville
Oakville, Ontario
Oakville is a town in Halton Region, on Lake Ontario in Southern Ontario, Canada, and is part of the Greater Toronto Area. As of the 2006 census the population was 165,613.-History:In 1793, Dundas Street was surveyed for a military road...
in size among Halton's urban communities, there was almost no growth in population between World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
and World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. Georgetown, by contrast, had seen steadier growth. Then between 1951 and 1971, Acton's population nearly doubled while Georgetown grew fivefold.
Most of these new residents lived in young families. New schools were opened, bringing with them (in some cases) special school library facilities. In Georgetown, some of the pressure was relieved when the junior collection was moved into the basement.
With Canada's Centennial still some years off, the federal government announced grants towards community projects to celebrate the nation's 100th birthday. The Acton Library Board was selected ahead of projects like a band hall, a swimming pool, or a chapel at the cemetery. The Board of Education chipped in with a corner of the Robert Little Public School property, and in June 1967, the new library facility opened. The new facility sparked a change in the way the Acton Library operated. Hours shifted from 4.5 to 24.5 per week. It had its own meeting room, tables and chairs for students to work at, and improved parking. The library now had a telephone, and was in a position to request books on interlibrary loans from other libraries in the region.
The telephone installed in the new Acton Library was, in many way, symbolic of a new era in library service on a number of levels. Since World War I, high stands of inflexible wooden shelves overflowed with books, the occasional newspaper and National Geographic. The collections had been small enough that the two or three staff knew virtually every title. Many of the staff stayed on for decades or more. The card catalogues were housed in a range of wooden units, and featured handwritten cards, typewritten cards and the occasional printed card purchased with a book. Some books on the shelves still had the bottom of the cloth spine painted black, with white letters neatly painted on for the call numbers. A professional cataloguer had helped in the move of the Georgetown Library in 1913 and in the conversion to "Dewey" in 1915, but the subject catalogues were full of "local variations". The staff were all from the community, and had little or no formal education in librarianship. The 1960s, in a great many other fields as well as libraries, saw a growing movement to professional education, and provincial and national standards of service.
The Halton Hills Public Library
Despite considerable local protest, in 1973 the provincial government shifted the footing of local government, merging Esquesing with Acton and Georgetown to create the new Town of Halton HillsHalton Hills, Ontario
Halton Hills is a town in the Regional Municipality of Halton, west of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is located within the Greater Toronto Area....
. In accordance with the Public Libraries Act, there could be only one Public Library Board and in 1974 the Boards merged, creating the Halton Hills Public Library.
External links
- Halton Hills Public Library (http://www.hhpl.on.ca/)
- Halton Hills Public Library Catalogue (http://hhpl.bibliocommons.com/dashboard)
- Halton Hills Public Library Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/pages/Georgetown-ON/Halton-Hills-Public-Library/12169735434?ref=ts)
- Halton Hills Public Library Flickr Photostream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/hhpl/)
- Town of Halton Hills (http://www.haltonhills.ca/)