Whitby Public Library
Encyclopedia
Public library
A public library is a library that is accessible by the public and is generally funded from public sources and operated by civil servants. There are five fundamental characteristics shared by public libraries...
serves the town of Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
, Ontario
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...
(pop. 111,000), with three branches. The library is governed through a ten-person Library Board appointed by the town, and operated by a staff of over 80 full and part-time employees. The current CEO is Ian Ross.
In 2009, there were over 1.3 million total items circulated and the system had a budget of over $5 million.
History
Tailor
A tailor is a person who makes, repairs, or alters clothing professionally, especially suits and men's clothing.Although the term dates to the thirteenth century, tailor took on its modern sense in the late eighteenth century, and now refers to makers of men's and women's suits, coats, trousers,...
Hugh Fraser (1815–1890) in 1850. Fraser later became librarian when a local Mechanics' Institute
Mechanics' Institutes
Historically, Mechanics' Institutes were educational establishments formed to provide adult education, particularly in technical subjects, to working men...
was formed in 1852, offering reading material to institute members. Support for a public library grew, and in 1911, the Town of Whitby appointed a Library Board and applied for a grant from American industrialist and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
. Construction of the Carnegie library
Carnegie library
A Carnegie library is a library built with money donated by Scottish-American businessman and philanthropist Andrew Carnegie. 2,509 Carnegie libraries were built between 1883 and 1929, including some belonging to public and university library systems...
began in early 1913 and the building was officially opened the following year. The new building housed 5,000 books and contained separate reading areas for men, women and children. Cards cost five cents and required the signature of a “responsible person” who could identify the borrower.
The Carnegie Building served the community for many years. However, by the 1970s, it was no longer adequate to serve the growing community. In 1973, the library was moved to the lower floor of the Whitby municipal building on Dundas Street. In 1978, a new Town Hall opened and the library occupied the whole of the former municipal building. The Carnegie library still stands at the corner of Dundas and Byron Streets and is currently used as a lawyer's office.
The Town of Whitby continued to grow, and the Dundas Street facility, originally built as the town municipal building in 1960, became increasingly inadequate. Plans to build a new central library as part of a civic recreation centre in the late 1980s did not come to fruition, although a new neighbourhood branch was opened in a shopping plaza at 701 Rossland Road East in 1989 as a "temporary measure" until the new branch could be built. Instead, plans were made to keep the main branch in Whitby’s downtown core on the property of the existing library. The initiative was approved and funded by the Town and additional funding obtained from the provincial and federal governments through a SuperBuild grant. Architects Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners
Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners
Shore Tilbe Irwin + Partners , now Shore Tilbe Perkins+Will, is an architecture firm based in Toronto, Ontario. Since its founding as Shore and Moffat in 1945, STI&P completed numerous buildings, complexes, and master plans across Canada, as well as in locations in the United States and Bermuda...
were hired in 2002 and construction began the following year. The old library remained open as the new one was built and was demolished after its completion.
The new Central Library opened in 2005 and has won a number of design awards, including the Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association
Ontario Library Association , established in 1900, is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,190 members as of January 1, 2007, OLA is the largest library association in Canada....
’s Building Award and an interior design award from the Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario
Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario
Association of Registered Interior Designers of Ontario or ARIDO is a self-regulatory professional organization for interior designers in Ontario, Canada. It is the only recognized professional organization for interior designers in Ontario...
. The 54000 square feet (5,016.8 m²) building is anchored by a civic square with a reflecting pool. In addition to traditional library services, the facility also offers wireless internet access, fireplace-equipped lounges and an onsite café.
Whitby Township (Brooklin) Library
Library services in the Township of WhitbyWhitby Township, Ontario
Whitby Township is a geographic township and former municipality in what was Ontario County , Ontario, Canada. It is now part of the Town of Whitby.The Township was established in as part of what was then York County...
date back to 1897, when a subscription-based “Association Library” was formed in Brooklin
Brooklin, Ontario
Brooklin is a community in the Town of Whitby, Ontario, Canada. It is located,North of the urban area of Whitby,at the South junction of Ontario Highways 12 and 7....
. In 1958, the Township decided to establish a public library supported by property taxes and a new building was completed on Vipond Road in 1961. In 1968, the Town and Township of Whitby amalgamated to form a newly expanded Town of Whitby and the Township library in Brooklin became a branch of the Whitby library system.
The Brooklin branch building served the growing community until 2009. In the summer of that year, construction began on a new 10000 square feet (929 m²) branch as part of a new community centre on the same Vipond Road site. The branch occupied temporary quarters on Winchester Road during construction. The new Brooklin Community Centre & Library opened in November 2010.
Whitby Archives
The Whitby Archives were established by the Whitby Historical Society in 1968 at the historic Whitby Centennial Building. Local historian Brian Winter was named archivist. In 2005, the Archives were moved to their current location on the second floor of the new Central Library. The Archives houses a collection of several thousand items, including over 5,000 photographs, documentation on approximately 3,000 Whitby families and information on an estimated 400 buildings. There are also special collections on a number of well-known Whitby landmarks, including Camp XCamp X
Camp X was the unofficial name of a Second World War paramilitary and commando training installation, on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario between Whitby and Oshawa in Ontario, Canada...
, Trafalgar Castle School
Trafalgar Castle School
Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ontario is a private day and residential school for girls and young women in grades 5 through 12, but available for boarding since grade 7...
and the Whitby Psychiatric Hospital
Whitby Psychiatric Hospital
Whitby Psychiatric Hospital, also known as Ontario Hospital for the Insane, Ontario Hospital, Whitby, or OHW, was a mental health facility located in Whitby, Ontario...
. Over two thousand historic photos have been posted online to the OurOntario website as part of a digitization iniative supported by a private donation.