Thunder Bay Public Library

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The Thunder Bay Public Library serves the citizens of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas.

1 History
2 Initiatives
3 Collections
4 Recent Developments
5 See also
6 External links

[edit] History

The library got its start when the Port Arthur Library opened a Mechanics' Institute in the schoolhouse in 1876. Membership fees were $20.00 for life or $2.00 per year. The present building at 285 Red River Road opened on June 1, 1951 as the Port Arthur Public Library.

Library services for Fort William began in 1885 when Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) employees opened a bath, along with a smoking and literary room, with a library attached in the Round House at West Fort William. Fees were $1.25 per year for CPR employees; non-employees were required to pay $1.25 for use of the tub.

With the assistance of a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation, the Fort William Library moved to its new location at 216 South Brodie Street in 1912, with Mary J. L. Black as the librarian (who served from 1909-1937). The Fort William Library saw its first major change when an addition was added to the south side of the building in 1955, increasing the floor area from 14,000 square feet to 23,150 square feet. In 1966 the front entrance was rebuilt.

When the Westfort branch library at 151 West Brock Street opened in 1938, it was named for Black, who had also been the first woman president of the Ontario Library Association.

The present Thunder Bay Public Library officially came into being in 1970, after the amalgamation of the Port Arthur and Fort William branches. The inaugural meeting of the Library Board was held in January, 1970; the Chairman opened the meeting by outlining the problems facing the Board in integrating the operations of the two branches. It was also deemed essential that a logo should be created for use on stationary, posters, signs and cards. A contest was held requesting designs from the public, and in March, 1971 the first prize design was adopted, showing a Native Canadian reading a book. The logo was revised in March 1992 by Barry Smith to reflect a more modern outlook.

In 1976 a bookmobile with a small collection of adult and children's materials began to visit several sites, including some city shopping malls, Current River, outlying elementary schools and some senior citizens' residences. Although the service was popular with some users, the prohibitive cost of the vehicle and limited use by patrons led to the elimination of the bookmobile in 1986.

In 1980 the Brodie Street Library received an extensive renovation, and in 1981, its collection was rearranged with the adult fiction materials and moved to the new branch in the Victoriaville Mall. The branch, which officially opened on June 25, 1981, housed fiction, a small collection of children's materials, and some magazines as well as the two local papers.

On February 27, 1982, the city's Local Architectural Conservation Advisory Committee (L.A.C.A.C.) designated the Brodie Street Library as a historically significant building.

Over the next few years, work focused on the automation project, which was installed in 1986. The GEAC online circulation system was launched on June 4, 1986, and in 1994, the library upgraded its automation system to the GEAC Advance system.

Meanwhile, circulation of materials at Victoriaville did not reach the levels that the library had expected, and the branch closed on May 14, 1995. At this time the fiction collection was returned to Brodie, which was again renovated in order to make room for these materials.

In December 1995, the County Park Branch Library, located in the County Fair Plaza, opened its doors after much public interest from local area residents. The population shift to this area of the city and the outlying region meant the library had to rethink service points and access for the citizens; subsequently, this location has remained very busy since its inception.

Customer service is an ongoing priority for Thunder Bay Public Library with training for all staff members and development of standards based on customer feedback.

[edit] Initiatives

The Thunder Bay Public Library is proud of the many awards and achievements it has received throughout the years for innovative programs and services.

The library received the Angus Mowat Award of Excellence in 1990 for its 'Customers are Really Everything' campaign - 'CARE' - which focused on customer service and obtaining feedback on service provided. Children and adults were all part of this very successful campaign that helped to promote library awareness.

In 1995, the library was the recipient of the Quality Management Award, awarded by the Thunder Bay Chamber of Commerce for excellence in customer service.

[edit] Collections

[edit] Language Materials

The library has developed its collection over the years by adding various formats and languages. French language materials have become an important part of the collection for adults as well as children, thanks in part to the efforts of the the French educational program, which has created a need for these materials. Large print books, braille books, talking books, pop-up books and board books for children have been added to the regular selection of hardcover and paperback fiction and non-fiction titles. In addition, Finnish language materials have been added to the collection due to demand from members of the Finnish community.

[edit] Audio Visual

Audio visual collections began to fully develop in the 1970's. The library only had records at the time, but gradually added cassettes and 8mm films. Laser video discs were added to provide full-length movies for children and adults to borrow. However, with the onset of the 21st century, new technology has led to the phasing out of the 8mm collection, laser video discs and records. DVDs, compact discs, video cassettes, CD-ROMs, and CD and cassette audio books are now very popular formats found in the collection.

[edit] Canadian Playwrights

A Playwrights Canada collection was donated to the library in 1982 featuring 100 plays. Additionally, literacy collections were developed in the 1980's with the aid of a grant by Abitibi-Price Inc.

[edit] Local History Collection

The Brodie Resource Library has preserved and collected historical materials and documents about local people, past and current events, local industry, etc, for many years. There are records of economical, industrial, and statistical facts, as well as political activities concerning Thunder Bay and Northwestern Ontario. Maps, photographs and city newspapers on microfilm are all part of this valuable collection.