A place where people come together
The Brantford Public Library celebrates 135 years in 2019
This year, the Brantford Public Library celebrates its 135thanniversary, and the library staff is hard at work planning events and activities to promote the occasion.
“I think any opportunity to really get to share the library’s story is what we’re going for,” says CEO and Chief Librarian Rae-Lynne Aramburo. “135 isn’t a magic number per se, but it’s just another opportunity for us to remind our community the role that we’ve played over the years and how that’s changed and how it’s continuing to change.”
Tracking the library's history not only tells the story of the institution, but of the community as well, says James Clark, the library's marketing manager.
Founding members of the Brantford Mechanics Institute. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
Before it lined a section of Colborne Street in downtown Brantford with thousands of books filling its shelves, the library had a slow start.
This room in the basement of the Carnegie building is now a conference room for Wilfrid Laurier Univerisity. (Courtesy of Brantford Public Library)
Dr. Charles Duncombe opened the Brantford Mechanics Institute in 1836 in a small basement with about 100 books. Working people could pay a small fee to go there and read books and newspapers.
This part of the Carnegie building is now used as a university classroom. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The Institute closed the following year, however, after Dr. Duncombe and the other board members were forced to flee the country after they lost the Rebellion of 1837. The Institute was re-opened several years later.
In March 1882, the Ontario government passed a law that let municipalities set up libraries that were open to everybody. Two years later, the Brantford Mechanics Institute became the Brantford Free Library.
The façade of the Carnegie building. It still looks much the same today. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The façade of the Carnegie building. It still looks much the same today. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
But it was not until 1902 that County Court Judge Alexander David Hardy wrote to Andrew Carnegie asking for a grant to build a new library in Brantford. Carnegie had made a lot of money working in the steel industry and was donating money to some North American cities to build libraries. A few months later, Brantford received $30,000 to build a new library.
The library was moved from Carnegie due to a lack of parking, which became important as cars became more popular. (Public Domain)
The new building's cornerstone was laid in December 1902. The Carnegie building opened to the public in 1904 and housed the library for 85 years.
Due to a growing need for space and a lack of parking, the city purchased an empty Woolco store downtown for $1.9 million in 1989. The building was renovated and in 1992, the new Brantford Public Library opened at 173 Colborne St, where it is still located today. Since its creation, the library had been in many different locations across the city — from multiple different buildings on George Street to the spot on Colborne Street that borders Wilfrid Laurier University's downtown Brantford campus.
Before it was home to the library, 173 Colborne St housed a Woolco store. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
Founding members of the Brantford Mechanics Institute. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
Founding members of the Brantford Mechanics Institute. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
This room in the basement of the Carnegie building is now a conference room for Wilfrid Laurier Univerisity. (Courtesy of Brantford Public Library)
This room in the basement of the Carnegie building is now a conference room for Wilfrid Laurier Univerisity. (Courtesy of Brantford Public Library)
This part of the Carnegie building is now used as a university classroom. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
This part of the Carnegie building is now used as a university classroom. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The library was moved from Carnegie due to a lack of parking, which became important as cars became more popular. (Public Domain)
The library was moved from Carnegie due to a lack of parking, which became important as cars became more popular. (Public Domain)
Before it was home to the library, 173 Colborne St housed a Woolco store. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
Before it was home to the library, 173 Colborne St housed a Woolco store. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
In 2015, the library received a Canada 150 grant to redesign the building’s front façade — work that was completed in 2018.
Even though the building is part of Brantford’s history, the library itself isn’t stuck in the past. The library has responded to the growing demands of technology. That means it now offers eBooks, audiobooks and music and streaming services, says Aramburo. The library may also start lending out WiFi hotspots within the coming year.
“I think what the core of what the library is and has always been continues, but I think it’s the types of resources that are changing. We’ve always been about access to information and resources, and we still are — it’s just the channels of [that] information and the types of resources — there’s so many more options than there used to be,” she says.
Despite all of the digital options available, Aramburo says the value of having a physical space for the community to enjoy is what's most important.
“The world needs places where people can come together, probably even more in this age where we rely on our technologies to connect with people,” she says.
A librarian hard at work in the Carnegie library during the 1970s. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
A librarian hard at work in the Carnegie library during the 1970s. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The library has always made an effort to keep up with developments in technology. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The library has always made an effort to keep up with developments in technology. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The library's façade as it appeared before the recent renovation. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
The library's façade as it appeared before the recent renovation. (Courtesy of the Brantford Public Library)
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