Free Books for All
THE PUBLIC LIBRARY
MOVEMENT IN ONTARIO, 1850-1930
LORNE BRUCE
ONTARIO
Wftoe-
^J BOOK/
^ AWARD
This publication has been assisted by an Ontario Heritage Book Award
from the Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of the
Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation
Toronto & Oxford
Dundurn Press
Copyright © Lome Bruce, 1994
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval
system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or
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Limited. Permission to photocopy should be requested from the Canadian Reprography Collective.
Edited by Michael Power
Printed and bound in Canada by Best Book Manufacturers
The author and publisher are particularly grateful to the Ontario Heritage Foundation, an agency of
the Ontario Ministry of Culture, Tourism and Recreation, for a research grant and a grant in aid of
publication.
The publisher wishes to acknowledge the generous assistance and ongoing support of the Canada Council,
the Book Publishing Industry Development Program of the Department of Canadian Heritage, the
Ontario Arts Council, and the Ontario Publishing Centre.
Care has been taken to trace the ownership of copyright material used in the text (including the illustrations). The author and publisher welcome any information enabling them to rectify any reference or
credit in subsequent editions.
/ Kirk Howard, Publisher
Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data
Bruce, Lome, 1948Free books for all: the public library movement in Ontario
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55002-205-9
1. Public libraries — Ontario - History. I. Title.
Z735.05B7 1994
027.4713
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CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction: A Dream for Ontario
Illustrations following page 164
v
vii
Part One: Origins
1 Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries
2 British and American Influences
3
31
Part Two: The Late Victorian Transition
3 The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
4 The Days of Advance
5 From One Century to Another
51
70
94
Part Three: The Modern Public Library Emerges
6 The Ontario Library Association
7 Carnegie Philanthropy
8 A Province to Be Served
Epilogue: Other Days
Appendix A: Tables
1 Public Libraries in 1850 by County
2 Books Sent Out from the Depository, 1853-75
3 Public Libraries in Urban Centres, 1862
4 Public Libraries in Canada West, 1864
5 Library Volumes Held, Circulation, and Fiction, 1879-80
6 Free Public Library Bylaws, 1883-95
7 Grants for Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 1882-96
8 Comparative Statistics of Ontario Cities, 1901
9 Public Library (Not Free) Revenue and Expenses, 1895-1910
10 Provincial Expenditures for Libraries, 1902-14
11 Libraries Represented at OLA and Library Institutes, 1907-14
12 Public Library Service in Ontario, 1910/11
123
165
204
244
251
252
253
256
257
260
261
262
264
265
266
267
13
14
15
16
Functional Space in Selected Ontario Libraries
Interior Features of Carnegie Libraries
Libraries Organized by Patricia Spereman, 1908-16
Ontario Public Library Growth under
Inspector Carson, 1915-30
17 Public Library Finances, 1920-40
Appendix B: Graphs
1 Total Grants for Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 1868 to 1880
2 Total Books in Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 1868 to 1880
3 Library Circulation from Mechanics' Institutes, 1875-1880
4 Free Library Boards in Ontario, 1882 to 1918
5 Local Public Library Revenue, 1882-1914
6 Free Library Volumes and Circulation, 1882-1918
Appendix C: Maps
1 Free Libraries by County or Census District in 1901
2 Library Institute Districts in Ontario, 1913
3 Municipalities in Southern Ontario without Libraries in
1911/12
4 Free and Association Public Libraries by County or
Census District in 1931
Notes
Bibliography
Index
269
270
271
272
274
276
276
277
277
278
278
279
280
281
282
283
321
340
PREFACE
T
his book deals with the genesis and expansion of public library service
in Ontario, Canada's most populous province. It does not claim to be
a complete history of all the province's libraries; this would necessitate
many volumes. Instead, I have chosen to describe and discuss the "public
library movement," a term that fell into disuse after 1930 as the character of
library leadership changed from lay persons to a professional cadre and as a
modern service ethic for libraries replaced a grand Victorian vision of beneficial societal change. It is a broad examination of the ideas of people who
participated in the movement in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries and gave it strength. My object is threefold: to render a factual account
of what the movement achieved; to use the actual writings and words of the
men and women who participated; and to illustrate its phases as much as
possible.
I have long felt a need for a history of the people and ideas that shaped
the modern conception and work of public libraries in Ontario. In tracing the
history of the movement between 1850 and 1930, I have not attempted to
present a complete chronological or event^by-event account; rather, I have
sought to examine interconnections with other contemporary societal developments in a national and international setting. This book, in part, is a study
of evolving Canadian nationalism and international influences in local government in the contexts of Anglo-American culture. Since no account of the
growth of public libraries should omit a consideration of the influence of the
interests and ideas of those involved in the movement, I have drawn a general
outline of its main periods and tried to present the evidence that participants
left first-hand. Many types of documents - reports, letters, speeches, newspaper columns, photographs, memorandums, statutes — have been incorporated
into my narrative and analysis. I recognize that my interpretation for parts of
the evidence, much of which has never been presented before, may be questioned. Of course, this fate must befall most writers. I assume full responsibility for any errors and dissatisfaction with the analysis.
For help during the writing of this book many persons and institutions
deserve my thanks. The University of Guelph provided time for research and
writing. The Ontario Heritage Foundation granted money for editing and
vi
Preface
publication. The McLaughlin Library's interlibrary loan section, particularly
Marlene Robertson, gave very valuable assistance. Marie Puddister, from the
Geography Department, drew the maps for this volume. Many public librarians and public library staffs offered assistance with local sources at various
stages of my research and writing: Thomas Rooney in Ottawa; Deborah
Defoe in Kingston; David Kotin, head of the Baldwin Room in Toronto;
Brian Henley and Margaret Houghton in Hamilton; Glen Curnoe in London;
Ryan Taylor in Kitchener; and Linda Kearns in Guelph. Michael Power's editorial assistance was invaluable. My chief debt is to my wife, Karen, whose
constructive criticism of my drafts and help compiling tables and indexes
made the whole work more readable and enlightening.
The development of library service in Ontario is a subject in Canadian
history too long neglected to remain untold. The movement to use the power
of local governments to deliver rate-supported services for all citizens typified
the efforts of Victorians and Edwardians to improve Canadian society and
enrich its culture. Some of the difficulties in assembling the story are related
to the diversity of participants and places associated with the public library
movement. To the men and women who joined the movement, libraries were
only one of a number of reform and working concerns in which they were
engaged; the majority did not write extensively about their library activities.
Although the work of gathering source materials scattered across the province
is laborious, the results can be rewarding. It is my hope that this book will
stimulate readers to turn to the history of Ontario's libraries for themselves,
thus deepening our understanding of the processes that have shaped modern
public libraries in Canada.
Introduction
A DREAM FOR ONTARIO
T
here are numerous references to the concept of a public library movement in Ontario throughout the late Victorian and Edwardian eras.
Three will suffice to introduce the subject. John Hallam, Ontario's
"Father of Free Libraries," in his inaugural address to Toronto's library board
of management in February 1883, spoke glowingly of a "far reaching movement [that] is likely to extend to every city and considerable town in this
Province."1 Eugene Rouillard, a Quebec journalist and civil servant, who published the first extensive examination of public libraries in Canada, took note
of Ontario's enthusiasm in 1890: "Dans 1'organization de ce mouvement, la
province d'Ontario a deja pris le pas sur nous depuis assez longtemps."2 More
than a decade later, in April 1901, James Bain's presidential address at the first
Ontario Library Association conference was appropriately entitled "The
Library Movement in Ontario." He outlined an ambitious agenda for mobilizing public opinion and action:
The time is propitious. With the beginning of a new century
we venture to look forward to new lines of work, to vast
increase in the number and sizes of our libraries, and to
extension in every direction which aims at the development
to their true end - the mental advancement and culture of
the people of this province.3
Clearly, these three men believed that public libraries had important roles to
fulfill, and that it was proper for government to support them at public
expense. The increase in the number of public libraries before the First World
War indicates that many Ontario communities were in agreement.
In Canada there have been few attempts to study the public library movement on a national or regional basis or to examine its historical development
in an international context.4 Indeed, definitions for the central terms, "movement" and "public library," are usually lacking in Canadian library histories. I
am using the first term, "movement," broadly in the sense that people and
viii Introduction
groups organize formally or informally to support and produce change in society. At its core a successful social movement should have a set of values and
beliefs which inspire a sense of common purpose among citizens as well as a
sound program to effect societal change. It may be organized by means of voluntary linkages or display a unified arrangement of interdependent parts
under various types of leadership. If it is successful in challenging the established social order by gaining public recognition for its program, a social
movement may become institutionalized and solidify into formal, bureaucratic structures and organizations.5
The Victorian era spawned many social and political movements, some
transient, some lasting. The labour, temperance, Grange, and nine-hour
movements are accepted historical examples. The public library movement, a
progressive, collective effort, was a successful and resilient phenomenon. It
benefited from the presence of favourable political and societal conditions that
valued public service in municipalities, a factor critical to its longevity. I have
proposed previously that between 1880 and 1920 public library development
in Ontario unfolded within a conducive decentralized political structure at a
time when society was evolving from a small town rural base to an industrialized urban base.6 This political culture reflected a consensus about the need
for provincial direction and local administration; the demographic trend also
accommodated the formation of free libraries in municipalities, especially
larger urban ones where public library leadership resided. Thus, structural
conditions in provincial political life helped shape the development of the
public library movement to a significant degree as a component of evolving
Canadian nationalism.
The second term, "public library," is largely a matter of perception. Its
meaning is reflected in political arrangements and legal regulations that define
and maintain the concept within the encompassing social organization of the
state. It is difficult, therefore, to analyze public library service diachronically
because it has remained essentially a local, optional service rather than a
provincial or national public concern. Local conditions not only vary from
place to place, but also change over time. The American Library Association
Glossary defined the early Anglo-American public library, circa 1850, as "a
library accessible to all residents of a given community, but not generally free,
as distinguished from a private library."7 Its main features countenanced fees,
strictly voluntary endeavours, and limited public access. However, legislation,
intergovernmental processes, and standards advanced by public library protagonists in Great Britain and the United States, during the last quarter of the
nineteenth century, either eliminated or substantially altered these initial ideas
and practices.
Introduction ix
In their place emerged a broader vision of public library service in AngloAmerican countries. Over time, twentieth century state bureaucracy has codified that vision, and another more modern definition of "public library" has
come into force, namely:
Any library which provides general library services without
charge to all residents of a given community, district, or
region. Supported by public or private funds, the public
library makes its basic collections and basic services available
to the population of its legal service area without charges to
individual users, but may impose charges on users outside its
legal service area. Products and services beyond the library's
basic services may or may not be provided to the public at
large and may or may not be provided without individual
charges.8
This concept of public library service has supplanted the earlier version.
In the mid-nineteenth century a public library could assume many forms;
it was not synonymous with the second definition recognized in the twentieth
century. William Rhees' 1859 Manual of Public Libraries, which carefully
included a survey of British North America, adopted the earlier interpretation
of public library service.9 His handbook enumerated libraries open to the
public in a variety of public institutions: academies, public schools, colleges,
and historical, scientific or other associations or societies. Libraries were either
institutional — they were attached to Mechanics* Institutes, literary, scientific
or philosophical bodies - or they were subscription libraries managed by private or commercial concerns. In these circumstances, public libraries might be
reference collections or lending libraries or both; reading rooms might share
other quarters; fees might be charged; private organizations might retain the
right of ownership or provide most of the revenue; the public might be
restricted to certain classes of people; and access might be limited by physical
conditions or hours of service. In short, the concept of a public library was
broadly conceived.
Yet, by about 1850, more precise terminology was emerging. It would
eventually capture the imagination of advocates on both sides of the Atlantic.
In 1849 the British Select Committee on Public Libraries recommended legislation that would differentiate between permanent municipal public libraries
and other libraries accessible to the public.
They [the Committee members] have recognised in the
establishment of Libraries, the general principles that they
x
Introduction
should be based on a firm and durable foundation; that they
should be freely accessible to all the public; that they should
be open during the evening; and that they should, as far as
possible, be Lending Libraries. The last consideration is one
of great importance. Many men, in order to derive the fullest
advantage from books, must have them not only in their
hands, but in their homes.10
Shortly afterwards, the Public Libraries Act of 1850 was steered through the
British parliament by the reformer William Ewart. On the other side of the
Atlantic, American state legislatures previously had introduced tax-supported
libraries for public use in school districts, following the prompting of eastern
educators such as Horace Mann in Massachusetts and Henry Barnard in
Rhode Island. As well, state municipal public library laws began appearing in
New England after 1849. For many American citizens the new public library
concept complemented the growth of democracy and derived strength from
its egalitarian values.11
Although this particular manifestation of the municipal tax-supported
public library was still in its infancy, its popularity grew steadily after 1850. It
subsequently attracted a younger generation of progressive-minded men and
women, librarians such as the American Joseph Harrison, who articulated a
dynamic version of library progress in the 1890s.
The modern library movement is a movement to increase by
every possible means the accessibility of books, to stimulate
their reading, and to create a demand for the best. Its motive
is helpfulness; its scope, instruction and recreation; its purpose, the enlightenment of all; its aspiration, still greater usefulness. It is a distinctive movement, because it recognizes, as
never before, the infinite possibilities of the public library,
and because it has done everything within its power to develop those possibilities.12
It was this spirited, expanded public library activity that became pre-eminent
by the early years of the twentieth century.
For the most part, after Confederation Canadian efforts were patterned
on British and American precedents. In Ontario a fundamental impetus to
promote public libraries stemmed from the late nineteenth-century liberal
creed that encouraged governments to undertake a positive role in the
improvement of society as a whole and in the lives of individual citizens
regardless of class. Also, Ontario public library promoters were willing to carry
Introduction xi
on their activities within organized societal channels and laws. The expectation that their cause would triumph seemed unshakeable. The governing party
of the late Victorian era helped foster this attitude by enacting various legislative measures which permitted collective action on behalf of free public
libraries. Oliver Mowat's Liberal administration introduced the first free
library legislation in Canada. His government's motivation for reform was
summed up by the education minister, who proclaimed the need for "progressive changes in government as from time to time may be developed."13
In the field of social reform, Victorians emphasized the self-improvement
of the individual. They seldom attempted to identify causes within the broader social structure or to propose far-ranging government measures to change
society. They supposed that individual changes (especially the cultivation of
good character) would aggregate and result in beneficial societal change.
Support for libraries existed because people felt that they contributed to the
creation of a literate, prosperous, devout, moral, and knowledgeable society.
At a public library individuals could seek information for educational selfdevelopment, vocational training, recreation, and societal roles, such as citizenship. Furthermore, public libraries were politically nonpartisan and nonsectarian; they were impartial instruments of government capable of effecting
or impeding change. These orthodoxies were to remain part of the library
gospel long after the death of Queen Victoria in 1901.
A concerted effort by many individuals on behalf of the municipal public
library was required for it to achieve accepted status within the evolving confines of Ontario's system of local government. Many library enthusiasts were
from the middle- and upper-classes. Edwin A. Hardy eloquently captured
their missionary zeal in 1904.
On the boards of our libraries throughout the province there
are scores of college men and it has been so for years. They
have been the backbone of the movement, and I am satisfied
that the greatest work before us [the Ontario Library
Association] is the placing before these trustees the needs and
the methods of the public library as conceived by the leaders
of the movement. Once they grasp the possibilities as to the
results and methods, the burden of the work is done. Funds
will be found and methods perfected to bring the library into
its proper place as one of the greatest educational factors in
the community.14
There was a broad base of support and loyalty for a program that encompassed all classes and political persuasions. Ontarians could accept publicly
xii Introduction
funded libraries because they offered individuals an equal opportunity to
improve their social well-being, and because they claimed to cure social ills:
poverty, ignorance, irreligion, alcoholism, and crime. Many people also were
swayed by the utilitarian social doctrine of "the greatest happiness of the greatest number" as it applied to libraries.
Some of the movement's conservative or well-to-do, upper-class members
were convinced that public libraries could help preserve social stability. They
shared a concern about the possibility of widening social divisions, industrial
upheaval, and class antagonism. Education was one solution to these problems. An educated public would not desire radical political change if the provision of socially accepted book collections and library programs encouraged
conformity among readers. But the desire for social control (the regulation of
society by acceptable behaviour to attain certain social values) by itself does
not explain adequately the growth of public libraries in Ontario. Educational
attainment has many complex purposes and consequences.
There were many limitations on the concept of social control via public
libraries: the heterogeneous nature of library resources available to the public; the permissive feature of enabling legislation which regulated the establishment of libraries; the different levels of public use of libraries; and the
general acceptance of library promoted ideology.15 I follow the interpretation that "a widespread faith in factual knowledge as the alkahest for Utopia
was behind the founding of free libraries and that their purpose was to provide for all men the knowledge necessary for the improvement of their own
lot and of all mankind."1^ The public library movement's goals, its plan of
action to meet its goals, and its "ideology" — the values, beliefs, and attitudes
which informed its members and governed its actions - will be dealt with in
subsequent chapters. For the moment, though, only a brief summary will be
given.
A prolonged dialectical interchange took place between 1850 and 1930.
During that time, public libraries underwent successive conceptual transformations. These changes were defined by the limits of public opinion, the
evolving goals of the movement, and the exchange of ideas between the movement's leaders, its rank and file, and its opponents.17 Change is inextricably
linked with motion, and, at the risk of generalizing, it appears that the
Ontario branch of the movement passed through three distinguishable phases:
an initial period when the modern concept of free public libraries coexisted
alongside an older version that predated the Victorian era; a mobilization
stage when lay leaders came forward and created the decentralized structure of
municipal service during the last two decades of the nineteenth century; and,
shortly after 1900, an institutional phase during which the ideology of the
movement began to achieve widespread public acceptance, to the point where
Introduction xiii
library service became part of the accepted fabric of local government and was
complimented by a professionally educated leadership and stronger organizations embodying the movement's goals.
This historical pattern of development must not be regarded as a rigid
typology, but as a useful outline for study. The people constituting the movement in Ontario believed in its eventual success. They were not passive captives of preordained events or societal structures; rather a confluence of conditions and factors affected their decisions to participate. Often, they were activated by the charisma of ideas, friends, and voluntary organizations. Since
public library development occurred on a transatlantic scale, Canadian promoters benefited greatly from progress in Great Britain and the United States,
and, consequently, they formed part of an international movement that was
able to exert a positive influence on public library growth, thereby laying the
foundation for public library service today.
The public library movement grew at varying rates during its three phases. Before 1850 it hardly existed. The social library and Mechanics' Institute,
which catered to popular or particular local tastes depending on their membership, predominated. As part of his general educational reforms, Egerton
Ryerson supported different categories of free public libraries operated primarily by school boards and municipalities. The results over a quarter century
were decidedly equivocal. His tax-supported libraries provided a rationale for
carefully supervised free circulating collections, in which the number of novels
and range of political literature was restricted on the basis of immoral, controversial, subversive, risque, or sectarian grounds. Common school libraries in
Upper Canada supplied by the book depository at Toronto served a potentially diverse reading public, yet the attempt to exclude many popular novels
from the Education Office's official catalogue, because they were deemed to be
undesirable, precluded mass use.18
The confinement of circulating public school libraries to officially sponsored proper books - too often, a steady diet of religion, biography, history,
and innocuous fiction — led to a conflict between two objectives, one centring
on democratic reading rights, the other on purposeful moral uplift. During
this initial stage of coalescence, the free libraries in common schools championed by Ryerson languished after a promising beginning because reading matter for adults could not be restricted to conventional social values. The colonial government encouraged another alternative, town libraries, which were
governed by private boards of management in either Mechanics' Institutes or
literary societies, under the aegis of its agriculture department. Despite subscription fees, these organizations were popular because their directors usually
were more attuned to the demand for "best-selling" fiction and non-fiction
published in Britain and the United States.
xiv Introduction
The birth of an informed library public, even if a small one, was crucial,
as was the creation of a small, dedicated, altruistic public library collectivity
backed by government aid.19 First, educators, booksellers, politicians, and the
reading public among the general populace began to realize that the concept
of municipally controlled public library service differed from other types of
public libraries, as Thomas D'Arcy McGee's remarks to a Montreal audience
shortly after Confederation show.
Of public libraries, I grieve to say that we have not so far as I
know, a single one, in the whole Dominion. There is a
Society Library, containing some good books, at Quebec;
there are, of course, college libraries, more or less incomplete;
there are law libraries at Osgoode Hall, and elsewhere, there
is our own excellent Parliamentary Library (some 60,000
chosen volumes) at Ottawa; but no public library in any of
our chief towns.20
This was an important step in consciousness raising, for a general shift in public opinion could lead to advantageous structural changes that would formalize library service at the community level.
At the same time, a growing public need for improved library service
became evident, partly in response to the advancement of literacy in Ontario
and partly in response to the international success of library legislation in the
British Isles and American states after 1850. Because Canadian culture was
essentially colonial, library progress in Britain and the United States provided
obvious models that could be adapted by a young Dominion striving to
achieve nationhood and maturity in the arts, sciences, and letters. The most
significant Canadian library modification concerned provincial financial support in the form of generous conditional grants for library books, an inducement that heartened many Ontario library boosters both in Ryerson's system
and among the urban-based institutes. Without this financial stimulus, local
progress would have been confined to a few major urban centres.
There were signs of a new stage of development, one of mobilization
toward better defined goals, following the retirement of Ryerson in 1876. This
second phase coincided with the reformulation of Ontario's educational policies and the birth of national library associations in the United Kingdom and
United States between 1876-77. Free library legislation appeared in 1882, in
conjunction with the work of two library leaders in Toronto, John Hallam
and John Taylor. The 1882 act formulated by the Liberal administration of
Oliver Mowat rationalized government policies and gave an aura of legitimacy
to local supporters of municipal public libraries, a quality missing in Ryerson's
Introduction xv
hierarchical system. People discontented with library service provided by
Mechanics' Institutes or other organizations began to organize and share their
plans with friends and associates. Library advocates openly challenged opponents who treasured the canon of civic economy and who cautioned against
the temptations of immoral fiction. Informal, decentralized leadership based
in communities, combined with provincial financial support and legislative
encouragement, were features of this period.
Improved adult services organized by municipal public libraries in larger
communities - reference departments, larger circulating collections, branch
libraries, better trained staff - demonstrated the advantages inherent in this
structure. Some enthusiasts observing Ontario's progress believed that the formation of municipal libraries could be used as a popular call to action, a cause
that would arouse genuine, sympathetic support in every part of the country
among citizens who took it upon themselves to improve local service.21 Chief
librarians, like James Bain in Toronto, helped raise the profile of the library by
the strength of their personalities and plans for better service. Most importantly, a cogent public library ideology began to achieve grudging public
acceptance. Explanations for the necessity of free libraries were formulated to
satisfy members, to entice prospective recruits, and to justify the passage of
library bylaws in community referendums.
Candidates for the movement were enticed by the benefits proclaimed to
emanate from free public library service. Many Victorians agreed that the
library was a lifelong educator, a logical "missing link" in an expansionist educational system, a role which the slogan "a people's university" aptly described.
The concerns of technical education for workingmen also were addressed
partly in the library's raison d'etre. As a result, the differentiation of the free
category of service from the generalized version of public libraries proceeded
apace. The trend developed later in Ontario than in Britain or the United
States. As late as 1886, the education department continued to categorize
libraries in Mechanics' Institutes, the Ontario Legislative Assembly, the
University of Toronto, and various colleges as "public" in one of its key handbooks.22
At the turn of the century the commencement of another phase can be
discerned, institutionalization, a process whereby the movement's objectives
gradually were incorporated into distinct, recognizable societal structures.
Andrew Carnegie's liberality dramatically altered the public's perception of
libraries. It swamped the counter argument of civic economy and erected
more than one hundred state-of-the-art neoclassical library buildings (many
inadequately planned) on the downtown streets of Ontario's cities, towns, and
villages before 1914.23 It was at the start of this period that an enthusiastic
spokesman, Lawrence Burpee, believed that "the library spirit, the true library
xvi Introduction
spirit, has come to Canada, and has come to stay."24 The idea of the public
library as an active force in the service of all the people had arrived. Ingrained
resistance to free books for all citizens steadily crumbled as attractive new
ideas came to the fore: open access to collections; the removal of age restrictions on children; standardized classification; catalogues with author/title/subject access; specialized staff training; improved architecture and internal organization; and programs for different groups. Thus, the scope of service, as well
as its administration, was better tailored to public use.
The formation of the Ontario Library Association in 1900 was a vital step
in the creation of a viable organization able to influence public opinion,
mobilize resources, and develop strategies for successful change. Also, the
OLA became a forum for authorized spokesmen and representatives to sanction and disseminate ideas. This centralization of decision making by a dominant group eliminated the potential for conflict within the public library
movement. The government, through the education department, immediately
recognized the OLA's role. Indeed, it helped fund its activities on a modest
scale: it hosted annual conferences; published OLA's conference proceedings;
and financed regional library institutes, which were designed to impart library
techniques and concepts to trustees and librarians. The OLA was fortunate in
that public opinion sympathetic toward the fiction issue also was evolving.
The bias towards larger circulating collections of popular "light" fiction attenuated as the reading stepladder theory expounded by librarians gained more
credence.
Shortly before the Great War, a prominent English librarian, Louis
Stanley Jast, pronounced favourably on Ontario's progress: "In Ontario the
right men seem to have taken hold of the movement in its infancy, to their
influence and knowledge of library methods, and to their foresight of the possibilities of the movement much of the success is due."25 At this stage, as the
concept of a modern public library began to crystallize, the "right men" were
mostly male trustees, a distinctive characteristic of the OLA before 1914. The
male leadership in the OLA successfully promoted libraries and avoided conflict within the movement by a variety of constructive means. On the one
hand, they allied themselves with other groups, in particular the library
branch of the education department, local library boards, and American
library associations. On the other hand, they skillfully resisted their opponents: they spread a library ideology; they promoted Carnegie philanthropy;
and they introduced modern methods in library work.
The ideas propounded by the OLA were set out concisely in its original
constitution drafted by Edwin Hardy. While the association was interested in
all libraries, the public library's advancement was foremost on its agenda. This
was not surprising given the municipal origin of most OLA members. Hardy's
Introduction xvii
publication of his Ph.D. thesis on the public library was the most complete
and eloquent explanation of Ontario's public library movement prior to 1914.
Hardy stood for an energetic, expanded educational role, but he was prepared
to admit the reality of circulating recreational reading. He outlined four major
purposes for the modem library: 1) to provide general, scientific, and reference literature; 2) to provide fiction for recreation; 3) to provide children's literature and programs; and 4) to supply newspapers and periodicals.26 His
vision was forthright: an active library board, a trained librarian, suitable
premises, and adequate services based on public demand could fulfill the
promise of better library service in local communities across Ontario.
Throughout this period the government continued its long-standing support for libraries. It established a travelling library service for rural southern
communities and the new northern districts beyond Muskoka. This was a service which acknowledged its supportive role in providing free books to the
entire populace. The government modified legislation at frequent intervals to
improve conditions, 1909 and 1920 being notable instances. Between these
legal landmarks the department of education sponsored regional library institutes and began publication of the quarterly Ontario Library Review and Book
Selection Guide as evidence of its "interest in the public library movement"
and its desire to keep libraries abreast of "modern library ideas."27 As well, in
response to urgings from the Ontario Library Association, the department of
education established short summer training programs after 1911 to standardize and mechanize library work on the apprenticeship model.
Women joined these training classes in large numbers, as male dominance
in the movement started to ebb. Library work was now viewed as a suitable
female occupation, a fact the National Council of Women of Canada publicized in 1900.
A large percentage of those employed in Library work are
women, but not many women are heads of Libraries, excepting in the small institutions. Salaries vary from nothing to a
maximum of $600. The Public Library of Toronto, the
largest circulating Library in the Dominion, gives employment to 25 persons, of whom 22 are women.28
Within a decade these brief introductory courses had created the nucleus for
meaningful steps toward professional status. By 1922 George Locke was stressing the need to recruit people for librarianship on the basis of sound professional objectives, enhanced recognition, and improved pecuniary rewards.29
Later, in 1928, a formal program leading to a library diploma appeared in the
University of Toronto's calendar of studies; subsequently, a one-year Bachelor
xviii Introduction
of Library Science requiring an undergraduate degree for entrance was introduced in 1936.30 As university library education thus became a professional
standard, the significance and attraction of vocational training programs and
library institutes gradually declined.
Although the background of public library history is sketched in the
chapters that follow, much has been omitted by necessity; in fact, many source
materials for that history only recently have come to light for examination
using contemporary historical methods. I have traced the broad spectrum of
the public library movement from 1850 to 1930, but the scope of this work
did not allow me to deal with the stories of individual libraries or biographies
of librarians and trustees. For example, there is no detailed discussion of the
Toronto Public Library's impact on the movement in the rest of the province,
nor is there a search for other historical explanations to account for the development of public libraries in Ontario. The constructive causal role the movement played in relation to total library advancement must necessarily be the
focal point. Turn-of-the-century librarians acknowledged this centripetal
influence, especially the role of the OLA. The University of Toronto's chief
librarian, Hugh H. Langton, wrote in 1903:
A further indication of the progress of the library movement
in Ontario is perhaps afforded by the fact that a Library
Association for the province was formed in 1900, which has
met with gratifying success. Although not expecting to
become a rival to the American Library Association in numbers or strength, it will endeavor to emulate the activity and
usefulness of that body in its own limited sphere.31
The OLA succeeded far beyond Langton's unassuming prose. Twice in the
next three decades, in 1912 and 1927, the ALA would convene at Ottawa and
Toronto, thereby solidifying Ontario's international library standing and holding forth the promise of universal service across Ontario's disparate municipal
structure.
By the time of the Diamond Jubilee celebration of Confederation, in
1927, the modern public library concept and its supporting structure had
taken firm root in Ontario. The municipal system of public library service,
not the spirited enterprise of men and women, had become the locus for
future growth. Toward the close of this period, in 1926, Edwin Hardy made a
prediction that embodied the confidence of the public library movement and
the successes it had achieved in promoting the "service ethic." Hardy felt that
Introduction
xix
his forecast was warranted because the movement, truly progressive in spirit,
had always aspired to better service. He wrote:
My dream for the Ontario of 1976, then, in a word, is a free
library service for every man, woman and child in all parts of
the province, central or remote, utilizing every contrivance of
organization and transportation, staffed by educated men
and women specially trained, adequately paid and ranking
with the other learned professions.32
He could make his prediction with relative assurance. The movement had
undergone lively and varied transmutations, resulting in an "establishment"
status and integration with government structures by the beginning of the
1930s.33 Its resilience and successful tactics in establishing hundreds of
libraries had created the foundation for continued growth under government
aegis. Hardy realized that time alone would be the major obstacle in bringing
free books to people in every corner of the province.
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PART ONE
Origins
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Chapter 1
COMMON SCHOOL AND
MECHANICS' INSTITUTE
LIBRARIES
T
he first library for public use in Upper Canada was a small subscription library at Newark (Niagara-on-the-Lake) founded in 1800. One
of its organizers, the Anglican minister Robert Addison, possessed an
exceptional personal library, but he seldom used it; nevertheless, he recognized
the need for a public circulating library and generously assisted in its foundation.1 The Niagara library, like other proprietary or subscription libraries that
flourished in the early part of the nineteenth century, was a voluntary undertaking, by necessity charging fees and limiting its range of activity to comparatively few members. In a fledgling colony, with a low rate of public literacy
and few avid readers, the need for libraries was not pressing. It was not until
the Reverend Egerton Ryerson became chief superintendent of education in
1844 that strong administrative support for a tax-supported system of public
libraries throughout the colony came into prominence.
Ryerson (Illus. 1) was of Loyalist stock. A former editor of the Christian
Guardian and manager of the Methodist Book Room, he left publishing and
bookselling in 1840 to become Principal of Victoria College in Cobourg. He
was well acquainted with the book trade, with European and American educational systems, and with the role libraries could play in the education of the
people.2 According to Ryerson, a universal system of education held the
promise of creating a society based on Christian virtues, self-discipline, and
allegiance to duly constituted authority. At the heart of his concept of education stood the common school: it ought to provide the most complete schooling possible for Upper Canadians, excepting the few elite students who would
continue their studies beyond this general level. At this time, the common
school in the rural townships was a familiar centre of community activities.
Included in Ryersons expansive vision of public education was his own view
of public library service.
The colony Ryerson embarked on reaching through his comprehensive
system of education (officially known as Canada West between 1841 to 1867
4
Origins
although the name used prior to 1841, Upper Canada, continued in use)
numbered about one million people. According to the census of the Canadas
in 1851, Canada West's demographic pattern was relatively homogeneous:
more than half the population, fifty-eight percent, were native born and mainly of British stock; another thirty-five percent had been born in the British
Isles. The number of Methodists, Presbyterians, and Anglicans was overwhelming — just over sixty percent of the population worshipped in these congregations. The vast majority of people lived in rural conditions; there were
few major cities or towns.3 Learning was centred in small log-clad schoolhouses where the headmaster s word, backed by his rod, ruled.
The flavour of Ryerson's ideas concerning free libraries in common
schools may be judged from his 1847 publication on general public elementary instruction in which he referred to circulating libraries in the final passages. Ryerson wrote of the need for efforts to improve public education by
extending book collections to the entire community, thereby satisfying the
taste for reading which the school had created.
I mean the establishment of Circulating Libraries in the various Districts, and as far as possible in the School Sections. To
the attainment of this object, local and voluntary co-operation is indispensable. Government may perhaps contribute; it
may assist by suggesting regulations, and recommending lists
of books from which suitable selections can be made; but the
rest remains for individual and local efforts to accomplish.
And the advantages of the School can be but very partially
enjoyed, unless they are continued and extended by means of
books.4
In his scheme the provision of circulating libraries was obviously an important
supplement to teaching.
Even though Ryerson had the power "to promote the establishment of
school libraries for general reading," according to the Common School Act of
1846 (9 Vic., c. 20, s. 2), no government funding was specified, and, as a
result, the growth of school libraries remained sporadic. In his 1847 annual
report, the superintendent lamented that the New York legislature appropriated $55,000 for libraries "while not a farthing has yet been appropriated by our
legislature for the same object in Upper Canada."^ Ryerson encouraged local
officials to support the formation of libraries, and he also featured libraries in
his newly founded Journal of Education for Upper Canada. Robert Bell, the
member for Lanark and Renfrew in the Legislative Assembly, wrote to the
Journal with a proposal to finance libraries by using money from the sale of
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 5
"spirituous liquors" and from the revenues generated by a tavern license fund.6
Another correspondent, Dexter D'Everardo, a school inspector in the Niagara
District, wrote Ryerson in 1849 to say that small, private libraries could not
satisfy the public thirst for reading. He agreed with Ryerson that the creation
of common school libraries would be a popular measure.7 When a special
committee of the British House of Commons studied public libraries in 1849,
the Journal outlined its deliberations and gave some prominence to selected
European public libraries.8
Commencing in 1847, Ryerson began to include library statistics in his
annual reports. For this purpose he devised a classification of public libraries
that remained standard in the government's education report for the next
three decades. Libraries reported under three categories: common school
libraries, Sunday school libraries, and other public libraries. By school libraries
Ryerson meant those libraries whose collections were housed in school buildings but were intended for the entire population. Public libraries, on the other
hand, were usually in a building other than a school and might be managed
by a municipal council or other group that charged a small fee for using the
collection. Sunday school collections were an important element of instilling
Christian faith and ideas. Ryerson, in common with other authorities, interpreted a public library in a broad sense. The terminology used in 1850 by the
American Charles Jewett was typical: public libraries were those which were
not strictly private ones.9 Thus, when the University of Toronto's library and
public reading room opened in 1859, the public was permitted to use the collection and study hall without charge.10
By 1850 Ryerson was identifying a significant number of public libraries
across the province in his annual report: 70 common school libraries, 528
Sunday school libraries, and 77 public libraries. Together these libraries held
96,165 volumes, a significant resource in a growing colony. The geographic
distribution of common school and public libraries was reasonably even across
the southern counties (Table 1: Public Libraries in 1850 by County). The
number of public libraries is perhaps surprising on first consideration. Library
historians have identified 24 Mechanics' Institutes in operation before 1850,11
leaving more than 50 subscription, institute, college, government, and other
social libraries in existence according to Ryerson's tally. A later, more comprehensive list of North American public libraries compiled by William Rhees in
1859 revealed that small cities such as Kingston, Hamilton, and London were
served by eight, six, and seven libraries respectively; this information, with the
inclusion of Toronto's 41 libraries in Rhees' count, makes Ryerson's earlier tabulations reasonably accurate.12 With the advent of established points of library
service, Ryerson could begin to implement his designs for a public school
library system.
6 Origins
Public School Libraries and the Book Depository
The revised School Act of 1850 (13 & 14 Vic., c. 48) gave Ryerson the latitude he desired to institute ideas nurtured by his travels in Europe and the
United States. The new legislation was sweeping. County and township councils were allowed to levy taxes for township, city, and town libraries. The
Council of Public Instruction, the agency Ryerson reported to but often controlled, received £3,000 annually (a handsome sum at this time) for library
purposes. This fund served as a central reservoir for matching grants set at
fifty percent of local contributions. The Council had the authority to examine
and accept or reject books, maps, globes, and other apparatus for use in
schools or school libraries. An education depository was established on a nonprofit basis to supply the needs of schools and libraries from Toronto.
There is no doubt that the superintendent believed that libraries were an
integral part of public education. In a July 1849 letter to the Governor
General, James Bruce, Earl of Elgin and Kincardine, with whom he was on
good terms, Ryerson wrote:
There can be but one opinion as to the great importance of
introducing into each township of Upper Canada, as soon as
possible, a Township Library, with branches for the several
school sections, consisting of a suitable selection of entertaining and instructive books, in the various departments of
biography, travels, history (ancient and modern), natural philosophy and history, practical arts, agriculture, literature,
political economy, &c., &c., &c., It is not easy to conceive
the vast and salutary influence that would be exerted upon
the entire population, the young portion especially, in furnishing useful occupation for leisure hours, in improving the
tastes and feelings, in elevating and enlarging the views, in
prompting to varied and useful enterprize, that would flow
from the introduction of such a fountain of knowledge and
enjoyment in each township in Upper Canada.13
This was an expansive, purposeful design, requiring careful implementation
and ongoing attention.
To accomplish his plans, Ryerson believed that the Education Office he
had inherited needed to establish a firm set of regulations to govern the
administration of public school libraries. He also decided it was necessary to
publish a catalogue of acceptable literature from which councils and school
trustees could purchase books at prices about one-third less than those
Canadian booksellers usually charged. From his vantage point, booksellers
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 7
were not adequately prepared to provide the type of educational service he
thought could be managed from the central book depository. He travelled to
England in 1850-51 to establish arrangements with English publishers and
agencies such as the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge and the
Religious Tract Society. In London, the Committee of the Council on
Education gave him permission to deal directly with British publishers, thereby dispensing with the fee their own national agent, Longman's, normally
enjoyed for arranging this type of service. Ryerson also visited the Irish
National Board of Education in Dublin. His deputy, John George Hodgins,
remained in Toronto to correspond with American publishing houses in
Boston and New York that were acquainted with the general operation of district school libraries in American states on the eastern seaboard and in the
midwest.
Familiar with the workings of the publishing industry and the library
book trade, Ryerson was confident his system would be successful. In his
lengthy letter to Lord Elgin, in July 1849, he wrote:
According to these arrangements, I propose to secure, at the
cheapest rate possible, to the reading youth and people of
Canada, the best popular works which emanate from the
British and American press. There will thus be a British and
an American series, with the price affixed to each, and directions where and how they may be procured, leaving to local
councils or committees the option of selecting from either
series, or from both, at their discretion.
In the catalogue of these library books, I think a characteristic notice of each book should be inserted (including two or
three sentences, but of course, requiring considerable thought,
judgment and labor in the preparation). A catalogue should be
furnished to each local council, and the books generally be also
brought to the notice of the public, in the columns of the
Journal of Education, and personally by the Chief
Superintendent, during his visits to the various districts ... l4
Fortunately for Ryerson, Lord Elgin was an enthusiastic supporter of public
school libraries.
To ensure good reading or, more correctly, the "diffusion of useful knowledge," the Council of Public Instruction published guidelines that governed
the selection of books for the general catalogue that Ryerson was developing.
Works considered licentious, vicious, immoral, hostile to Christianity, theologically controversial, or sectarian in viewpoint were expressly forbidden.
8
Origins
This official censorship effectively ensured a great deal of opposition and apathy towards the colony's recently formed public libraries.15 The Education
Office worked diligently to sort through thousands of books, and, by the
beginning of 1853, the library catalogue was nearing completion. At this time,
Ryerson organized county conventions of clergymen, magistrates, municipal
councillors, school trustees and superintendents, and other interested persons
to promote the establishment of schools and school libraries throughout
Canada West. Ryerson wholeheartedly favoured the development of township
libraries with circulating collections in school sections because he expected
school trustees, not municipal councillors, to promote libraries. Only in
Stormont and Glengarry did the local assembly favour the creation of a county system to provide "large and expensive works, such as Encyclopedias for reference etcetera."16 Virtually all conventions concurred with Ryersons administrative preference for townships.
In the summer of 1853, the general catalogue, along with the detailed regulations adopted by the Council of Public Instruction in August, was published in the Journal of Education. The regulations, which remained virtually
unchanged for the next two decades, elaborated upon the responsibilities of
municipalities and school sections to hire librarians and to acquire books from
the depository as well as the duties of librarians to account for circulation and
finances relating to books, cataloguing of collections, acquisition of book
cases, filing of annual reports, and so on. Every book was to be accessioned
with the number recorded on a printed label pasted on the inside cover or
printed on the first blank leaf. Each monograph had to be covered by strong
wrapping paper with the title and number on the back. For circulation purposes there was a prescribed minute book with five columns, one for each of
the following categories: book title and number, borrower, date charged out,
date returned, and condition on return.
To make his scheme more attractive, Ryerson introduced amendments.
He arranged for school boards to levy a general rate on property or to raise
other (voluntary) sums for libraries in the Supplementary School Act of 1853
(16 Vic., c. 185, s. 1). In 1854, the matching portion of the grant increased to
one hundred percent, and, in 1855, the Grammar and Common School
Improvement Act (18 Vic., c. 132, s. 4) raised the total amount of the central
fund to £3,500. However, the superintendent was rebuffed in his efforts to
extend the depository's services to Mechanics' Institutes or other public organizations on the same terms as schools boards and township municipalities.17
These bodies, which received financial aid voted by the Legislative Assembly,
could continue purchasing books from the depository, but they were not eligible for a grant.
Ryersons designs for an administrative structure and his development of
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 9
legislation for a system of public libraries are to be admired. There were four
types of public library that could be established:
1.
2.
3.
4.
A common school library in a schoolhouse available to children and
ratepayers;
A general public library under municipal control available to all
ratepayers in a community;
A professional library of books on teaching, school organization, etc.,
for teachers;
A library in an institution for public use or specific use of inmates,
etc., which operated under a public statute,
In practice, Sunday school and common school libraries were in abundance,
other types were less numerous and under utilized. When one considers the
pedagogical content of the depository stock, it comes as no surprise that its
usefulness to the general community was limited and bound to be contentious. Under such circumstances, consistent growth in the system was virtually impossible.
From 1853 to 1857, Ryerson's system was in full operation. Orders for
library books threatened to submerge the small staff working at the Education
Office. During this period more than 160,000 books were dispatched to various libraries throughout the province. Enthusiasm for the chief superintendent's plan was reflected in public praise. When Lord Elgin remarked at the
Provincial Exhibition of 1854 that the "Township and County Libraries are
becoming the Crown and Glory of the Institutions of the Province,"18 he was
expressing the government s favourable verdict. Although the education office
was hard pressed to organize its regular shipments, Ryefson successfully persuaded some municipalities to use money from the sale of the Clergy Reserve
lands for school and library purposes, thus spurring the sale of books and
increasing the depository's business.
To cope with the flood of orders, Ryerson hired more clerks and officers
for the central office. One new recruit, Samuel Passmore May, a recent arrival
from England, was destined to play an important role in the library movement. Educated privately, May had specialized in natural science before emigrating to Canada. The Quebec Literary and Historical Society first employed
him in 1853 at £10 a week to catalogue and arrange its collection in mineralogy, geology, and zoology. After leaving this position, May journeyed to
Toronto where Ryerson engaged him as Clerk of Libraries and head of his
departments museum. May became a permanent fixture in the department
for the next half century until he retired in 1905.19 Only one other contemporary, John G. Hodgins, served for a longer period.
10 Origins
In the political arena, Ryerson, a conservative, was not without his share
of adversaries. During his superintendency he opposed "partyism" and excessive use of political patronage. He championed the nonpartisan cause of working for the public good. But an early case of political activism tarnished the
impartial image he carefully cultivated. Political reformers, such as George
Brown and Robert Baldwin, were reluctant to forgive him for openly supporting the Tory ministry of William Draper and Governor General Sir Charles
Metcalfe in the divisive election of 1844. The long-term consequences for
Ryerson were serious. George Brown and the Clear Grits were to become a
potent force in Upper Canadian politics, and Robert Baldwin's moderate
reformers were intent on wresting control from Tories by establishing responsible government.20 As political parties developed, the growing power and
influence of a small cabinet accountable to a majority in the elected parliament increased, a trend that boded ill for Ryerson and the appointed members
of the Council of Public Instruction. As for Ryersons libraries, from the very
outset many people were wary of his designs. To some they smacked of
authoritarianism or paternalism. No doubt there were many people who
believed that the universe of reading was more extensive than the two thousand approved items in the general catalogue, especially for works of fiction
that were noticeably absent.
As early as his 1854 annual report, Ryerson was replying to "unseemly
objections" emanating from "mistaken booksellers" that were appearing in the
press. The book trade, of course, was not enamoured of the education depository's privileged position. The complaint that the "private trader ought not to
be injured by government with whom he is unable to compete" was voiced.21
Ryerson answered the charge in his annual report with a typical midVictorian treatise on liberty and good government. First, if the interest of the
individual, or of any class of individuals, was placed above that of the community, there could be no system of public instruction. Because the government had deliberately chosen to establish schools and libraries, it followed
that it had as much right to supply libraries with a public agency as it did to
stock them by private traders. From an administrative and financial standpoint it was more efficient and economical for the depository to supply
authorized books at reduced rates. The education department also presented
financial data to suggest that the book trade was benefiting from the escalating interest in books.
Secure in the logic of his argument, Ryerson continued to add titles to the
depository list until it reached about three thousand items. The General
Catalogue finally appeared as a separate publication in 1858 and was distributed throughout the school system. It served as a handbook on libraries for
more than a decade. It contained the text of the School Act of 1850, its
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 11
amended sections, and the lengthy regulations promulgated in 1853. At the
end of the volume, Ryerson appended some explanatory remarks designed to
serve as guidelines. He acknowledged his debt to his American counterparts
and issued a brief caution:
The most of these Regulations - especially those which relate
to the forfeiture incurred for the detention, loss, or abuse of
books - are adopted from the State of New York, where
much experience has been acquired in the management of
Public School Libraries. And that experience has shown that
a strict adherence to these Regulations is absolutely necessary
to the maintenance of harmony among all parties concerned,
and to the preservation and usefulness of the Libraries.22
He was also careful to emphasize the importance of reading and libraries in
general:
By our system of Schools, we are putting it into the power of
every Canadian to read, and read he will, whether for good
or for evil; and his ability to read will prove a blessing or a
curse, according to the manner in which he exercises it. By
our system of Libraries, we are providing them with wholesome and entertaining reading on almost all subjects, without the poison of publications which are calculated to enfeeble the mind, and vitiate the taste, and corrupt the morals.23
Lastly, there was an appendix on public library buildings and bookcases
written by an anonymous German gentleman acquainted with recent developments. His brief essay illustrated three basic floor plans. One plan represented
the recently opened Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve in Paris. Its architect,
Henri Labrouste, ushered in a new era of library architecture by placing bookstacks below the grand reading room. Exposed cast-iron columns and arches
allowed ample natural light to penetrate the study areas. In keeping with this
trend, Ryersons advisor also recommended a long, wide, well-lit salon as the
best possible quarters for a library. The simplest floor plan represented typical
thinking about the use and arrangement of space within libraries, and is
important in two respects. First, a strict separation of readers and books,
divided by railings whenever possible, was recommended. Closed stack
arrangements were normal in the nineteenth century. Second, the plan called
for housing books around the perimeter of the room against the walls or in
short bookcase alcoves or bays that protruded from the walls* Traditional
12
Origins
internal arrangements emphasized the library's safekeeping and storage functions and not circulation, consultation, or browsing.
There was heightened interest in library architecture in Toronto and other
parts of the colony in 1858. A new library and public reading room were
under construction in the east hall of University College under the guidance
of John Langton and Frederic Cumberland, two members of the University
Senate. Cumberland's architectural firm was also engaged in building the
Toronto Mechanics' Institute. Most school libraries in Ryerson's jurisdiction
admittedly were humble affairs. This was especially true in rural areas where
libraries were housed in small closets, bookcases, or boxes. John George
Hodgins' School House, published in 1857, included many suggested locations
for small libraries along the lines of Henry Barnard's influential American
manual, School Architecture.^ But only the more affluent schools in Ontario,
like Hamilton's central school, were able to allocate floor space for a library.
Ryerson's belief in the separation of church and state and voluntary support for religious institutions, a typical Protestant viewpoint at this time, led
him to support nondenominational schools and the secularization of Clergy
Reserves. Such views embroiled him in his first major confrontation over the
depository. The Reverend Jean-Marie Bruyere, the rector of St. Michael's
Cathedral, issued a pamphlet calling the Chief Superintendent a most unrelenting and oppressive enemy.25 He objected to the General Catalogues apparent anti-Christian bias and to the transfer of funds from the sale of Clergy
Reserve lands to municipal investment funds to pay for school maps, apparatus, and public library purchases. Ryerson had openly suggested that municipalities use these funds for libraries in a circular dated November 1856.26
Bruyere, like many Roman Catholic leaders, disliked rationalist philosophy and disapproved of the trend towards secularization and nondenominational schools. The works of popular writers such as Edward Gibbon and
David Hume were anathema to him. He also protested - mistakenly as it
turned out - the exclusion of separate schools from the legislative provisions
that permitted the spending of generous grants for school prizes, apparatus,
and library books. Ryerson was always careful to guard against any political or
sectarian interference in school matters, especially with regard to the separate
school provisions of the School Act which he was bound to uphold. On this
occasion, he was able to diffuse tensions in a series of letters to the press,
pointing out that he had shown the Roman Catholic Bishop of London the
depository and that he had dispatched the bishop's book orders with the standard apportionment of one hundred percent.27
The Superintendent was also successful in his initial encounter with
booksellers who were anxious to dismantle his depository system. The two
parties now entered into a long controversy that remained unresolved until
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 13
after Ryerson's retirement in 1876. In April 1858 the recently formed
Booksellers' Association petitioned Parliament to enquire into the operations
of the depository, which they termed "a useless burden on the public purse."28
A month later another petition, signed by five book publishers who supported
the depository, was presented to the House. Seizing the opportunity to justify
his policies and demolish his critics, Ryerson immediately issued a pamphlet,
Special Report on the Separate School Provisions, to rebut any charges.29 After a
brief investigation, the parliamentary members took no action. Ryerson
emerged unscathed and determined to stay the course.
After a decade of departmental support, the public library system was well
established. Paradoxically, library sales at the depository were in decline. The
distribution of prize books and apparatus was becoming the chief task of the
depository (Table 2: Books Sent out from the Depository, 1853-1875). In
1860, the number of prize books was double that of library books for the first
time and became the main source of reading for many students and their families. At this time there were 411 common school libraries, 2433 Sunday
school libraries, and 347 public libraries categorized as "other."30 The library
system continued to steer an ultra-conservative course in the 1860s while the
reading public was turning to the "sensational novel," a term coined for mystery, crime, and horror stories. Lady Audley's Secret^ by Mary Elizabeth
Braddon, released in 1862, was a tale of bigamy, murder and insanity, and
typified the excitement and seaminess of this new genre.31
To appease new reading tastes, Hodgins, the faithful deputy, convinced
Ryerson that more "approved and standard" works of fiction should be
entered into the General Catalogue in 1868, the same year the Hicklin Rule
established the test for obscenity in Britain based on the 1857 Obscene
Publications Act.32 As a result, the novels of Walter Scott, Charles Dickens,
Edward Bulwer Lytton, John Gait, James E Cooper, Thomas Haliburton,
George Eliot, Anthony Trollope, and even William Thackeray, at last became
available to the public. Of course, many readers had never regarded these novelists as licentious, deprave, corrupt, or immoral. The relaxed ruling had little
impact. Almost three thousand works classed as fiction were shipped to
libraries between 1868-1875, but the orders always represented less than ten
percent of total sales each year. More adventuresome readers seemed to prefer
Wilkie Collins' Moonstone^ redolent of fright and exotic curses, to the standard
fare available in school libraries.
In the early 1860s a tide was rising against Ryerson's system of libraries
and the central depository. A formal indication of discontent reached the government in 1862 when Bentnick and Glenelg townships in Grey County petitioned to repeal the law respecting school libraries.33 Neither township council participated in the depository scheme, although school section trustees did
14
Origins
purchase books. This protest did not succeed. More damaging was a British
report on common schools in the United States and Canada. It was written by
the Reverend James Fraser, and it delivered a negative verdict on Ryersons
public libraries. Alluding to the chief superintendent's "mania" for libraries,
Fraser proceeded to criticize the system by observing that many complaints in
Britain had led to the abandonment of the depository system there, that
American district school libraries were not generally successful in serving the
public, and that "it is almost impossible, unless under very favourable and
exceptional circumstances, to establish in a rural district a successful library,"
because small libraries were quickly read out by most library users and then
neglected.34 Fraser was more enthusiastic about municipal public library legislation as exemplified by the Massachusetts law of 1851 and the shining example of the Boston Public Library, which had moved into its own new building
in January 1858. Bostons library opening generated considerable publicity,
even in Ontario.35
Critical comments and petitions to parliament did not faze Ryerson. His
system was in place and he was satisfied with the status quo. He had always
claimed that local exertions as well as central direction were essential features.
The large number of libraries suggests that both Ryerson and Hodgins were
forced to rely on local initiative and school inspectors to maintain adequate
collections, suitable accommodation, and careful maintenance. It is difficult to
judge how the library system was developing in cities, towns, and villages
because the annual report of the education department never tabulated library
circulation, and after 1862 it ceased to give statistics on libraries located in
individual communities. There were ninety-one larger communities recorded
in 1862, but the school holdings were only a quarter of the total reported by
other public libraries. Free libraries existed in less than half these places despite
the initial enthusiasm for Ryerson's scheme and the attractiveness of the
matching grant for books (Table 3: Public Libraries in Urban Centres, 1862).
A major publication appraising development, Eighty Years' Progress of
British North America, suggested that library service was improving in Canada
West. There was emerging "an enlightened literary taste and growing intelligence among the various classes of the people."36 Hodgins contributed a
roseate section on educational agencies and compiled a table of major public
institutions possessing libraries (Table 4: Public Libraries in Canada West,
1864). By 1864, the depository scheme had supplied almost 500 common
school libraries with close to 200,000 volumes. Sunday school libraries also
had benefited greatly from the creation of the depository. It was a remarkable
achievement in a province that was still being surveyed and settled. On balance, the policy of maintaining libraries in schools appeared to be well-founded.37 When George Brown and James Campbell, who coveted a share of the
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 15
profitable school textbook trade, attacked Ryerson in 1866, it was the depository they assailed, not the free library system. Ryerson survived this confrontation without difficulty by allowing a selection of Campbell s texts to be used
in schools.38
Subscription Libraries in Mechanics' Institutes
In contrast to the common school libraries, the Mechanics' Institute and literary society libraries, which had predated Ryerson's scheme, were struggling
in the 1860s. The institutes in Toronto and Hamilton exemplified the vicissitudes that these organizations suffered: both were facing difficulties with
mortgages on their new buildings, despite the fact that by this time
Mechanics' Institutes were regarded as a movement within their own right.
Walter Bales' lecture at the Toronto Mechanics' Institute in February 1851 is
a good barometer of how institutes were regarded in the leading city of
Canada West. He commenced his speech by remarking how surprised he was
to find only 270 members when by his calculations there ought to be at least
2,000 out of a population of approximately 30,000. Membership offered
many rewards:
The gold mines of California, where thousands go at the
sacrifice of health and life, are nothing to that valuable mine
which your library contains, - knowledge. By becoming
members you will be the means of bursting asunder the
bonds of ignorance; and morality, virtue, knowledge, and
happiness will find their way into your store, factories, and
every dwelling in this fine flourishing city.39
Bales eloquently stated the mid-Victorian case that mechanics could develop
their knowledge and skills and at the same time contribute charm to social
life, support for religion, and purity to politics. Institutes were supposed to
devise programs to impart the scientific principles underlying manufacturing,
crafts, and natural phenomena to artisans and skilled workers. Lectures, reading rooms, libraries, museums, and evening classes were the main instruments
to achieve these ambitious cultural goals. Bales spoke of the pleasant prospects
of a better life courtesy of the local institute:
... how delightful to the working class, to come in the
evening to hear a lecture, with his wife and daughters - for
every member has the privilege to bring the ladies free, or the
member can go to the reading-room and feast the mind, or
16 Origins
take a History (or some moral work,) from the library home
to his family, and read, those long winter evenings by the
cheerful fire, where his wife and offsprings can listen to truths
which are the foundation of morality, virtue and knowledge.40
To some people, however, the elevation of the working class seemed to entail
the preparation of its members to be obedient citizens. The promise of tranquil politics - a hidden social agenda - appears to have been a priority in the
minds of many middle- and upper-class institute directors by mid-century.41
This class conscious cultural perspective also coloured the British experience.
Little wonder then that enthusiasm for the institutes was wanting among the
working class in Toronto and the hinterland.
One year after the Common School Act of 1850, the Canadian
Parliament passed a statute, the Management of Library Associations and
Mechanics' Institutes, to regulate and encourage their operation (14 & 15
Vic., c. 86). Robert Bell, a typical reform member of Parliament, sponsored
the legislation. His family had come from Britain and settled at Perth.42 He
was first elected in 1847 to represent Lanark and Renfrew and was obviously
interested in libraries, for he had earlier suggested using part of a liquor tax to
support school libraries. There is evidence that the members of the Carleton
Place Library Association and Mechanics' Institute petitioned him to introduce a bill to allow "libraries and other societies of a kindred nature" to incorporate and receive a public grant on the same basis as agricultural societies.43
The 1851 act permitted not less than ten persons holding £25 to sign a declaration to form an institute or association. Annual meetings of the membership
were to appoint a president, librarian, treasurer, lecturer, and secretary to conduct the business of the corporation, usually for one-year terms. The act made
no stipulation for grants-in-aid which Parliament voted during the budgetary
process each year. The Bureau of Agriculture, formed later in 1853, became
responsible for administering the act.
The same legislation also facilitated the formation of Mechanics'
Institutes. Some capable persons, who might have used their talents to
strengthen and popularize school libraries, instead swelled the ranks of the
new institutes; for example, Dexter D'Everardo, who had corresponded with
Ryerson, was instrumental in forming the Fonthill Library Association and
Mechanics' Institute in February 1853 and continued to work with this
library in various capacities for many years.44 As the number of institutes multiplied rapidly in the first half of the 1850s, other like minded people followed
his example. In effect, legislation and grants encouraged the creation of parallel library systems: the common school libraries and the institute and associa-
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 17
tion libraries. Considering the nascent state of library collections at this time,
the process was detrimental to both of them, for it divided valuable energy
and scarce book resources.
The first large institute buildings opened at Hamilton in 1853 and at
Toronto in 1854. The new edifice at Hamilton was hailed as a credit to the
city. It featured a large, well-lit, well-furnished newsroom, a spacious lecture
room, and splendid auditorium (100 ft. x 45 ft.) which could accommodate
many people for concerts and theater. The chandeliers in the great hall,
similar to the Crystal Palace at the London Exhibition of 1851, were dazzling.45 The building cost approximately £4,000. The interest payments were
onerous. By 1864, the directors were forced to make an appeal for public
subscriptions and to hold more entertainments to meet interest charges. On
one of these occasions, Dr. May (he had graduated with a M.D. from Victoria
College in 1863) exhibited the new electric light for a delighted audience. 46
Financial woes continued to plague the Hamilton institute until its closure in
1882.
In Toronto, the architects Frederic W. Cumberland and William G. Storm
designed the new institute building (Illus. 2). A handsome and commodious
structure, it measured 104 ft. x 80 ft. and boasted a small library (28 ft. x 24
ft.) on the ground floor and a grand music hall and gallery on the upper
floor.47 Its neoclassical exterior was a visual reminder of the institute’s
educational function. Above the entrance were imposing Corinthian pilasters
crowned by a cornice and parapet. Even though the government underwrote
almost all of its enormous construction costs, $49,000, between 1854 and
1861, the institute’s directors had to wage a constant battle against inadequate
operating revenue and working class apathy. Once the building was completed and the lecture hall was furnished, the directors were still unable to schedule regular lecture series until the later part of the decade. Nor were winter
evening classes well attended: annual registration fluctuated between 105 to
200, from 1862 to 1867. The President, Frederic Cumberland, lamented in
1866 that even the workingmen who were members did not seem to appreciate the valuable work the institute was carrying on. 48
The 1860s were a quiescent and trying period for most institutes because
requisite financial aid from Parliament ceased in 1859. The 1851 act had not
dealt with grants-in-aid, yet the government normally supported any new
application made to the Bureau of Agriculture to incorporate an institute
provided there were at least ten members holding a minimum value of £25.
Between 1851 and 1857, the number of institutes receiving aid rose from ten
to fifty-eight while parliamentary control of finances passed through a
transitional stage. An Audit Office was created in 1855 with John Langton in
charge. When Alexander Galt became Inspector General in 1857, he and
18 Origins
Langton decided to improve control over all public expenditures. In 1858, the
Commissioner of Agriculture, Peter Vankoughnet, sent a questionnaire to 143
institutes to gather data on membership, libraries, reading rooms, lectures,
classes, and finances. He received only 61 replies (41 from institutes in
Canada West): these reported a membership of 4,810 and small library holdings of 31,9II.49 Vankoughnet reacted moderately by trimming the maximum grant to $140 for each recipient in 1858.
During the following year, aid was completely withdrawn without any
explanation from the commissioner. The legislative debates suggest that
Alexander Gait was concerned with financial retrenchment in his budgetary
address of 11 March 1859:
In the expenditure under the head of 'Literary and Scientific
Institutions/ I propose a reduction to the extent of $18,000.
The principal item in that account is the donations to
Mechanics' Institutes; and, looking to the state of the country the government came very reluctantly to the conclusion
that this might be better dispensed with than others of an
educational character. I may mention that it is my hope and
expectation that the reduction of the grants... will not be
permanent.50
Of course, Gait's financial measures had to pass legislative scrutiny before any
reduction could take effect.
When the House debated the motion of supply later in the month, opponents criticized the measure. D'Arcy McGee suggested appropriate guidelines
were necessary to assist the more deserving institutes. The member from
Ontario County, Joseph Gould, who had helped establish a local institute at
Uxbridge, complained that recently incorporated institutes in his riding would
suffer without financial assistance. However, the rationale underlying Gait's
proposal carried the day after John Sandfield Macdonald, a rising coalition
reform member, criticized abuses in the system of grants.
There was no question that in more than one county in
Upper Canada literary societies had received a double grant,
by calling themselves both by the same of 'library association
and also by the name of'Mechanics' Institutes,' as in the case
of Sherbrooke [it had received a triple grant as literary institute, library association and Mechanics' Institute, and
Mechanics' Institute]. And he was equally satisfied that many
of the societies had been got up with no other purpose than
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 19
to receive the Government grant. He was in favour of the
grants being withheld from all these institutes.51
Consequently, no grants were issued by Parliament after 1859.
The removal of the grant forced many institutes, such as Napanee (a welldocumented case), to close their doors because of financial woes.52 The
colony's subscription libraries relied heavily on parliamentary aid, an unfortunate and insecure economic dependence. The majority was struck a severe
blow. Stronger ones, for example the historic Niagara library, petitioned
Parliament to restore the grant and continued to exude optimism at annual
meetings — "this Institute is in a prosperous and satisfactory condition" — but
eventually it too reached a "low water mark" later in the decade.53 By 1862,
the minister of agriculture was reporting that many institutes not only lacked
a "comprehensive plan of action," but they were also not pursuing activities
that would achieve the "objects for which these societies were incorporated."54
The department of agriculture itself was not prepared to alter this state of
affairs. It had created a Board of Arts and Manufactures by statue in 1857 (20
Vic., c. 32, s. 19-33) to promote the education of the working class in useful
and ornamental arts. The government paid the Boards expenses, originally set
at $2,000 a year, and provided a few ex officio luminaries, such as the minister
of agriculture and superintendent of education, to help formulate policies and
stimulate programs. However, the boards directors were too few in number
and too busy with other duties to perform a useful coordinating role. D'Arcy
McGee, the new agriculture minister in 1864, admitted that exchanges
between the board members and his department officials "have been heretofore
very few in number and very meager in substance."55 Burdened with weak
departmental leadership and parliamentary financial restraints, the Board was
destined to be unsuccessful in organizing the activities or resources of institutes.
The agriculture department did not begin to reorganize its own activities
effectively until 1864, and even then it continued to administer institutes and
literary organizations in the belief that self-help, not state assistance, was the
main factor in the success of local agencies. Its policy was "destined to produce
a mushroom harvest of local societies and then to wither sadly in the years
ahead."56 The welter of small local agencies mostly ignored opportunities to
develop programs, such as evening classes, lectures, or exhibitions* in unison
with other institutes or the board. With the approach of Confederation, effective long-range departmental planning was curtailed as politicians turned to
matters more weighty than the formation of circulating book collections for
the public.
In these circumstances, the Board of Arts and Manufactures struggled
during its ten year existence. Any initiative it did display was mainly the work
20
Origins
of William Edwards, a sturdy Methodist who became secretary-treasurer to
the Board in 1858 and later assumed duties as editor of the Boards journal
first published in 1861. Known for his active role in the Toronto Mechanics'
Institute, where he served for years in various executive positions (President in
1863), Edwards continued to be active in library affairs long after
Confederation.57 He was the principal force behind the Boards decision to
establish a free central reference library on the upper floor of the Toronto
Mechanics' Institute and to publish its catalogue.58 Edwards also suggested a
scheme of classification and ledger system of circulation for libraries to the
Board and its affiliates, and, in 1864, he contemplated establishing a circulating library that could be "extended to any part of the Province."59 This latter
project never materialized; it was quite beyond the Board's capacity.
Few Mechanics' Institutes chose to affiliate with the Board on a regular
basis. Only a select company of delegates from Cobourg, Whitby, Hamilton,
Toronto, Dundas, and Ayr could be counted upon to attend Board meetings.
On a few occasions (most notably in 1862), the Board petitioned the government to reinstate the grants for institutes on the basis of prescribed guidelines
and auditing procedures but without tangible results.60 Lacking adequate government financing and grassroots support from institutes, the Board of Arts
and Manufactures lingered for a decade. When the Ontario Legislature took
charge in 1867, it dissolved the Board and vested its assets in the Ontario
Department of Agriculture and Public Works. Edwards became secretary of
the department and continued his work with the Toronto institute for a number of years.
The Post-Confederation Decade
The end of the Union of the Canadas in 1867 subtly changed the political
landscape* Astute Upper Canadian reformers like Adam Crooks knew meaningful political independence and national aspirations would not unfold
immediately; in a like manner, a Canadian cultural identity would need time
to evolve under new constitutional and democratic provisions.61 Regional
interests and concerns and political loyalties would continue to assert dominance within their respective spheres. Ryerson, detached from the support of
federal Conservatives such as Sir John A. Macdonald, found himself dealing
with the rising strength of reformers and moderate coalition reformers in the
Ontario Legislature. He had to negotiate with the new premier, John
Sandfield Macdonald, and the Grit leader, George Brown, both of whom were
antagonistic to some of Ryerson's administrative methods and educational
ideas.
In a small pamphlet, The New Canadian Dominion, published immediately after the first Dominion Day, the superintendent warned citizens about the
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 21
dangers of unprincipled partyism. Ryerson continued to believe that political
parties or factions perpetuated societal divisions, thus obstructing loftier
efforts, like his own, which sought unity and the common good. He was
joined by those who detested the cruder aspects of party patronage and the
impurity commonly associated with the machinations of government.
Nevertheless, political parties continued to consolidate and extend their control, the Ontario Liberal party being a particularly noteworthy example.62 As a
consequence, political considerations began to absorb more of Ryerson's time;
it took all his vigour to secure passage of the 1871 School Act which
enshrined universal free elementary education, introduced compulsory attendance, and improved financing for secondary education.
Affairs in free public libraries received scant attention in Ryerson s annual
reports and other publications immediately after 1867. His labours were
directed elsewhere. Upon the ascendancy of the Liberals in 1872, it was predictable that the independence, policy-making power, and leadership style
enjoyed by Ryerson and the Council of Public Instruction would be curbed.
The Liberal government, under the reins of Oliver Mowat, was determined to
reorganize the aims and functions of a provincial education system according
to its own dictates. Mowat kept an eye on the Ontario electorate when judging the pace of reform. One of the first opportunities for reform lay in the
depository. It remained a contentious point between the booksellers and
Ryerson, and the government was positioned uncomfortably between the
combatants.
The booksellers, supported by the formidable George Brown, returned to
the attack in earnest after 1870. Ryerson deflected most of their regular criticisms in a lengthy 1872 pamphlet, Rev. Dr. Ryersons Defence against the Attacks
of the Hon. George Brown, to which he appended an earlier report from a committee of the House of Assembly. This report concluded that the depository
was financially sound and that books were carefully selected.63 Ryerson also
paraded forth an impressive number of statements from educators applauding
the depository system. He published their opinions in his 1872 annual report.
Two of his allies were county inspectors who later became education ministers.
Haldimand County s Richard Harcourt stressed the need for matching grants:
"I know from experience that, did we not get the 100 per cent, grant, I would
have a great deal of difficulty in inducing trustees to purchase the requisite
maps, &c."64 To the west, in Lambton, George Ross was also supportive:
I think it really serves a good purpose and not till the country
is better supplied with facilities for getting a good, cheap and
wholesome literature (if then) should the Depository be dispensed with. I believe the money spent by the Government
22
Origins
in stimulating trustees and others to avail themselves of the
benefits of good maps, apparatus &c. to be well spent .. ,65
Nevertheless, changing political fortunes resulted in a compromise. The booksellers succeeded in obtaining helpful legislation in 1874. They were now
allowed to forward books for selection by the Council; those selected would
be added to the General Catalogue and sold to schools as texts, prizes, or
library books on a public grant basis of fifty percent (37 Vic., c. 27, s. 21).
The same year, 1874, witnessed another critical assessment of the depository. Graeme Mercer Adam, a prominent publisher, attacked Ryerson's system
in a pamphlet, Reform in the Education Office. An agitated Ryerson responded
by issuing circulars that refuted Adam's claims and declared his creation to be
the "People's Depository." He prepared documentation to have his case adjudicated by the courts, but Mowat refused to allow him to proceed.66 The conflict reached a climax when the Council of Public Instruction began another
investigation, one chaired by Daniel Wilson, a professor at University College
who had crossed swords with the Chief Superintendent on previous occasions
concerning nondenominational colleges. Hodgins and Ryerson prepared a
detailed defence of the depository in the belief that Wilson's investigation
might be biased in favour of the booksellers. They even prepared a detailed
map showing the location of free libraries and the townships supplied by the
depository. It showed that virtually every part of Old Ontario, particularly
the south-west rural region, had participated in the library scheme since
1850.6?
Not surprisingly, Wilson submitted a negative report on the depository's
role in supplying library and prize books and, with the assistance of George
Brown, he threatened Ryerson's position. The superintendent reacted vigorously and faced down the challenge. Wilson s report was never adopted officially because of fierce opposition by Ryerson and his supporters on the
Council. For Ryerson, it was a pyrrhic victory. Oliver Mowat made his decision to relieve him of power during this dispute. Early in 1876, the government formed an Education Department under the ministerial direction of
Adam Crooks. The embattled superintendent retired, and Hodgins became
deputy minister.68 Ryerson's public library system and depository quietly
awaited its predictable fate as a result of this latest shift in the tide of political
fortune.
The decade following Confederation was a more constructive interval for
the Mechanics' Institutes. In Ontario the public library function which the
institutes performed became their major activity. The provincial commissioner
of agriculture and public works resumed grants in 1868 after circulating a
questionnaire to about fifty institutes to ascertain their current condition.
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries
23
Twenty-two replies were received. As a result, a maximum grant of $200 per
institute was apportioned on condition that an equal amount be contributed
for evening classes or a library of practical works. It was clear from the outset
that a broader public was to be served. The new commissioner, John Carling,
noted that many institutes were located in rural areas where "the agriculturalist as well as the artizan" would equally benefit; thus "all classes of the community" would support the institutes' activities.
To assist in a province-wide renewal, the Association of Mechanics'
Institutes of Ontario was formed by statute (31 Vic., c. 29, s. 24), with
William Edwards as secretary. At its first meeting, in Hamilton, attended by
delegates from ten institutes, the Association adopted four goals: to act as a
centre of action; to prepare a catalogue of books suitable for institute libraries;
to arrange for works to be made available at the lowest prices possible; and to
promote evening classes, lectures, reading rooms, and exhibitions.69 Institutes
could affiliate with the Association by paying five percent of the government
grant - a mere $10. The small annual membership fee ensured that the
Association, like the Board of Arts and Manufactures before it, would be seriously constrained by its finances.
The number of institutes blossomed under these favourable legislative
conditions, especially after the grant reached a maximum $400 in 1871. After
this date the government granted two dollars for every one dollar raised locally. In 1872, county school inspectors were entrusted with the regular inspection of the institutes to ensure that they complied with regulations (35 Vic., c.
32, s. 6-7). In an effort to establish a uniform classification system, William
Edwards proposed the adoption of a system of classifying and registering
books for circulating libraries that had been devised by his brother, Robert
Edwards, who was Librarian at the Toronto institute. His scheme* using a
combination of book size, subject, and library type, arranged books in eleven
broad divisions:
I
II
III
IV
V
VI
Biography
History
Novels and Tales
Poetry and Drama
Periodical Literature
Science, Art, etc.
VII
VIII
IX
X
XI
Voyages and Travels
Miscellaneous
Religious Literature
Reference works
Illustrated Works, etc.
Within each section, volumes were sub-divided by size and assigned letters from the alphabet. In Biography, the initial letters for sizes were A, B, and
C; in History, the letters were D, E, and F; in Religion, Y and Z; in Reference,
double letters were used: AA, BB, and CC. After each initial letter a number,
24
Origins
showing the accession, was designated. Books stood on the shelves by size in
each section; in the printed catalogue the arrangement in each division was
alphabetical. Thus in each division of the catalogue (e.g., Biography) a user
might start to retrieve books by noting the call number in the first division:
B. 294 - Abernety, (Dr.) Life of
C. 250 - Alexander the Great, Life of
A. 11 - Arnold, (Dr.) Life of
The book then could be located and charged out.
Edwards was "satisfied that the system of classifying and recording the
books taken out or exchanged, is a good one, and is well adapted for either a
large or small library."70 His system facilitated consecutive numbering on the
shelves and permitted the recording and charging of loans in a record book
divided into two parts - one for an alphabetical list of members with registration number, the other for each initial book letter and progressive number.
This circulation ledger ordinarily would be used for six months. The librarian
simply had to post a members registration number beside a book selected for
home use and to note the book's call number beside the borrower's registration
information. The return date of any circulating book or a member's status
could be checked by referring to either section of the record ledger. Both
Hamilton and Toronto had adopted this system in the 1860s and reported
successful results; it was widely adopted in Ontario after 1872.
Circulating libraries were obviously the most popular aspect of the institutes. In other endeavours, the Association was less successful. It encountered
difficulty organizing evening classes and lobbying the government for better
legislation. By 1875 the Toronto President, Thomas Davison, was openly critical. Writing to the Association's executive, Davison complained that the
requirement for half the directors of local institutes to be mechanics was
unjust because in most cases mechanics did not form a majority of members.
Davison made three claims: first, the Association failed to serve as a "bond of
union" between the institutes; second, the five percent annual affiliation fee
was an unnecessary tax; third, he wanted the institute libraries to be the main
order of business.
[I]n my opinion, it would be well that the grant from the
Government should not be confined to Mechanics'
Institutes, so called or so incorporated, but should embrace
one Library Association from each Town or Village, leaving it
to the originators to name it Mercantile, Professional,
Mechanical Library, or Library Association. So long as its
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries
25
object was to educate the public, irrespective of creed,
nationality or occupation, I think it should be entitled to the
grant.71
His letter presented a refreshing opportunity to reappraise programs and organization.
Davison's ideas were debated and rejected at the Association's annual
meeting in September 1875. A resolution approved unanimously by representatives from twelve institutes recognized the usefulness of the Association as it
presently operated. In a more positive response, the Association did try to
establish better local contact and improve library conditions. In subsequent
years it distributed to each affiliate a set of Andrew Ure's Dictionary of Arts,
Manufactures and Mines and Alexander Keith Johnston's Handy Royal Atlas of
Modern Geography. In 1876 it sponsored a prize for the best essays on
Mechanics' Institutes: ironically, Davison won first prize. He reiterated the
necessity for a library and reading-room that constituted the "sum of attractions in most Institutes."72 The new minister of agriculture, Stanley Woods,
seemed to agree. In his 1877 report on institutes he noted: "The desire among
people in towns and villages to possess a public library and the facilities for
promoting social intercourse and mental and moral improvement is evidently
increasing; the natural outcome of our improved and efficient system of public instruction."73
Common School Libraries: "Practically Abandoned"
Adam Crooks presided over the death throes of Ryerson's book depository.
The new minister was an experienced member of Oliver Mowat's Executive
Council, having served previously as Provincial Treasurer, and he was determined to avert any criticism of the depository's role.74 When the Booksellers
Association again petitioned the government to abolish the depository in
February 1876, Crooks appointed James Brown, an accountant, to conduct a
thorough investigation of the depository's finances and operations from its
very inception. During the course of his investigation, Brown often sought
comments from Hodgins or Dr. May.75 Both men, however, were pressed for
time because they had to organize the departmental exhibit for the American
Centennial Exposition at Philadelphia in October. Although Brown exonerated the depository of any financial wrongdoing, the evidence gathered from
many parties, which was published separately, led Crooks to suspect that there
was a need to curtail its operations because the school libraries were not functioning as they originally were intended.
During the government's enquiry, James Campbell's submission on
"Village Libraries" had complimented the book selection made by the direc-
26
Origins
tors of Mechanics' Institutes, who "appreciate not only good literature, but
also the requirements of those for whom they are provided." Of course, many
directors relied on the book trade to supply their collections since selection
from the depository was limited. Campbell proposed that public school
libraries be replaced by village libraries, and, while he did not outline a comprehensive plan, he offered some useful comments for consideration. Four
points deserve attention:
... it is proposed to establish a library in every incorporate
village and other centres of population in the province.
9. With the establishment of a Village Library, it will be necessary to make it a part of the business of a Public Library
Clerk, through the Librarian or Inspector, or otherwise to
promote the formation and success of those Libraries, and to
report periodically as to their working.
10. Whether a hall might be obtained as a reading-room to
be open at all times, with the attendance of the Librarian at
stated times, to give out books; or merely a room, in which
the books are kept in a case, and to be given out a fixed
times, may be considered. Whether the one plan may answer
better in one place, and the other may be more suitable in
another, would depend on local circumstances. In some cases
the Teacher might undertake the duties of Librarian, with a
small salary attached, or when more time might be required a
suitable person is usually to be found in most villages.
11. Among the privileges enjoyed by Mechanics' Institutes,
is a certain fund to defray expenses of lectures; this sum
might, in the case of the Village Library, be devoted to rent
of a hall or room &c.
12. Indifference, incompetency, and poverty are said to be
the great hindrances to the Township and School Libraries,
and it would be a work of time to overcome these formidable
obstacles, but with the impetus given by the establishment of
Libraries in every incorporated village in the Province, and
with an energetic Library Clerk in stimulating the trustees of
the various schools and townships, a good deal might be
accomplished.76
Dr. May responded to Campbell's suggestions by questioning the success
of the institutes. After examining recent reports filed by school inspectors and
the department of agriculture, he discovered that there was no evidence to
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries 2 7
confirm that some institutes were purchasing new books with government aid
as specified in the regulations. Although he did not identify the institutes
which were failing in this regard, his revelation was a serious embarrassment,
far worse than a charge denigrating the quality of fiction circulating from
institute libraries. As for the village library scheme, May was firm: "At the present time villages and towns can procure all the books they require, either as
School Libraries or Mechanics' Institutes, and there seems no necessity for a
change in the present methods."77
Of course, as the education minister s first enquiry had shown, there were
still many problems with the common school library system. When George
Paxton Young, the Chairman of the Central Committee of Examiners, which
began probing the question of selection and prices of library and prize books
in 1876, asked John Hodgins for a list of all the libraries ever supplied by the
depository and the current holdings in each, the new deputy minister had to
admit that many libraries had "long ceased to exist." Hodgins said that a complete list would be unreliable because for some time his department had been
emphasizing prize books, not libraries.
Of late years we have made no special efforts to promote the
library system in rural sections, having concentrated these
efforts with great success on the distribution of prize books
on the merit card system. Under that system good and useful
books are sure to get into the families without any of the evils
attendant upon personal competition among pupils, while
under the library system the books are rarely asked for — they
being as a general rule such standard works as are too dry and
unsuitable for family reading.78
Young s report recommended the continuance of controls on the selection of
books and the retention of the depository because of the variety of inexpensive
books it offered. This decision predictably led to another booksellers' petition
to the Legislative Assembly, in early 1877.
Despite the fact that the depository had received a favourable report on its
financial transactions and that the relatively powerful Central Committee supported its existence, Crooks commissioned yet another study. This one was
conducted in secret under the direction of Colonel Thomas C. Scoble, a government employee who had previously worked for Dr. May in the depository.79 Scobles work apparently was considered an internal, private report; it
never appeared in the public record. Whatever the merits of the depository,
Crooks realized that the government was essentially funding two public
library systems through the agency of two different departments, creating an
28
Origins
unnecessary expense he preferred to eliminate discreetly. Ryerson's system of
public libraries was naturally the most likely candidate for reform because of
its political liabilities.
From available evidence Scoble concluded that the Mechanics' Institutes
libraries were more popular. School libraries were faltering. By 1878, the institutes were receiving slightly more than $18,000 in grants-in-aid (Graph 1:
Total Grants for Mechanics* Institutes Libraries, 1868 to 1880). Between
1868 and 1878, the total number of books had risen from 22,947 to 94,522
(Graph 2: Total Books in Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 1868 to 1880).
Circulation was also increasing, especially outside Toronto and Hamilton
(Graph 3: Library Circulation from Mechanics' Institutes, 1875-1880). By
contrast, total funding for common school libraries, which Crooks began to
scrutinize closely after 1876 in his annual report, was dwindling. The statistics
for free public libraries supplied by the depository between 1876 and 1880
clearly demonstrate this:
1876
1877
1878
1879
1880
-
91 libraries - $2,483 legislative grant
83 libraries - $1,787 legislative grant
69 libraries - $1,613 legislative grant
46 libraries - $ 825 legislative grant
19 libraries - $ 166 legislative grant.80
Hodgins' revelations and Scoble's negative report probably did not surprise Crooks. Any misgivings he had about Ontario's common school libraries
were anticipated and reinforced by Public Libraries in the United States of
America, which had been published in 1876 by the United States Bureau of
Education at Washington. A perusal of its pages indicated that the development of American district school libraries had been marked by "many changes
and mishaps" - for example, state systems in New York, Massachusetts, and
Michigan were no longer considered successes, although Ontario's "excellent"
system was briefly noted.81 Generally, by this time American educators considered the public school library to be a prototype rather than a model for
contemporary policy making. Municipal free public libraries were the way of
the future in the United States,
With Ryerson in retirement, government reports on the status of small
school libraries in Ontario tended to confirm the American experience.
Ryerson's school libraries had been "read out." They had not been restocked,
despite the depository's bargain rates. Furthermore, Ryerson's conception of
common schools as the most important source of public education and social
activity for local communities was no longer feasible by the 1880s. Now the
railroad defined the expanding contours of the country. Rural life centred on
Common School and Mechanics' Institute Libraries
29
self-sufficient school sections - places where instruction was dispensed, meetings were convened, and families gathered for recreation or news - could no
longer satisfy eager young minds or clever hands. By this time it was evident
that the urban high school had supplanted the local common school as the
most important element in Ontario's system of public education.82
The department reduced the depository's activities step by step between
1876-80. Crooks preferred to follow a deliberate, conservative course. By
using legislation, orders-in-council, and departmental regulations, the minister separated three intertwined issues: school libraries for pupils, prize books
for students, and the local public library The depository's monopoly was
ended, then its funding was reduced. In 1879, Crooks removed Hodgins' control over the depository and promoted Dr. May as its superintendent; he also
slashed the matching school library grant to one-third the previous amount.
The minister's 1879 annual report contains the last mention of free public
libraries in schools.
In his budget address of 1880, Crooks noted that Colonel Scoble's private
report had verified the minister's suspicions: the library system had been
"practically abandoned," prize books were not necessary, and texts for Normal
and Model Schools could be procured through general trade channels. He also
found that stocking the depository entailed a large expenditure of public
money. Crooks concluded severely:
The operations of the Depository have become smaller since
I asked last year for less public money for stock... It is
unnecessary to re-stock the Depository, for the schools in
general understand that they can be well supplied through
the ordinary trade, and any reason for its existence in the former infancy of ours schools, cannot now be successfully
urged.83
By the end of 1881, the depository was closed, its employees dismissed, and
its assets distributed to various educational institutions.84 Its demise marked
the end of a centralized book supply and discount scheme for common school
libraries envisaged by Ryerson in 1850.
The turn of the institutes followed. Dr. May's revelations in his brief
report had not gone unnoticed. By 1879 there were about seventy-five institutes for which school inspectors had authorized grants. During this year, the
government made a decision to transfer the institutes to the minister of education, "to whose department they appropriately and strictly belong," wrote
Stanley Woods, the commissioner of agriculture.8^ This administrative shuffle
did not receive extensive public scrutiny. At a special convention held at
30
Origins
Toronto in February 1879 to compose a blueprint for the institutes' future,
forty-nine delegates from twenty-three institutes drafted proposals for improving legislation, but neither then, nor later in September at the annual meeting
of the Association of Mechanics' Institutes held at Ottawa, was there any consultation or discussion about the transfer of institutes to another department.
When he learned of the change, in December, William Edwards wrote to
James Young, the long-time association president, that it was be a mistake.86
However, Young, a Liberal member of the Legislature, felt differently. In the
debate on the transfer in January 1880 he expressed satisfaction with the.
move, possibly because the wording of the legislation was somewhat vague,
leaving open different possibilities. By the Acts terms, the education department could make rules and regulations for a variety of purposes: to arrange for
evening classes in physical and practical science; to disburse grants; to sanction
the purchase of books "in other subjects" (i.e., works of fiction); and to
administer inspections and audits (43 Vic., c. 5, s. 1-3). Crooks then appointed Dr. May to do a thorough inspection of the institutes, commencing in the
summer of 1880. One era had ended; another was about to begin.
Chapter 2
BRITISH AND AMERICAN
INFLUENCES
B
y the middle of the nineteenth century there were many forces preparing the groundwork for the formation of public libraries in British
North America. Numerous educational groups, a nascent publishing
industry and book trade, municipalities, and an expanding reading public
were among the leading agents of change. At this stage of development, most
citizens did not accept public libraries as rate-supported municipal institutions. A library was considered to be public if it was accessible to all members
of a community in terms of geography or group identity; however, as a rule its
basic services (circulating collection, reading room, reference service) and
ancillary services (lectures and museum) were not free. In the two principal
Anglo-American countries, the overall pattern of modern public library service
developed along uniform lines, with only relatively minor differences between
the two nations. Canadians borrowed freely from both their American and
British counterparts, in the process creating a library system guided by outside
influences and ideas yet thoroughly suitable for the needs of Canadian government.
In his 1851 report on American public libraries to the Smithsonian
Institution, Charles Jewett defined public libraries as those
which are accessible - either without restriction, or upon
conditions with which all can easily comply — to every person
who wishes to use them for appropriate purposes. In this
sense I believe it may be said that all libraries in this country,
which are not private property, (and indeed many which are
private property,) are public libraries.1
Library collections were available to the public under terms and conditions
prescribed by their informal organizations: in the United States, many subscription libraries, lyceums, and athenaeums offered reading materials to those
32
Origins
who were able to afford small membership fees; in Great Britain and Canada,
Mechanics' Institutes included libraries and reading rooms that were available
to artisans, mechanics, apprentices, and the general populace upon payment
of a membership charge.
This host of pre-1850 public library types, now usually designated by historians as social libraries, reflected a diverse range of cultural relationships and
information concerns. A new literate generation, "The Unknown Public"
Wilkie Collins wrote about in Household Words, expected more than religious
and utilitarian works. It needed, in Collinss words, "to be taught the difference between a good book and a bad [book]."2 As the diffusion of reading
matter for home use, especially inexpensive fiction, turned into a popular feature of public libraries, commercial circulating libraries became alternative
sources of reading. Charles Mudie s Select Library was undoubtedly the most
successful nineteenth-century circulating library. Mudie's branch libraries,
which featured the three-volume novel, expanded into many large English
towns where they were patronized by a vast reading clientele.3 Operations in
Upper Canada were less well organized; small local circulating libraries sprang
up in a few localities such as Amherstburg.^
Very few libraries in Britain or North American were supported by taxes
or freely accessible to all residents of a community. The prevailing social attitude among citizens and civic leaders inclined towards voluntary organizations
and charges for service. This stance would change dramatically in the second
half of the nineteenth century. Schools in several American and Canadian
jurisdictions already were offering a tax-supported version of public library
service by 1850. Esteemed educators, such as Horace Mann and Egerton
Ryerson, and prominent library spokesmen, such as George Ticknor and
Edward Edwards, were starting to reorient fundamental views concerning the
public library. A second version of public libraries was to arise, one which
would eventually supersede its predecessor.
Tax-Supported Public Libraries
In the United States, public libraries in tax-supported schools were the first to
diverge significantly from the general subscription pattern/American educators were at the forefront in creating a mass education system in which
libraries formed an integral part. Ryerson was obviously influenced by the
work of Horace Mann in Massachusetts, Henry Barnard in Rhode Island, and
New York State legislators.5 Mann supported an 1837 law allowing school districts to raise an initial $30 and then $10 in subsequent years to support free
libraries, but this law was repealed in 1850, one year before Massachusetts
enacted a bill to provide for free town libraries.6 In Rhode Island, Henry
Barnard, the state Superintendent of Education, worked tirelessly in the 1840s
British and American Influences
33
to promote a law permitting towns and districts to establish free school
libraries. However, the successors to Mann and Barnard neglected these
libraries and their original potential was never realized.
New York State had pioneered the idea of school libraries. In 1835 the
legislature allowed school districts to raise $20 to establish a library and $ 10 a
year thereafter to maintain it. Improvements in this law continued until, by
the early 1850s, there were more than 1,500,000 books in these libraries. This
surely impressed Ryerson. However, when New York legislators permitted
library money to be diverted to other resources, beginning in the 1850s, rural
libraries started to decline and continued to do so into the 1870s, when many
knowledgeable library promoters pronounced the experience a prototype or
even a failure. This judgement extended to other states, but it was tempered
by the recognition that district school libraries had helped elevate the status of
the public library as an essential part of public education; they were now
rightfully entitled to a share of public taxation.7
Community school libraries for adults as well as children contrasted
markedly with fee-based social libraries catering to adult interests. Lifelong
education, not recreational reading, was the fundamental motive for their
foundation. This concept was to play a significant role in the public library
movement. Books, especially nonfiction, were to be provided for all ages and
all people in order to develop equal opportunities, to raise (or mould) character, to offer antidotes to vulgar novels, and to make information generally
accessible. The arguments cited to support community school libraries in
many respects paralleled those used to found common schools. Libraries and
schools were established within a democratic tradition of religious tolerance
and political freedom, and they were linked closely with the functions of government. In this milieu, the library stood as an impartial dispenser of literature judged acceptable by community standards.
Ryerson considered subscription libraries and Mechanics' Institutes inefficient and outmoded civic agencies. From a strictly pedagogic point of view, he
believed that they had not achieved their purpose. Indeed, this assessment still
prevails, although recent scholarship on British institutes has shown that they
were relatively successful as part of a wider popular and scientific culture that
aspired to reach the lower classes with modest educational aims.8 But an even
more important factor influenced Ryersons thinking on the subject of a fullfledged public library system in Canada West: in 1850 there was only a handful of cities, towns, or villages large enough to establish libraries. According to
the tabulations of the 1851-52 census, there was not a single urban locality
with more than 50,000 people:
34 Origins
Hamilton
Kingston
Toronto
Cities
14,112
11,585
30,775
Towns
Belleville
4,569
Brantford
3,877
Brockville
3,246
Bytown
7,760
Chatham
2,070
Cobourg
3,871
Cornwall
1,646
Dundas
3,517
Goderich
1,329
Guelph
1,860
London
7,035
Niagara
3,340
Perth
1,916
Peterborough 2,191
Picton
1,569
Port Hope
2,476
Prescott
2,156
Simcoe
1,452
St. Catharines 4,368
St. Thomas
1,274
Villages
Amherstburg
Chippawa
Gait
Ingersoll
Oshawa
Paris
Preston
Richmond
Thorold
Woodstock
1,880
1,193
2,248
1,190
1,142
1,890
1,180
434
1,091
2,112
A network of common school libraries, then, was the only practical way to
extend free circulating libraries to the entire population. The fluctuating fortunes of Mechanics' Institutes during the 1850s no doubt convinced the
Superintendent that his policy was sound.
Even in Great Britain, where more than four hundred Mechanics'
Institutes existed at mid-century, change was in the offing. The original purpose of providing scientific and technical information for workers had been
supplanted by general cultural considerations. In response to this, parliament
passed a public act in August 1850 enabling town councils in boroughs often
thousand inhabitants or more to levy a halfpenny rate to acquire land and
buildings for public libraries and museums. The support of two-thirds of the
burgesses at a public poll organized by the mayor was mandatory for local
implementation of the act. William Ewart, the act's author, had been motivated by an article he had read on public libraries written by Edward Edwards as
well as by dissatisfaction with the library services which institutes offered and
the fees they continued to collect. Ewart's Select Committee of the House of
Commons relied chiefly on Edwards' testimony in 1849 to prepare the way
for the Public Libraries Act. Edwards used the term public library to mean
"libraries deriving their support from public funds, either wholly or in part;
and ... libraries as are made accessible to the public to a greater or less
degree."?
British and American Influences
35
Ewart later amended the act in 1855 to reduce the required number of
inhabitants to five thousand; to include parishes or districts; to increase the
rate to one penny; and to extend the financial provisions to books and newspapers. Town councils usually managed the library directly, although parish
vestries could appoint three to nine commissioners to oversee operations.
Ewart's amended legislation remained the principal act for England until a
consolidated act appeared in 1892.10 Manchester was the first large English
town to establish a public library, with Edwards, a tireless supporter of
libraries for the next three decades, appointed as its first Principal Librarian
(1851-58). From time to time, Edwards advocated open access to shelves,
Sunday openings and evening service, unrestricted borrowing privileges, and
free distribution of some government documents. These were services his contemporaries either disagreed with or considered too visionary.11
Only a few towns adopted Ewart's measures during the 1850s, but the
public experience with free circulating libraries generally was favourable. This
information was publicized regularly in journals, including Ryersons digest of
educational news that was distributed throughout Ontario.12 In the 1860s,
commentators writing in popular magazines, notably Meliora, praised the
development of free libraries but kept open a critical eye:
The different circumstances in which our urban and rural
populations are placed required certain adaptations to
accomplish a given purpose for each, and while we view the
free public library as an appliance of the highest value for
aiding the mental progress of the people, we cannot help
earnestly desiring to see coincident with this movement wide
extension of colportage in Great Britain.13
Unquestionably, library extension to rural communities was a difficult problem because local self-government operated differently than its urban counterpart. Consequently, there was a need for either voluntary societies — for example, the Religious Tract and Book Society of Scotland - or itinerant hawkers
to distribute and sell cheap popular literature. There were more than thirty
free libraries in England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland by the time Edward
Edwards published his seminal Free Town Libraries in 1869 and about three
hundred by the mid-1890s; but rural library service continued to languish in
many English villages and parishes. ^
Edwards' leadership paralleled the efforts of Charles Jewett in the United
States. Jewett was well-travelled and conversant with Anthony Panizzi s style of
administration and cataloguing rules which the latter had developed at the
British Museum.15 After publishing Notices of Public Libraries, Jewett was
36
Origins
instrumental in organizing a library conference at New York in September
1853 which attracted eighty-two delegates. This convention enthusiastically
discussed his proposal for a national library based in the Smithsonian
Institution, a printed centralized national catalogue, and a new system of rules
for cataloguing. However, despite plans for the formation of a national librarians' association and a call for another meeting at Washington, nothing substantial occurred at this time because the major participants lacked cohesion
and firm institutional bases to continue their work. Only a handful of municipal public libraries offering free services existed at this time in the American
north-east.
New Hampshire legislators had passed the first general statute for public
libraries in 1849. By its permissive provisions any town could raise and appropriate a fixed sum money for a public library, which was to be open to the free
use of every inhabitant. Gifts, donations, bequests, and legacies could be
received and administered for library purposes. The New Hampshire law served
as a model for other New England states. In Massachusetts, a second library act
was passed in 1851. It resembled the New Hampshire provisions with one
exception: it set down a maximum tax rate of one dollar for founding a library
and twenty-five cents thereafter for its maintenance. The city of Boston had
received state approval in 1848 to authorize the establishment and maintenance
of a public library but the project was delayed for years. The major personages
involved, George Ticknor and Edward Everett, disagreed on fundamental
issues, including the question of home circulation.16 Boston Public Library
finally opened in March 1854, then moved into its own building in 1858 with
Charles Jewett, who had left the Smithsonian, as superintendent.
The period between 1850 and 1860 obviously was a critical decade for
the development of the Anglo-American public library movement. The value
and purpose of public libraries was debated thoroughly in Great Britain's parliament; as a result, enabling legislation for municipal authorities spread to
England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and the empire. In the United States, the
Boston Public Library, general state legislation, and the leadership of Ticknor
and Jewett - all this helped to lay the foundation for public libraries before
the Civil War.
Free Library Bills before Confederation
Initial efforts to establish free municipal public libraries in Canada West did
not come to fruition. In fact, the entire system of local self-government for
cities, towns, villages, and townships had only been instituted in 1849 by a
leading reformer, Robert Baldwin, who was wary of Ryerson's tendency to
centralize.17 In September 1852, a Conservative from Toronto, William
Henry Boulton, introduced a bill authorizing cities and towns to establish and
British and American Influences
37
maintain public libraries. Boulton's bill was discharged at second reading.
Unfortunately no copy of the text has survived, so it is necessary to speculate
about the bill's content. 18 From our knowledge of two contemporary
American state bills and the Ewart Act, it is likely Boulton drafted what
became know later to library advocates as "short" permissive legislation, that
is, his bill probably allowed larger incorporated municipalities to set up and
operate libraries with the approval of ratepayers. It may also have included a
maximum tax rate, a minimum population for a municipality, and reference
to procedures for adopting the bylaw.
The first public library bill failed for many reasons. William Boulton had
a reputation for appealing to popular sentiment that did not endear him to
many of his political colleagues who may have considered his library plan,
regardless of its merits, to be premature. Perhaps they thought that Ryerson's
depository system and Robert Bell's 1851 act adequately served the needs of
the colony given its pioneer conditions. Moreover, there were only a few cities
and towns in Canada West at this time that could have taken advantage of
Boulton's legislation, and many of them already had a Mechanics' Institute or
were in the process of establishing one.
Boulton's 1851 election victory was invalidated in 1853. He did not contest his seat in the House of Assembly, nor did he involve himself with any
kind of social legislation once he returned to private life.19 His place as public
library advocate in parliament was taken by a lawyer from Perth, Alexander
Morris, who first entered the legislature in 1861 as a Liberal-Conservative.
Morris was well-educated, had travelled abroad, and had many connections
with libraries, Mechanics' Institutes, and publishing ventures.20 He had served
as vice-president of the Montreal Mercantile Library Association in 1849 and
given lectures there and at the nearby Hemmingford Mechanics' Institute in
the 1850s. He edited the Juvenile Presbyterian, a children's periodical, for a
brief period of time. In parliament Morris did not begin to play an important
role until after Confederation; however, in August 1866 he did introduce a
bill establishing free municipal libraries. It was probably patterned upon
Ewart's amended act. The Toronto Globe made passing reference to his bill,
which was introduced very late in the legislative session and discharged at second reading. The original bill is no longer available, but fortunately John
George Hodgins' Documentary History of Education preserved its text.21 It
appears as "long" legislation, that is, the composition and election of the
library board is set out along with procedures for incorporation, administrative duties and powers of trustees, tax rates, and so on.
Morris's bill allowed cities and towns of five thousand or more inhabitants
to establish a free public library after the owners of real estate had given consent by a two-thirds majority at a public meeting. The resolutions passed at
38
Origins
the initial meeting were to be deposited at the County Registrar's office. Nine
trustees were to direct the library's business: six elected by the ratepayers and
three elected by "those who have made donations to the Corporation of
books, or money." Two trustees were to be elected at an annual meeting by
ratepayers; one trustee annually by the donors. The trustees had the power to
levy a tax for library purposes not exceeding one-half cent on the dollar each
year. Trustees also were empowered to operate reading rooms, hold land, enter
into mortgages, establish library regulations for circulating books, meet
monthly, and elect a president or other officers. The library was to be "open to
the Public free of charge" subject to regulations adopted by the directors.
The influence of British legislation is unmistakable. In Britain, public
libraries were making headway in larger towns: they were being touted as
important agents in the diffusion of knowledge, and Meliora speculated on the
need for classification and cataloguing systems to hasten public accessibility.22
As a lawyer, Morris could easily refer to the act Ewart had steered through parliament along with its subsequent amendments, and adapt measures to circumstances that suited Canadian municipal life. The necessity for a public
meeting, a two-thirds majority of ratepayers, the frugal halfpenny rate, the
population limitation, the ownership of land or buildings, and a corporate
board of not more than nine trustees - all these were British features.
There was also resemblance to laws in the New England states: the permissive nature of the legislation, the public meeting, the rate limitation, and
the power to hold land or erect buildings. One distinguishing feature of
Morris's bill was his outright preference for an independent board of citizens
operating within the context of local self-governing communities. Clearly,
Morris believed that educational needs demanded the attention of a special
purpose board. However, the approach of Confederation meant the rapid dissolution of parliament in late summer 1866. Canadian legislators turned to
constitutional business. Library matters were ignored in the press of events.
In Britain and American state legislatures, the board form of governance
and its role in local government began to receive more attention in the 1870s.
Edward Edwards, who continued to recommend many changes after he was
dismissed from Manchester in 1858,23 seemed convinced that boards were
more desirable than council committees or parish vestries which many people
felt might neglect educational matters:
But the raising in character and intelligence of the corporations will be question of time. It is sure to come. In the
meantime, some of their new functions, under Permissive
Acts of Parliament such as that relating to Town Libraries,
will be best administered with aid from without. Many men
British and American Influences
39
may be found in most towns whose special qualifications fit
them pre-eminently to be members of a Library Committee,
but whose aims and pursuits in life make it unlikely that they
will ever become Town-Councillors or Parish Vestrymen. In
many towns the Clergy have helped, most zealously and most
ably, in promoting Free Libraries.24
A major innovation took place in the United States when an Illinois state act
appeared in 1872. This law featured an independent library board of nine
appointed or elected members with staggered three-year terms of office. It
also empowered citizens to present petitions to town and village councils in
order to establish libraries by means of a simple majority of votes, and it set a
claimable mill rate the board could depend upon.25 The Illinois "long" law
became a model for other midwestern states and received praise in many
quarters.26
PhUadelphia and London, 1876-77
In retrospect, the public library movement that arose at mid-century in the
British Isles and America embodied important liberal-democratic assumptions
about the character of local self-government and public ownership, control,
finance, and accessibility that distinguished it from an earlier form of public
library service that had been characterized by private-sector voluntary efforts
and payment of fees. By 1876, William E Poole, director of the Chicago
Public Library, defined the "public library" this way:
The 'public library which we are to consider is established by
state laws, is supported by local taxation and voluntary gifts,
is managed as a public trust, and every citizen of the city or
town which maintains it has an equal share in its privileges of
reference and circulation. It is not simply for scholars and
professional men ... but for the whole community — the
mechanic, the laboring man, the sewing-girl, the youth, and
all who desire to read, whatever be their rank, intelligence or
condition in life. It is the adjunct and supplement of the
common school system.27
Poole s statement clarified a number of points and prompted others to follow
his lead.
Building upon the community aspect inherent in European and American
municipal libraries, as well as experiments with American tax-supported district school public libraries, library promoters began organizing municipal
40
Origins
public libraries on a permanent democratic basis after 1850.28 At a time when
educational concerns in Anglo-American countries were resolved locally, and
voluntary efforts were an important part of the fabric of government, the
authority and legitimacy for establishing libraries normally rested in an
enabling act by which political action was necessary at the municipal level to
secure majorities for free library bylaws. Current wisdom held that libraries
should be publicly funded by local taxes from rateable assessment or by local
general funds, and that they should be administered by a board or committee
composed of citizens or elected representatives. Finally, free public access for
residents should be maintained in terms of local proximity and availability of
standard resources: reading rooms, circulating collections, reference departments, and adequate accommodation. All of the above were deemed necessary
by advocates and librarians, who were articulating the need for the diffusion
of knowledge by free libraries within the structure of local government.
Librarianship as a distinct occupation slowly emerged between the years
1850 and 1875, and it acquired a more definite shape after the 1876
Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia. Exhibitions were common showplaces
for new technology, such as Alexander Graham Bell's telephone, and attractive
locations for meetings of professional groups. One hundred and three men
and women met in conference at Philadelphia, at the beginning of October
1876, to discuss library topics. The U.S. Bureau of Education report on public libraries, prepared for the exposition by its editor-in-chief, Samuel Warren,
was well received (the two volumes became a respected library manual for
years), and the American Library Association (ALA) was founded. Its notable
early leaders were Justin Windsor, Boston Public Library; William E Poole,
Chicago Public Library; Charles A. Cutter, Boston Athenaeum; and Melvil
Dewey, who had recently developed a decimal classification system at Amherst
College. Shortly afterwards, Dewey, and the publisher Richard R. Bowker
established the Library Journal. These two men would direct the ALAs course
for many years.
One spirited participant, Samuel Green, declared the conference a great
success. He later recalled that "The permanent union of librarians effected by
the conference also brought together in one body individuals from all parts of
the country who could be depended on to work unitedly for the general interest of the library cause."29 After 1876, the cause would embrace many innovative measures: open shelves, central card catalogues, children's services,
improved classification and cataloguing schemes, functional library architecture, branch libraries, state library commissions, and the admittance of popular
fiction to circulating collections. American conceptions of public library service would remain at the forefront of international public library development.
The Philadelphia conference stimulated immediate action across the
British and American Influences
41
Atlantic. Edward W.B. Nicholson, Librarian of the London Institution, wrote
to the Times in early 1877, inviting British librarians and others to an international conference. A number of prominent librarians attended from western
Europe, Greece, Australia, and the United States. Neither Edward Edwards
nor Anthony Panizzi, the architects of librarianship in Britain, was able to
attend. The proceedings were judged to be satisfactory by the conferences 218
delegates. They debated at length classification schemes, open access to
shelves, circulating systems, and, on 5 October 1877, they founded the
Library Association (LA) for the promotion of libraries and encouragement of
bibliographical research.30 The conference emphasized the need for a general
catalogue of English literature, a task which ushered in an era of historical and
bibliographical work for which the LA became renowned.
Canadian librarians were not present at either the Philadelphia or London
library conventions. The Toronto Globe commented on their absence in an
editorial on Nicholson's international conference:
It may be that we take less interest in both the establishment
and the maintenance of valuable libraries than do our
cousins, either south of the lakes or at the antipodes; if so,
one of the best ways of remedying this defect is to see that
representative librarians from Canada attend the next
Convention, which will be held at Oxford, with a view to
bringing away with them new ideas and an increased measure
of enthusiasm in their arduous work.31
Both John Hodgins and Dr. May were present at the Philadelphia exposition
to oversee the Ontario education department's exhibit, which included a
prominent display case of prize and library books (Illus. 3). Perhaps they
returned home with an expanded knowledge of public library service.
Hodgins' commemorative Philadelphia volume does include a few brief comments on American libraries, in particular the acclaimed report on public
libraries completed by the U.S. Commissioner of Education. Copies of the
report were afterwards forwarded to the education department for distribution
in Ontario, and Hodgins wrote favourably about it in the February 1877 issue
of Belford's Monthly Magazine?2 The two men must have realized that the
public library system they had encouraged for more than two decades was no
longer ascendant in the United States.
American library leaders evidently regarded school-based public libraries
as passe because they stocked books from authorized catalogues issued by central depositories, and this dependency was no longer acceptable. The position
of booksellers and publishers was unequivocal. Publishers' Weekly carried a
42
Origins
caustic review of the Ontario library and prize book display at Philadelphia
(reprinted by Hodgins), calling it the bete noire of the Canadian book trade.
This is an institution to which, happily, we have no parallel,
except so far as our own Government interferes with the private business of the stationers, by furnishing envelopes
below cost. It offers to the schools a selected list of books at
one-half off, from which list they are to draw their books for
prizes, etc. Naturally, the list is said to be antiquated and
otherwise objectionable, for private business is not best done
by public departments; but of this the visiting trade may
judge for themselves, since in this large case (No. 63), is displayed attractively the full list.33
Whatever the effect of foreign opinion, Ontario was proud of its educational
system: equality of educational opportunity was supposed to further social
mobility and ameliorate the alienation of labourers from capitalists. Many
people expected the public library to play a role in this process, and they were
ready to offer their services to the cause. For its part, the government had
passed legislation and provided small grants, a policy it had pursued for a
quarter century.
Ontario Responds
Political conditions at the level of local self-government helped facilitate public support for change in Ontario. There were many reasons why free municipal libraries were appealing. They were open to all community members without direct payment. They ostensibly transcended the division of social classes,
and they were to be managed locally by a representative public corporation.
The library staff, normally few in number but with specialized knowledge and
skills, were trained to render the collection more accessible to all persons
allowed to use its resources. The public library movement's founders in
Ontario emphasized these democratic features as they distinguished free public libraries from those in Mechanics' Institutes and public schools.34 While
collections in these two agencies were open to the public, they were only one
part of each institution's activities and had not attracted extensive patronage
for a variety of reasons.
Mechanics' institutes were essentially proprietary bodies with an ambitious educational program using lectures, classes and libraries to teach artisans
and skilled workers the scientific principles underlying manufacturing, crafts,
and natural phenomena. Reality was more sobering than theory. Novels constituted the major part of many institute lending libraries, a circumstance that
British and American Influences
43
was becoming less a liability in some quarters despite the tendentious moral
issues. The Toronto Globe wrote: "This work of discriminating between things
vicious and things merely pleasurable is well done by novelists in general, and
thus the writer of fiction has often a valuable educational effect."35 Others
were less kind. Dr. Mays landmark Special Report clearly demonstrated that
the practical value of lectures and evening classes was questionable.3^ In fact,
in the Mother Country, the custom of imparting scientific knowledge by
means of public lectures was giving way to permanent educational bodies or
large-scale exhibitions.37 Many people - such as Thomas Davison who openly
supported provincial grants for public libraries — had grown skeptical of the
institutes' potential to reach large numbers of subscribers.
On the other hand, Adam Crooks' acknowledgement that Ryerson's common school public libraries were "practically abandoned" simply recognized
the truth. One critic, Alpheus Todd, the parliamentary librarian, stated in
1882 that common school libraries were prematurely forced upon ratepayers
and that book selection was too rigidly centralized to suit many tastes.38 At a
later date, 1888, the new minister of education, George Ross, admitted that
"the rural libraries, which had been established by Dr. Ryerson, had also done
much good, but through the supply of books having fallen short and the
books having been worn out and destroyed, the libraries had fallen into disuse."39 Indeed, the Special Report confirmed that in some places - Arthur,
Brighton, Collingwood, Oakville, and Scarboro — local institutes had taken
possession of the remainder of older common school library collections.
By the mid-1870s, the call for "village" or "town" public libraries, voiced
by James Campbell and the booksellers in their struggle against the depository,
had surfaced in Ontario. Statements appeared in the press and magazines in
subsequent years. Graeme Mercer Adam wrote to the Toronto Mail, in 1878,
suggesting the formation of a free public library for Toronto to honour the
departure of Lord Dufferin, Canada's Governor General for the past six years.
The few educational and professional libraries we have in our
midst, I need hardly say, by no means serve the purpose of a
central city library, free of access, and affording to the community the advantages which the wide-spread dissemination
of wholesome literature, through such machinery, would provide it with. Neither have we any other adequate provision
for securing such a boon to the people as a free library would
be, and such as has become so much an 'institution' in the
larger cities of England and the United States. The practical
matter, however, is, how can an enterprize of the kind be put
on foot?40
44
Origins
Adam's proposal remained unfulfilled, but evidently libraries in Mechanics'
Institutes were no longer considered sufficient for Toronto.
During the following year, 1879, the Reverend W.R.G. Mellen wrote an
article for RoseBelford's Canadian Monthly on the subject of endowments
which he extended to public libraries;
Just now, in the City of Toronto, is an opportunity for some
rich man to supply an imperious need, and to secure for
himself a fragrant memory as enduring as the city. For how
pressing is the need here of a free public library, worthy the
rapidly growing metropolis of this great and wealthy
Province.41
Finally, the province's burgeoning urban centres required libraries to supply
knowledge. The 1881 census revealed five cities with more than 10,000
inhabitants: Toronto (91,996), Hamilton (36,661), Ottawa (31,307), London
(26,662), Kingston (14,091). By the end of 1879, the government decided to
transfer the institutes to the Education Department where their performance
could be judged according to more exacting standards.
The impression was that Ontario's record in contemporary public librarianship was less than impressive and that the institutes needed invigoration
and direction. A thorough inspection was in order. Late in 1878 the deputy
minister, Hodgins, forwarded a departmental memorandum on the subject of
"Libraries to Mechanics' Institutes," outlining their educational qualities for
the minister's attention.42 The institutes had always been eligible to use the
depository, subject to certain restrictions, and they had availed themselves
despite the lack of a matching government grant for books and the limited
stock. As Adam Crooks wound down the depository's operations, Dr. May
became available to conduct a review. He may have been an obvious candidate, but he was unpopular in some quarters. A few commentators called his
new office, superintendent of Mechanics' Institutes, a "farce."43 Others opined
that he owed his position more to patronage and loyalty than to capability.
One Liberal MPP, Hammel Deroche, stated that "there was a strong feeling in
the country that Dr. May was retained in the Department more for ornament
than use."44
Dr. May began his fact finding tour at the beginning of June 1880 and
completed his report in early 1881. He discovered a wide variation in the
institutes' conditions and the opinions held by their directors. The new superintendent had to tred carefully. At his first two meetings he observed a division in opinion concerning the government's suggestion to change the title of
institutes to "Practical Science Institute and Public Library." Hamilton
British and American Influences
45
opposed the suggestion while London favoured it.45 The fact that many of
May's final recommendations called for more supervision by the education
department reinforced the institutes' ambivalence toward him and the department. It made dissenters, such as Preston's Otto Klotz, Sr., even more combative about the role directors would assume. In a special report of his own that
analyzed May's proposals, Klotz, an influential leader in the Association of
Mechanics' Institutes, argued:
Can it be reasonably expected that ... those same men whom
the Report admits to have been chosen from the most
respectable and influential representatives of our people, and
who are gentlemen of influence and wealth, possessing enterprize, education and intelligence, are nevertheless not to be
entrusted with the management of their own joint local
affairs, in which the Government of the Province is at the
utmost only interested in the small sum of four hundred dollars annually
Will the public be served better by theorists than by
practical men? Are we to have autocracy or oligarchy introduced into our system; or will we in future be allowed to
enjoy, as at present, the privileges of self-government.46
Dr. May was not overly harsh in his criticism of the work of the institute directors. Indeed, he often countenanced mediocre conditions. Looking
at conditions in London, where the collection numbered approximately 2,000
books in a city of 25,000 people, he observed that the library room contained
"a fair selection of books, which are kept in locked cases."47 More discriminating observers were less kind. The London Advertiser complained:
A correspondent yesterday called attention to the lack of a
catalogue in the library of the Mechanics' Institute. This suggests the query if the general need would not be better served
by the endowment of free public libraries, than by the maintenance of Mechanics' Institutes? These latter have outlived
their usefulness, and are no longer useful to mechanics or
anybody else... It would be easy enough to say why, but
what is the need? We all recognize the fact. Let us have a free
public library by all means.48
London's executive had just assumed a $15,000 mortgage on its 1877 building
and was hard pressed to meet the quarterly payments.49
46
Origins
Hamilton was experiencing more desperate problems. Despite Mays optimism about this particular institute, which had more than a 1,000 members
and 7,000 volumes, by summer 1882 it was defunct. Its collection was sold by
an auctioneer, and its building was seized by mortgage holders. The directors
had appealed to the public for municipal support without success. A bylaw to
grant the institute $5,000 failed in January 1882 by more than 400 votes.
According to the Hamilton Spectator, the new Free Libraries Act offered no
solace: "There are not a few who think the city council ought to take the whole
matter into its own hands and make the library free. The expense, however,
would be considerable, and there is grave doubt that the people would sanction
that plan/'50 Subsequently, the Dundas Institute purchased many of Hamilton's
books and a remodelled business block, the Alexandra Arcade, replaced the old
upstairs music hall and popular library on the ground floor. Hamilton was to
be without a public library of any kind for eight years.
Dr. Mays report made clear the rudimentary state of library service provided by Mechanics' Institutes in most communities. Just over one hundred
institutes operated libraries. Usually these collections were in small rooms,
locked in bookcases, and numbered sequentially, and they were used without
the aid of a catalogue. Not many Institutes owned their own building:
London, Hamilton, Toronto, Paris, Simcoe, Garden Island, and Ennotville
were among the privileged few where a library and reading room could be
managed independently.51 Small rooms in centrally located town halls were
popular (Illus. 4). There were thirteen such libraries, two (Gait and Preston)
of which May singled out for special attention. Gait had "an excellent Library
of well selected books" and was preparing a manuscript catalogue showing
subjects and authors. At Preston, a village of almost 1,500, the 2,676 volume
library had circulated only 2,082 items in 1879-80, yet May remained very
impressed.
This Institute has a very fine Library; about one-third of the
books are in the German language. The books are well
arranged and in excellent condition. The directors have
splendid book-cases, which are closed when the books are
not in use. The newspapers are filed and kept for reference.
There are manuscript alphabetical catalogues for authors and
subjects, and a separate catalogue showing classification of
the different subjects, and altogether it is one of the most
perfect and best arranged Libraries in the Province.52
Most institutes leased space in commercial blocks or storefronts: telegraph
offices, banks, book shops, drug stores, and jewellery shops were frequent
British and American Influences
47
sites. A variety of other library locations - an MPP's office, three private
dwellings, a high school, a YMCA, and three halls belonging to fraternal
orders - also were enumerated by May.
Whatever the accommodation, this type of public library service was lagging behind the circulating and reference libraries found in American states
and larger British centres. The Special Report noted that, on average, for every
volume held British institutes circulated six volumes annually. Dr. Mays tabulations (Table 5: Library Volumes Held, Circulation, and Fiction, 1879-80)
showed that Ontario institutes had a collective yearly ratio of less than 1:2.53
Since fiction accounted for slightly less than half the total circulation, there was
little cause for satisfaction, and the Doctor perhaps reckoned that inadequate
supervision for three decades was responsible for this sorry state of affairs.
At any rate, May could only refer to a few examples of the better class of
library. He regarded Brantford's library, which was housed in a YMCA, as
"one of the best of its kind in the Dominion" with its "books labelled and
numbered," and its magazines "lent to members the same as books." It was
open to the public twice a week.54 The charging system at Dundas was also
worthy of praise:
... the books are numbered on the outside, and loaned out
on so excellent a plan that it is easy to ascertain in whose possession any book may be at any time. In the blank space
caused by the withdrawal of a book, a board is placed with
the name of [the] member borrowing the book, the date, etc.
Of course this arrangement could not be successfully carried
out if members were allowed access to the book shelves, but
this is not the case; the room is fitted up with counters, and
the applicants for books remain outside these counters, the
books being handed to them by the librarian.55
May was convinced that closed stacks were more efficient and economical, an
opinion he held until he retired in 1905.
May seldom mentioned reference collections and thought that the salaries
paid to librarians were excessive. He recommended that "women can be
employed at a far less cost." His advice probably derived from the Education
Department s satisfaction with the rate of promotion of women in the school
system after the 1860s.56 Like many Victorians, May seemed to be obsessed
with the popularity of fiction and its contemporary genres, such as the detective novel. His own approach was a pragmatic one: the 1880 regulations which
permitted "some light reading" as authorized by the Education Department's
General Reference Catalogue or approved by the minister were satisfactory. To
48
Origins
make the payment of the government grant more "business-like," a euphemism
May carefully substituted for greater central control, he suggested that the
department begin direct payments to booksellers after institutes had selected
their books. He also observed that some uniform system of classification ought
to be introduced to all the institute libraries.57 A few were using William
Edwards' scheme proposed in 1872, but May did not specify a preference in his
report. The dubious practice of classifying fiction in other categories to reduce
circulation figures for novels caused him more concern than the need for a different classification scheme.
After 1876, public library development in Britain and the United States
was accelerating in response to the growth of popular and scholarly publishing
and the publics desire to read books for educational needs and recreational
amusement. "The Unknown Public" of Wilkie Collins was developing a
demand for an immense range of reading matter. Improved access to printed
materials was becoming necessary. In Ontario there was clearly a need for
improvement - the government and a knowledgeable segment of the public
recognized that existing conditions would no longer suffice. By 1880, the government had chosen a firmer course of action, first by rejecting common
school libraries as the principal public library system, and second by bringing
Mechanics* Institutes under the resolute control of the Education Department
and the minister, Adam Crooks. However, even after the publication of Dr.
May's report in 1881, it was evident that library service required further attention. In Toronto there was agitation for a free library, and in rural areas the
Dominion Grange's committee on education began pressing for grants to
establish libraries for the agricultural population.58 The method of moving
forward obviously required clarification. "Town" libraries must have looked
more promising to the government than the current collection of voluntary
societies and Mechanics' Institutes.
The subject of free libraries was receiving serious consideration in some
segments of the province, primarily by educators discontented with outmoded
practices that lagged behind American and British service. The Canada
Educational Monthly, edited by G. Mercer Adam, noted: "If municipal honesty were in better repute, we would rather see the Institutes drop their inappropriate title and become Public Libraries, supported by municipal assessment, and free to the people. Some day, when the public mind sickens of
party politics, we may see this realized."59 Antipathy toward "partyism," a
residue of Ryerson's era, lingered, but the concept of free libraries also could
be harnessed by skillful politicians for political purposes. Once adequate legislation was in place, it would remain for local leaders to step forward, to establish regular communication, and to give the budding movement synergy.
PART TWO
The Late Victorian Transition
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Chapter 3
THE CALIBAN OF THE
NINETEENTH CENTURY
T
o many Victorians the cost of a library was trifling in comparison to
the advantages it provided. Some civic sacrifice was required if men
and women were to utilize fully their natural capacities and enjoy all
the benefits of material progress. The editor of the Guelph Daily Mercury,
James Innes, a former school trustee, was one such enthusiast who followed
the free library movement across Canada.
From old St. John down by the sea to Winnipeg, that latest
centre of Canadian enterprise which testifies that 'Westward
the course of empire holds its way/ the question of establishing Free Public Libraries is agitating many towns and cities of
the Dominion. While we in Ontario have the Free Libraries
Act, passed last session of the Local Legislature to govern the
maintenance of such institutions, in New Brunswick and
Manitoba they have not, and there the movement springs
from the people themselves.1
The working out of what services citizens wanted government to undertake
was a central fact of Victorian politics. Afterwards, experts and professionals
would follow and give birth to the twentieth-century administrative state.
Victorian reformers were convinced that social conformity and the political status quo were unjust and wasteful if applied too rigidly. They recognized
that adverse economic conditions and arbitrary legal impediments could be
detrimental to society. By pressing their case for reform they raised many
uncomfortable questions. One prominent Canadian historian has remarked
that a "Victorian dialectic" was at work during the later part of the century,
another has emphasized the lively nature of everyday life.2 Newspaper publishers and editors of different political stripes, such as Philip Ross of the
Ottawa Evening Journal, James Innes of the Guelph Mercury, Robert
52
The Late Victorian Transition
McAdams of the Sarnia Observer, and John Ross Robertson of the Toronto
Evening Telegram, consistently supported libraries. They believed that newspapers and libraries promised Canadians corresponding visions of a bright
future: advancement in culture and education, an emerging nationhood, social
harmony, unimpeded progress, and economic prosperity.3
Public library development touched many people, many communities.
Victorian library supporters signed petitions, attended and spoke at meetings,
wrote letters to newspapers, and helped organize local committees. It was the
duty of voters to approve free library bylaws. Throughout this period in
Ontario the municipal franchise was available to most adults, but, it was more
restrictive than the federal or provincial requirements. Widows, unmarried
women and males twenty-one years of age, who possessed certain basic property qualifications and who were British subjects, were eligible to vote for
library bylaws.4 For these ratepayers, economy and strict utility often were
overriding restraints, although they were familiar with some of the arguments
used in defense of free libraries. Many of the same explanations had underpinned the rationale for Mechanics* Institutes. At the forefront were educational considerations that linked libraries with Ontario's expanding primary
and secondary school system. Many contemporaries, especially those of
Scottish or Presbyterian extraction, thought that better education led to more
intellectual progress and taught people respect for the boundaries between
social relationships.
Educational Qualities
Victorians were confident that educational bodies could help forge a stable
culture and political life. Writing on Canadian intellectual life in 1881, John
G. Bourinot concluded: "Here there is no ancient system of social exclusiveness to fix a limit to the intellectual progress of the proletariat. Political freedom rests on a firm, broad basis of general education."5 He was speaking
about the Victorian convention of "high culture," the subjective appreciation
of what constituted the "best" in intellectual, moral, and social life. Since
books were an essential part of education, a portable medium that disseminated knowledge and entertainment extensively, Bourinot regretted that Canada
was behind other countries in the formation of public libraries:
In Ontario there are also some 100 Mechanics Institutes,
including nearly 11,000 members, with an aggregate of
118,000 volumes in the libraries; and it is satisfactory to
learn that institutions which may have an important influence on the industrial classes are to be placed on a more efficient basis. These facts illustrate that we are making progress
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
53
in the right direction; but what we want, above all things, are
public libraries, to which all classes may have free access, in
the principal centres of population. The rich men of this
country can devote a part of their surplus wealth to no more
patriotic purpose than the establishment of such libraries in
the places where they live, and in that way erect a monument
for themselves far more honourable than any that may be
achieved by expenditures on purely selfish objects.6
Bourinot reasoned that libraries could contribute to the process of mass literacy by disseminating the best grade of literature.
A decade later, the popular historian, William Kingsford, was even more
optimistic. He said, "The whole hope of the future of Canada lies in the
sound sober sense of community, by which opinion is influenced," and he
added, "it is by reading and thought that men of this character are moulded."
He confidently predicted that the Toronto Public Library was destined to be
one of the foremost institutions on the continent.7 Libraries disseminated literature; they helped to communicate and make accessible a wide spectrum of
ideas to the general populace. Library partisans were fond of citing authorities
such as Lord Rosebery, the British Liberal leader between 1894-96, who had
remarked that a library was "a temple of reading" where "a fair proportion of
thoughtful books are taken and digested," and who had discounted the problem of too much circulating fiction.8
It was difficult for opponents to discredit any argument based on the
library's fundamental function, which was to circulate general knowledge.
Citizens from all classes maintained small private libraries at home and had a
genuine affection for reading. In their minds, a desire to learn and a fondness
to read formed the basis for intellectual activity and, ultimately, for social
progress and stability. Many Victorians would have agreed with Hamilton's
chief librarian, Richard Lancefield, who stated in a lecture that, given an educated public, "there is little doubt but that many grave social problems which
now threaten us with disaster would be peaceably and speedily resolved."9 The
combination of self-learning and circulating library collections seemed poised
to create a better society.
Within this educational context, the circulation of accepted literature, the
whole body of books and writing including fiction, was regarded as a public
good. Graeme Mercer Adam wrote that a central city library in Toronto
should supply "the advantage which the wide-spread dissemination of wholesome literature" provided.10 The editor of the Brantford Daily Expositor wrote
glowingly:
54
The Late Victorian Transition
We doubt not, that ere long all the cities and towns of
Ontario will have free libraries, to which the people can
resort, with the feeling that it is a public institution in which
they have an interest, and of which they can secure the benefits. The cost is so small in comparison with the general diffusion of knowledge, and its great usefulness to every man,
woman and child in the city so apparent that the vote upon
it will doubtless be unanimous in its favor.11
His prediction was correct: Brantford's library bylaw passed without ado in
January 1884 by a vote of 1086 to 275.
Victorians generally concurred that ideas should be communicated as
widely as possible and that a unified common culture could be shaped
through intellectual, spiritual, and aesthetic development. At this point in
time, experts and professionals were still a minority; laymen and amateurs
commanded public respect in artistic, scientific, and intellectual discourse.
Few would have disagreed with Ontario's deputy minister of education, John
Millar, who wrote in a chapter on libraries: "This popularizing of knowledge
has, no doubt, increased the demand for higher education. The effect is a
national gain, in spite of what the aristocrat may believe or of what the demagogue may proclaim."12 Popularization was particularly evident in the field of
science. Local societies were proliferating; small libraries were building collections; and natural scientists were linked with colleagues in Britain and the
United States mainly through periodicals and report literature.13 Cultural
accessibility was highly esteemed. Even difficult works, such as Charles
Darwin's On the Origin of Species by Natural Selection or James Clerk Maxwell's
Treatise on Electricity and Magnetism, found large audiences.
Some advocates viewed libraries as an extension of the public school system, as useful repositories for training labourers for the skills and crafts needed
in the work place, and as informal universities. At the formal opening of
Toronto's library, William Henry Withrow, editor of the Canadian Methodist
Magazine, described libraries as "the people's colleges, where the poorest lad or
the toiling artisan shall enjoy the best teaching in the world. 'The true university of these days,' says Carlyle, 'is a collection of books.' All education that is
worth anything must be largely self-education/'14 In 1895, Mary Klotz, whose
family was active in the movement, wrote in a similar vein in a special library
issue of the Ottawa Evening Journal, which Philip Ross helped organize: "The
Public Library is an extension of our schools and even of our universities. We
may truly call it the peoples university, where rich and poor, old and young,
may all drink at its inexhaustible fountain."15 Indeed, promoters such as John
Taylor (Illus. 5) felt that the library was an essential government service.
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
55
Every year hundreds of youths graduate at the Public Schools
and go out upon the world, drifting about like a rudderless
ship upon a treacherous sea - without any link between giddy
youth and sober mankind. That missing link is the public
library It is the caliban of the nineteenth century, and the
only practical adult school which the State can supply us.16
A bridge between youth and old age? Quite soon, within its broad span, the
library would lay claim to many functions.
Shakespeare's character, Caliban, had been popularized in Robert
Brownings poem, "Caliban upon Setebos" (1864), and served as the subject
matter of a Canadian publication by Daniel Wilson, Caliban: the Missing
LinkX? The library would contribute to popular education by supplementing
the work of schools and colleges. It was a role that would buttress its claim to
tax-supported status. The Palladium of Labor echoed this view of learning by
applying popular Darwinian terminology:
It is only recently, however, that the public have come to
understand that the instruction received at school is but the
foundation of education in its full and comprehensive sense,
and that to be complete our system must find its complement in the means for perpetrating in after life the intellectual activities which are fostered in youth. The Public Library is
as truly an integral part of our educational system as the public school, supplementing and turning to account the work of
the latter, which, for lack of such an agency in times past, has
often resulted in what the scientists term 'arrested development'.18
Popular education was a familiar topic, and free libraries were assuming a distinct role in its activities.
To assist libraries in the cause of popular education, one ambitious independent thinker, George lies, a former Montrealer, publicized the new philosophy of service some public librarians were promoting. Iles's ideas started to
appear in the columns of a respected magazine, The Week, at the beginning of
the 1890s.
Libraries have therefore come to have a new value in our day
and while within recent years this value was being conferred,
a distinctly new conception of library management has been
steadily dawning. It used to be thought enough that a librari-
56
The Late Victorian Transition
an should be able to get books, guard them trustily, and give
them out as desired. He was gatherer and custodian. The
new idea is that he shall so vitalize his library that to make
his books attractive and useful shall be his chiefest care.19
lies also was developing a scheme called the "appraisal of literature," by which
title cards in library catalogues would carry short critical annotations to guide
readers.20 However, libraries and other bookmen were not as enthusiastic
about this type of work. Years earlier, G. Mercer Adam had made a more practical suggestion; he had pointed to the need for separately published periodical
summaries or abstracts classed by subject to highlight meritorious books.21
Later, lies did resort to printed reference bibliographies, which were more suitable aids to readers and students.
The question of technical education cropped up periodically. At a
Hamilton meeting, John Hallam referred to "the works of John Ruskin, the
Grammar of Ornament, or Smith's Dyeing, or any other of the expensive publications so necessary in the technical education of the artizan."22 Emmanuel
Essery, a London barrister who had been corresponding secretary of the local
Mechanics' Institute for more than a decade, had served as a director of the
workingmen's library and later became city mayor. He told a small pro-library
audience: "Unless the mechanics of Canada were enabled to cope with those
of Germany — where they have every facility afforded for a sound technical
education - the former would become secondary."23 In Germany, technical
and vocational training was not left to voluntary associations; in the Reich,
efficient working skills and training were worthy of state direction. It was an
example educationists in Britain and her Dominions were taking to heart,
albeit at a tardy pace.24
Initially, legislation permitted free libraries to acquire assets or property
from Mechanics' Institutes and to continue receipt of the legislative grant that
the institute had earned (46 Vic., c.19). This arrangement included evening
classes. In one case, in August 1886, the Guelph free library displayed wood
carvings at Ontario's exhibit during the Indian and Colonial Exhibition held
at London. In 1889, the government formalized the indirect link with technical education. Now libraries could offer evening classes "in such subjects as
may promote a knowledge of the mechanical and manufacturing arts" (52
Vic., c.38). By this same act, free libraries could hire and dismiss teachers and
instructors; and art schools were authorized to transfer assets to libraries, thus
permitting them to assume the government grant for this purpose. Departmental regulations were drafted and approved to include courses in elementary and advanced English and Canadian history, composition and grammar,
bookkeeping, arithmetic, writing, drawing, chemistry, botany, and physics.2^
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
57
These additional powers further eroded the work of Mechanics' Institutes;
by this time, their reputation had declined precipitously. One Hamilton newspaper ungraciously described the city's defunct institute as a "free roost for
aged gamesters."26 The minister of education, George Ross, was decidedly
skeptical about their prospects. He was reported to have said openly in the
legislature that "the Mechanics' Institutes had never done any real good."27 At
a December 1888 meeting organized by Ross on the subject of technical education, the following exchange took place with a well-known Ottawa labour
leader, Alfred Jury.
Mr. A.F. Jury said that a feeling prevailed in Mechanics'
Institutes that mechanics are not wanted there.
Mr. Ross — I never thought they were created for aristocrats.
(Laughter)28
At a subsequent government assembly on university extension, Queen's
University Principal, George Monro Grarjt, quipped, "if you want to go to a
place where you are certain not to find mechanics, go to a Mechanics
Institute."29 From the Education Department's perspective, therefore, after
1889 public libraries were evidently assuming a greater priority in popularizing evening classes for adults.
Disappointment attended these aspirations. Drawing classes in art schools
were quite popular during the 1890s, although some people questioned the
value of the drawing certificates Dr. May issued annually.30 Evening classes in
libraries were less well patronized. The prospective amalgamation of main art
schools in Brockville, Hamilton, Kingston, London, Stratford, Ottawa, St.
Thomas, and Toronto with the free libraries in each of these cities never
occurred. Another approach was attempted in 1897: the government passed
an Act Respecting Technical Schools that allowed high schools, boards of education, and municipalities to establish their own schools of art (60 Vic., c. 58).
The municipal adult schools were to be placed under the control of the free
library board wherever one already existed. If the education department
believed that this would remedy affairs, it was to be disappointed again. By
1902, evening classes offered by libraries were almost extinct and were no
longer reported by Dr. May. The department would have to seek other remedies.
The Economic Rationale for Free Libraries
The case for technical education overlapped the economic arguments made on
behalf of free libraries. Because many conservative-minded citizens were reluctant to tax property for educational reasons alone, a good case for free libraries
58
The Late Victorian Transition
had to be made on economic grounds for bylaws to pass, An Ingersoll newspaper editor posed a typical argument: "Intelligence and virtue, ignorance and
vice are so ultimately connected that the parent, the town and the nation really economize when they spend for the intellectual advancement of those committed to their care." The town voted in favour of a bylaw in 1890.31 Beyond
direct appeals of this kind lay a new type of liberalism* Late nineteenth-century reform liberalism held that the common welfare could be advanced if governments assisted those wishing to improve themselves beyond what private
enterprise and the marketplace could efficiently provide. The stability of the
nation depended on the subordination of individual interests to the requirements of society.
On the other hand, traditional liberals, accustomed to the Manchester
School of thought, believed in limited government activity and maximum
individual freedom. The School had attracted a mixture of radicals, businessmen, pacifists, and humanitarian employers who advocated free-trade and lais
sezfaire theories.32 Liberals of this ilk emphasized the need for strict economy
in the provision of new services, and they were less likely to approve government expenditures for libraries because the doctrine of laissezfaire still loomed
large. The decisions of individuals and Adam Smith's "invisible hand"
remained the surest guide to economic success and social stability. One
Hamilton citizen complained bitterly:
If making me and others pay for this library against our will
is not robbery, perhaps you will tell me what it is. If this is
what you call progressing and the advancement of the nineteenth century, I don't give much for such, especially as you
have to forfeit principle to attain such... Don't you know
that this so called free library act emanated from the same
villainous source - a conspiracy to deprive people of their liberties.^
But as many library promoters on both sides of the Atlantic delighted in
recounting, the home of the Manchester School was also the first large English
metropolitan centre to establish a free library. At Manchester library's opening
ceremonies in 1852 Charles Dickens wittily defined the Manchester School as
a library of books, open for the instruction of all classes, whether rich or
poor.34
To counter this fundamental difference and to overcome the instinctive
objections conservatives raised to new reforms, library promoters pointed out
that previous types of public libraries, mostly subscription ones, had failed for
lack of a suitable financial basis. They also contended that workingmen were
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
59
willing to tax themselves for requisite educational materials in order to update
their knowledge and skills in changing technological conditions. John Hallam
insisted that "the movement being a rate-supported one will render it independent and permanent, and not liable to fluctuations which too often beset
many institutions which have to depend for their support on voluntary and
charitable contributions."35 The Toronto Globe likewise justified its support:
In default of private endowments furnishing an income sufficient to pay the salaries of curators, etc., there has never been
found any practical way of supporting public libraries except
out of the rates. As the libraries are resorted to almost entirely
by the poorer classes, there need be no dread of the 'poor
mans vote' to stand in the way of improvement.36
It was a common sense position.
Modified Utilitarian philosophy and John Stuart Mill's writings were cited
to vindicate the library movement. Benthamite thought supplied a rationale
for centralized state action and government intervention.37 John M. Gibson, a
MPP who later became Lieutenant-Governor, paraphrased Jeremy Bentham
when Hamiltonians voted for a library in 1889: "The by-law was a measure
which promised the greatest good to the greatest number." At a meeting prior
to the vote, Gibson had urged, "If for no utilitarian object, the fact that
Hamilton was singular in being without a public library of any kind should
urge its citizens to move in favor of such a project."38 Of course, Utilitarians
of the narrower Benthamite legacy continued to object to raising taxes. In
1896, an Ottawa "Utilitarian" wrote to a newspaper editor opposing a free
library.39 However, the trend towards interventionist government was irresistible. Robert Reid, at the opening of the new library in London, referred to
Mill's efforts to broaden the individualistic bent in utilitarian thought in terms
of more harmonious integration of economic activity:
As John Stuart Mill had put it, in his essay on Socialism, the
uncultivated masses and their employers must learn to practice to labor and combine for public and social purposes, and
not, as hitherto, solely for narrowly interested ones. If our
public libraries were conducted on proper principles they
could not fail ...40
Reid, a longtime trustee in London, assumed that the working class would
gain materially with access to library texts and manuals, thus fostering social
harmony and the public good.
60
The Late Victorian Transition
Businessmen spoke of the potential benefits for workingmen who were
organizing on a national scale under the banner of the Knights of Labour and
the American Federation of Labor. Augustus T. Freed, a Hamilton newspaperman and one of the chairmen of the federal Royal Commission on the
Relations of Labour and Capital in Canada, felt confident that libraries would
improve the lot of working-class people. This commission, which began hearings in November 1887, heard testimony from Hamilton workers, and, when
Freed returned to Hamilton at a later date, he told an audience that he supported wholeheartedly a free library bylaw.
As a member of the Royal labor commission he had come
into contact with workingmen in Canada from Sydney to
Windsor and the fact had been impressed upon him that
wherever the working people are intelligent there they were
prosperous and vice versa... . [He] was glad to learn that the
workingmen are alive to their interests and are taking up this
free library movement.41
The Chatham Board of Trade circulated a library advertisement to voters,
maintaining that "The more intelligent the mechanic or laborer, the higher his
wages, and the more comfortable his home. Crude labour is at a discount.
Skilled labour is at a premium."42 Chatham's bylaw passed by a narrow margin, the proposition of markedly higher wages for literate tradesmen apparently being more contentious among the lower orders of the work force than
some members of the board of trade had expected.43
Ratepayers, trade unionists, and other electors remained to be convinced
that libraries were worthwhile institutions. During the last part of the century,
the municipal franchise was extensive enough to allow most adults to vote,
but property requirements for holding municipal office were more restrictive.
Active political life for the labouring classes was usually limited to the "aristocracy of labour," to men such as Henry B. Witton of Hamilton, who was a
labour MP for a brief period. He generously lent his support to the Mechanics' Institute and later became a library trustee and donor.44 Library promoters ordinarily could count on the rising voice of organized labour to boost
a bylaw as in the case of London in 1893.45 But most craft unions, which
organized workers in a single trade, had small memberships. Their political
influence was limited, and they often shied away from partisan struggles.
Many in the industrial work force were satisfied with piecemeal measures such
as the federal parliament's 1894 designation of the first Monday in September
as a labour holiday.
Even though the principle of utility provided a powerful rationale for gov-
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
61
ernment to establish public services - as a noted British economist (also a
member of the Library Association) put it, libraries led to "an enormous
increase of utility which is thereby acquired for the community at a trifling
cost" - local private interests and men of enterprise frequently rallied to the
cry of economy.46 "Economy" was a foe to be respected when ratepayers were
confronted by the account sheet of progress. John Hallam, the most articulate
leader of the movement prior to 1900, regularly expressed the view that free
libraries were profitable investments. At the close of his influential pamphlet,
Notes by the Way on Free Libraries and Books, he wrote:
... they [libraries] must necessarily diminish the ranks of
those two great armies which are constantly marching to
gaols and penitentiaries, and in the same ratio they must
decrease the sums of money which ratepayers have to provide
for the maintenance of those places. And even if these
libraries effected no saving of money, nay, even involved an
ultimate increase in public expenditure (which they will not),
then, I say, it would be still wise to have them; for I contend
that it is infinitely preferable to pay for intelligence than to
tolerate ignorance. I want Toronto to pay for intelligence —
for popular education in the free library sense. If she does so
fairly and fully, her bill for poverty and depravity will be
materially diminished, and with such diminution we shall all
be benefited and blessed.47
In the Victorian age of social improvement such arguments carried considerable weight, and economic individualism often had to yield to the demands of
common civic goals.
Social and Cultural Roles
Intertwined with subjective educational and economic claims about libraries
were diverse social and cultural ones. Victorians for the most part believed in
progress; they believed that technological and intellectual change would continue to enrich society by advancing knowledge, providing economic prosperity, and improving the human spirit. Literary and cultural melioration was
imperative for a growing nation. One social critic wrote:
Not only is our literary progress evidenced by the larger
number of persons who have done permanent and valuable
work, but also by the increased yearly output of Canadian
books and by the development of Canadian libraries. There
62
The Late Victorian Transition
were less than half-a-dozen public libraries in 1837, and now
there are hundreds. All these things indicate progress, the
nature and extent of which need not here be further discussed.48
In an age that revered historical writings and subscribed to theories of evolution, progress formed the essence of history's story.
Societal institutions, such as schools and libraries, were major instruments
in this unfolding drama. Alpheus Todd, a respected constitutional historian
and parliamentary librarian, told the Royal Society of Canada: "In the
machinery of modern progress now in operation, whether in Europe or
America, free libraries, accessible to all classes, occupy a conspicuous place."49
Another tireless champion of libraries, Edwin Hardy, urged the foundation of
a rate-supported library at Lindsay in 1898:
It is true of towns as of business men, that they must be progressive and up-to-date. Towns everywhere are competing:
they want factories, mills, railway facilities, and offer greater
or less inducements to procure them, hoping thereby to
secure increase of population and prosperity. They put large
sums into good roads, sewers, police and fire protection, and
spend money freely on schools, churches, homes for the
aged, hospitals, parks and free libraries. All these things go to
attract population, and many a family has passed by one
town and gone to another on account of its schools or some
other excellent feature.50
The doctrine of progress obviously contained certain verities which comforted
Victorians.
In Windsor and Hamilton, the appeal to progress was unmistakable.
These two cities were unusual because they did not have an existing Mechanics' Institute from which to transfer assets to a free library, hence making
the project more expensive. But this liability did not inhibit local supporters.
Windsor's library chairman, John Curry, sounded a confident note when he
opened a renovated meeting place, Lambie Hall, in 1894: "You are aware that
our city is a progressive one. We are blessed with all the modern conveniences
which tend to make life happy and this evening we add still another - a Public
Free Library."51 A scant six years afterwards Windsor would be one of the first
Ontario communities to seek a Carnegie building on the basis that its library
premises were "very limited, very primitive, without ordinary public conveniences, and somewhat dilapidated."52 Adversaries of free libraries often were
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
63
labelled as unpregressive or unbusinesslike. Hamilton opponents of the 1889
library bylaw were called "mossbacks," a borrowed American reference to
political reactionaries. The Spectator welcomed the passage of the bylaw, stating, "The result is evidence that mossbackism is losing its grip upon
Hamilton, and that there is really some ambition in the ambitious city."53
Religious considerations bolstered the secular faith in progress. Egerton
Ryerson had stood firm for authoritative religious principles that would govern the dissemination of literature within the framework of a stable Christian
society and government. Victorians were a spiritual people, and religion was
held to be the main ingredient in a strong nation. A synthesis of religious
beliefs and British conventions, argued Alpheus Todd, enabled Canadians to
secure the advantages of freedom while respecting the power of divine providence and the need for political authority and order; this sense of principled
loyalism distinguished Canadians from Americans.54 Books could help spread
these doctrines, therefore libraries were rightful public agencies worthy of taxsupported status. This was a passionate, powerful rationale.
Evangelical Protestants — strict observers of the sabbath who read scripture
and lived the virtues of trust, piety, and charity - presumed that libraries
would embody a strong moral tone. Liberal Protestants also believed that the
salvation of souls and the moral regeneration of society were important tasks
for the Christian ministry.55 A Toronto minister advocated a library by asking:
How much might it do here to attract young men from the
400 dram shops that infest this city? How much to quicken
frivolous young women to the perception of somewhat better
than silks and jewellery, parties, and flirtations?56
William Cochrane, a well-know Presbyterian minister and long-time director
of the Brantford Mechanics' Institute, asserted, "In order to remove existing
temptations, there must be counter attractions provided, and none better can
be found than in the rooms of a free public library."57 Cochrane emphasized
community service in addition to his ministerial duties. His views typified the
liberal Protestant synthesis of the sacred and profane which helped fashion
Ontario's long-standing moral atmosphere.58
Literature and book learning were considered meritorious pursuits
because readers could espouse Christian doctrines or liberal virtues such as
industry, tolerance, duty, self-help, thrift, liberality, and temperance. Libraries
could help to reinforce religious faith and lessen atheistic and agnostic influences simply by allowing shelf space for favourite religious novels such as Lew
Wallace's BenHur, Henryk Sienkiewicz's Quo Vadis?, and Ralph Connor's
Black Rock, T.K. Henderson, a Toronto compositor, received first prize for his
64
The Late Victorian Transition
essay, "Free Libraries from a Workman's Standpoint*" He wrote that "the
perusal of good books would also strengthen and build up his religious character, and as man is a religious animal, it is of no small consequence of what sort
his religion may be."59 Conservatives, as well as upper- or middle-class liberals, were conscious of the need to foster respectability, propriety, morality,
family unity, and deference to authority - social attributes the public library
could help nurture.
The temperance issue was always close at hand, for public houses were as
plentiful as churches on Ontario's streets and country roads. A Baptist minister, Robert G. Boville, warned his Hamilton parishioners —
Hamilton, it is said by some, cannot afford to support a free
library; and yet the people of Hamilton can spend at least
$500,000 for alcoholic drink every year. Depend upon it,
there will be many an alcoholic vote cast against a free-library
by-law; and therefore every temperance vote in the city
should be cast in favor of the by-law.60
It was a theme repeated in many sermons and newspapers across the province.
A Brampton Conservator editorial in 1895 concluded that the library would
"keep some, at least, out of the barroms [sic], who are now on the road to ruin
through barroom influence."61
The public library offered assistance in the inveterate struggle against
worldly temptation and corruption and contributed to an ordered society.
Booklists were prepared to combat the deleterious effects of alcohol.62 The
Ottawa Evening Journal cited British statistics from Thomas Greenwood's
influential Public Libraries to show that vice and crime in the streets might be
reduced because institutions, like libraries, were proven "crime-reducers."63
The nuclear family would be safeguarded. Both the Guelph Daily Mercury
and the Toronto Globe were emphatic on this score:
When once such a library is established he [a labourer] will
not be forced to spend his evenings in listless idleness, or be
tempted, in order 'to pass away the time,' to go to the barroom to have a chat and hear the news. The entertaining
book from the free library, read aloud by himself, his wife, or
one of the children, will interest the whole family, and make
the hours pass innocently and pleasantly.64
This was a comfortable middle-class convention, familiar to Walter Bales'
audience in 1851, but one that seemed to inspire significant numbers in the
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
65
working class. It helped make the library a public governing entity.
Edwin Hardy also appealed to a sense of family unity in a letter to the
Lindsay Canadian Post in late 1898.
It is a serious problem to train up a family, and our streets at
night afford only too good evidence that the problem is not
being solved in many a home. No doubt home is not as
attractive in many cases as it might be, and a large supply of
good books, free of access to all members of the family,
would go far to make home decidedly more attractive. In
more than one case, if a boy had his choice between the
streets and a good book he would take the book.65
Earnestness had it reward; the Lindsay library bylaw succeeded. Edwin Hardy
was to have a long association with libraries; his career had begun on a successful note.
The Democratic Faith
Liberalism, at its noblest, extolled the free dissemination and interplay of opinions and writings. The potential for free libraries to enlighten citizens was a
powerful inducement for Victorians to support the movement. They regarded
libraries as instruments to strengthen the liberal-democratic foundation of the
local community and even of the entire nation.66 It also gave some measure of
reassurance to those who feared the advent of socialism if the rapid extension
of federal or provincial franchises were granted. T.K. Henderson's prize essay is
instructive once again: "By and by the working classes of Canada will be the
actual rulers of the country, and universal suffrage will take its place among
our laws. Into whose hands will this power be entrusted?"67 A second prize
essay by another Toronto typesetter spoke about the desirability of workers to
have access to books on politics and political economy. "This would enable
them readily to see through the specious, threadbare arguments of pothouse
politicians and the sophistries of self-constituted but ignorant wire pullers, and
would do much to create a more healthy tone in political life .. ,"68
At Stratford, an Anglican minister said that free libraries were a democratic necessity, when the bylaw issue first arose in that city.
It was the duty of the council to see that they were supplied
with proper books. This country... was democratic and
whatever statesmen might do the people were the real rulers.
The people should, therefore, have the highest possible intelligence. At present books, the reading of which was the best
66
The Late Victorian Transition
education, were accessible only to a few rich men. By establishing a free library the highest intelligence would be
brought within reach of ordinary people. Besides looking
after the material interests of the citizens the council had a
higher duty - the promoting of general culture - and the
speaker hoped they would not neglect this duty.69
If citizens were to lead productive lives and make informed choices, they must
be prepared and equipped with knowledge; it was a central fact of a liberal
society. The Hamilton Spectator put the matter succinctly, "It [the library] will
make the people better able to govern themselves."70
Associated with this commitment to democracy was the blossoming of
civic pride and a stronger, united Canada. For civic boosters, local growth was
a guarantee of their community's future. For the lettered, nationhood and a
higher cultural attainment were virtually synonymous. George Ross closed a
memorable speech at a library opening at London in this idealistic vein:
We hope, round the altar here, that young Canadians will
worship with a pure heart loftier ideals of national life; that a
broader patriotism will be quickened by higher conceptions
of duty, and that in the long hereafter, as was said in the
brave days of old, it will be said that there were Canadians
made better and stronger men because it entered into the
hearts of the citizens of London, in the closing years of this
wonderful century, to place at their disposal the treasurehouse of knowledge (Loud and continued applause).71
Few disagreed with the education minister.
Shortly after 1900, the assimilation of immigrants into Anglo-Saxon
Protestant culture began to assume greater prominence in the quest for
national unity. Democracy, grounded in the sovereignty of the people,
required proper cultivation and direction to achieve stability. Canadian politics could ill-afford an uninformed electorate. The character of Canada's
future leaders and their followers must be moulded by educational agencies.
Libraries provided resources to educate "our young, our various nationalities,
foreign emigrants and social strata" into the "fibrous metal of a unified
Canada, a homogeneous greater Britain."72 Although the ethnic composition
of Ontario did not change markedly with immigration during the prosperous
Laurier years (more than three-quarters of the provincial population originated in the British Isles according to the 1911 census), in some quarters there
was concern about the dilution of British influence.
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
67
Public spirit and the provision of civic amenities were evident during the
rapid growth of municipal government in late nineteenth-century Ontario,
where the strengthening of local solidarity, celebration of community anniversaries, and erection of public buildings and monuments became regular features of civic life. Local boosterism not only promoted town halls, farmers
markets, and civic administration, it also encouraged the cause of libraries.73
Libraries did not escape the attention or fervour of local promoters; even the
American term "booming" appears on occasion with reference to the clamour
and vigour favouring library bylaws.74 In this heady atmosphere, a number of
public-spirited people contributed property and funds for libraries in advance
of the Carnegie building program.
At Uxbridge, a former member of parliament and supporter of the local
Mechanics' Institute left money for the town to build the "Joseph Gould
Institute" at a cost of $4,200.75 It was built in an eclectic picturesque style
with white brick and red-brick trimmings crowned by a clock tower (Illus. 6).
The ground floor was given over to a library which was managed by Sara D.
Willis for seventeen years until her death in 1907. The building functioned as
a Mechanics' Institute and then as a public library for more than a decade
until January 1898, when the provincial library superintendent, Dr. May,
appealed to the community to petition for free status. The local newspaper
reported that
He had visited the library here and was astonished at its
excellence and delighted with the magnificent building
bequeathed for library purposes by the late Jos. Gould. The
Uxbridge library had no equal in towns of similar size and
out of the 360 libraries (cities included) of the province
Uxbridge stood No. 20.76
Uxbridge quickly fell into line.
At Napanee, a good-sized library was erected after prominent local men Uriah Wilson, a member of parliament; John Wilson; and Harvey Warner donated money and land that allowed the public library board to erect a new
building in a small park. When the library board undertook a general subscription for equipment, books, and furnishings to complete the building, the
Napanee Express supported the activity by suggesting:
Some public spirited citizen may wish to add to the beauty of
the building by the gift of a memorial window to the
Canadians who fell in South Africa, or some liberally disposed gentleman may wish to show his loyalty by a gift commemorating the reign of Victoria the Good .. ,77
68
The Late Victorian Transition
Napanee did not achieve free library status immediately; however, its building
stood as an example for other eastern Ontario communities to emulate.
James Stavely, a wealthy Clinton merchant, died in 1892 without heirs; as
a result, his estate reverted to the province. The local council and member of
parliament made several appeals to secure some proceeds of the estate; in
1896, a provincial statute gave $10,000 to the town to be used for a hall or
other type of public building (59 Vic., c. 6). A library was the main feature of
"Stavely Hall," and, upon completion, the ratepayers voted 225 to 121 in
January 1900 to create a free library on the strength of an endowment that
helped finance operations.78 The Clinton library opened in early 1900
(Illus. 7). It featured a closed stack library on the first floor dominated by a
central librarians desk. There was a small reading room to the rear which a
local source described as "light, airy and commodious, and it is doubtful if
another town in the Dominion has its equal."79
Some benefactions were less elaborate or were rejected. At Streetsville, in
1901, a resident gave part of a two-storey shop "to the Library Board and its
successors in office forever" for a sum of $200 (Illus. 8). This was a small
closed stack establishment (24 ft. x 40 ft.) with a delivery desk in the middle
of the store and a reading table by the front window. The trustees made the
best possible use of their gift. Buoyed up by the donation, the board pressed
council for free status. It came into effect on 1 July 1902.80 A few offers did
not materialize because they included qualifications. In 1895, the estate of
William G. Perley offered a home for a library in Ottawa provided a free
bylaw were passed. However, Ottawa's first bylaw was rejected by the ratepayers despite reports in the press indicating that Perley s home on Wellington
Street, said to be worth $70,000, was quite suitable for library purposes and
was capable of housing 20,000 volumes.81
In spite of its newfound public support at the polls and voluntary donations, the public library in Ontario had yet to achieve a truly vital role by
1895, a shortcoming John G. Bourinot sought to reverse in one of his
columns in The Week.
As long, then, as we have the works of Walter Scott, Dickens,
Thackeray, George Eliot, Ward, Oliphant and others of note,
to delight and instruct the world, I do not think we may fear
the establishment office libraries. After all a free library is an
inducement to men and women to spend their time more
profitably than is possible in places where one does not exist.
Light literature wearies after a while and the mind must in
most cases turn to the more invigorating and healthy books
that every well-furnished library has on its shelves.82
The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
69
Bourinot represented the opinion of conservative, English-Canadian,
Protestant high culture, but in Ontario the library was gaining grudging
acceptance by all parts of society - urban and rural, highbrow and lowbrow.
The major problem inherent in the public library concept during this era
. was its confined role. The enterprise of the public library was circumscribed
by its regular client, the reading adult. The library's physical core was a closed
access circulating collection, reference room, reading room, newspaper and
periodical room, and, occasionally, a meeting room. Its oft-repeated claim to
be a "missing link" between elementary school and adult workplace was only
partially achieved. The library was beyond the reach of children, adolescents,
the elderly, and illiterate adults. The functions of the public library in the
Victorian world were narrow by todays standards. The publics ambivalence
towards recreational, popular fiction reduced the library's scope even further.
In retrospect, the reality of library service, juxtaposed with appealing arguments that assumed societal reforms would be forthcoming if free libraries
were established, was hard pressed to live up to its self-promotion. Prospects
for reforming society at the community level were exciting but elusive.
Too often, the public attitude toward the free library in many Ontario
communities was merely one of apathy. School trustees naturally were interested in literary improvement, but municipal authorities held the purse strings
and showed little concern for libraries despite some stirrings among the electorate for the principle of public support. The transformation from libraries
managed by Mechanics' Institutes to tax-supported agencies was taking place
slowly. The attraction of free use, greater access to circulating collections, better reading rooms, and reference facilities had prompted a few communities to
embrace the free library concept. The free library idea had been introduced in
Ontario, but arguments on its behalf had not been strongly marshalled. A new
generation of library advocates was needed to infuse the movement and refocus its activities.
Chapter 4
THE DAYS OF ADVANCE
"X"T7r7Tien the Ontario Legislature passed the Free Libraries Act in 1882,
\ JL I it commenced the general direction towards free public libraries in
V V the province. Support for the measure was centred in Toronto. In
January 1881, two aldermen, John Hallam and John Taylor, announced that
they wanted Toronto council to petition the government to allow the city,
now more than 95,000 people, to establish a free library.1 By the end of the
year they had secured pledges from leading citizens for financial support and
had arranged meetings to have a draft bill prepared for council to forward to
the Legislative Assembly at its next sitting in 1882.2 Hallam was an energetic
self-made man (Illus. 9). He had worked in a factory as a child and did not
begin his formal education until he attended night school in his twenties. He
came to Canada in 1853 and worked at various manual jobs until he set up
his own store, a wool and leather business, in 1866. Thereafter, he became
more prosperous, entered municipal politics as a representative from the St.
Lawrence ward in 1870, and travelled extensively in Europe and the United
States on business or personal pleasure.
Hallam was a Liberal of the "Lancashire type," believing in free trade,
practical politics, and a love for book learning.3 He also believed that British
civilization constituted the finest organized state of material and cultural
well-being and individual freedom. In a short pamphlet, The Days of
Advance, he documented the progress of municipal water systems, tramways,
libraries, and tramp relief and employment in English cities. In Britain all
these agencies were coming under public control of a municipal system of
management that proclaimed local public service as a high calling. It was a
middle-class vision of social action and unity. Hallam ridiculed the "old economically-idiotic plan" of strict economy which passed for mainstream
municipal thought, a wisdom that forced people "to stand at street corners,
or ramble up and down sidewalks, or steep themselves in drink at nights."4
He anticipated that Canadian urban development might capitalize on the
experience of Britain's local authorities. Foremost on his agenda was the
municipal free library.
The Days of Advance 71
John Taylor was less prominent, less ambitious politically, but more pragmatic than his counterpart. Taylor represented the same ward as Hallam and
was active in the Toronto Mechanics' Institute during the early 1880s. He,
too, recognized Toronto's need for more books and better service and diligently gathered information on American and British library progress, in expectation of a bylaw. As events later unfolded, it became evident that unlike
Hallam, who favoured erecting a new library building, Taylor was content to
renovate the Mechanics' Institute, transfer its book stock, and proceed on a
more modest basis for Toronto's public library. Despite their contrasting
approaches, both men made valuable contributions to establish the free
library. They were active not only in Toronto but also across Ontario.
Plans for library legislation hinged on the provincial government s stance.
Oliver Mowat and members of his Executive Council probably preferred general enabling legislation, following the pattern of previous acts for Mechanics'
Institutes and common school libraries. However, there was a potential problem: it was clear that provincial direction, especially from the education
department under Adam Crooks, would not be appreciated in some interested
quarters. Hallam made this point at council meetings and later in his small
booklet, Notes by the Way on Free Libraries and Books, in which he deplored
the "tedious formalities of an education department. "5 Since current legislation in Britain and the United States allowed municipalities considerable freedom, Mowat moved carefully, the hallmark of a cautious reformer. ^ Crooks
likewise supported innovations, such as public kindergartens, but, as a rule, he
took pains not to earn a reputation as a centralizer.
From the local standpoint, there was the need to transfer property and
assets from Mechanics' Institutes to free libraries, thus giving them an existing
nucleus around which they could grow and provide leadership at the outset.
Graeme Mercer Adam was one advocate who anticipated this process; he
remarked rather charitably that "we would look to the proposed Public
Libraries Act for the means of galvanizing these moribund institutions into
quickened life."7 After Dr. May's report was tabled in the legislature in early
1881, it remained for Mowat's administration to revise regulations for institutes, to finalize new legislation for the Association of Mechanics' Institutes in
consultation with local directors, and to prepare a free library bill for the 1882
session.
Of course, free libraries would eventually drain resources and energy from
the Mechanics' Institutes, but the extent of this would be determined locally.
Only in Toronto, where the government held a mortgage on the institute
building, would the provincial treasury be involved directly. Early in 1882, the
education department finally completed its regulations stemming from Dr.
May's report and the exchange of viewpoints with institute directors. The total
72
The Late Victorian Transition
grant of $400 was unchanged; $100 could be used for a reading room, the
remaining $300 for a library or evening classes, excluding management costs
and salaries. Up to twenty percent of the library portion could be spent on fiction, provided it was authorized by the Department, which eventually compiled two new catalogues for high schools and institutes in 1884/85.8 To qualify for provincial aid, a sum of at least half the total operating amount was to
be raised locally ($400). Adam Crooks also introduced an act to give the
Association of Mechanics' Institutes a more generous legislative grant and a
slightly modified role vishvis the local institutes (45 Vic., c. 4, s. 13-16).
Although the department and institute directors continued to talk of evening
classes, it is clear from the regulations that a library and a reading room were
the government s primary concerns, ones that could be achieved by reasonable
local effort and favourable circumstances.
"A Rate So Small"
Having reformed the regulations for institutes, the government turned to the
issue of free libraries. Second reading of the free libraries bill took place on 28
February 1882. The ensuing debate clearly illustrates the different perspectives
that members of the Legislature held on the subject. Because there is no official Hansard record, we must rely on newspaper accounts. Generally, newspapers did not conflict on substantive matters, but their reporters and editors
obviously tailored the news to suit their local audiences. The Toronto Globe
provided a brief record; the Toronto Mail gave a lengthier rendition (condensed in the Hamilton Spectator), and the London Advertiser relied on
another reporter. The three respective accounts of the debate at second reading (reported on 1 March) follow.
Globe
Mr. Mowat moved the second reading of the bill providing
for the establishment of Free Libraries. He rejoiced, he said,
at the public agitation which called for such a Bill. They provided liberally for the education of the young, yet it was
desirable that they should not over-look the education of
those who had passed the school age. He hoped they would
find the same advantages from this act as had been realized
from a similar act in Great Britain. It was proposed to levy a
general rate for the support of such libraries after the manner
in which the Public Schools were supported, a rate so small
to be almost unappreciable.
Mr. [William] Meredith was afraid the Bill would not do
much good. He thought that the powers conferred on
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Councils by the Bill were too large without a provision for a
reference to the rate-payers.
Mr. [James] Young thought the Bill would go a long way
towards destroying the Mechanics' Institutes. He failed to see
the present necessity for the Bill.
After considerable further discussion,
Mr. Mowat said the object of the Bill was to give the
people an opportunity to form an absolutely free library.
Those members who had spoken of the libraries being forced
upon the people forgot the whole principle of representative
government as embodied in the Council upon which rested
the responsibility of introducing a free library. The results
which the Bill had in view had not been accomplished by
Mechanics' Institutes.
The Bill was then read a second time.
Mail
Mr. Mowat moved the second reading of the bill to provide
for the establishment of free libraries. He said it was proposed to contribute to the support of these free libraries by
taxation. He pointed out that in Great Britain and the
United States, wherever free libraries had been established,
they had been used by an immense number of readers. It was
left to the municipal councils to decide whether the Act
should apply to their municipality or not. The bill gave the
management of these free libraries to a board composed of
the mayor or reeve, three members elected by the municipal
council and several members elected by the public and separate school boards. The rate of taxation was limited to a low
amount.
Mr. [David] Hay thought the bill should apply to townships.
Mr. Meredith said that he did not think the municipalities would avail themselves much of the provisions of the bill.
It would be unreasonable in cities where there were free
libraries to continue the grant to mechanics' institutes, which
would be a kind of competition.
Mr. [Robert] Bell proposed that a maximum taxation of
half a mill might be imposed, but he thought that no such
burden should be imposed upon any community without the
consent of the ratepayers.
73
74
The Late Victorian Transition
Mr. Young did not believe there was any particular
necessity in this country for free libraries. In most of our
cities and towns there was a Mechanics' Institute with a
library which was practically free, and the effect of the bill
would be hostile to these associations. He did not think the
municipal councils should have the power of plunging their
municipalities further into debt without consulting the peopie.
Mr. [Abram] Lauder said he would oppose the bill unless
the ratepayers were given the right of saying whether they
would have a free library or not.
Mr. [Henry] Merrick concurred in the views of the preceding speaker. Under the bill, once the library board was
established, they would be free of control from the municipal
council, and would send in their estimates, which the council
would be obliged to pass. The general feeling of the country
would be opposed to the bill as soon as its effect became
know.
Mr. [James] Hunter supported the bill.
Mr. [Hammel] Deroche said the bill was in one sense an
education bill, and the people were beginning to think that
they already paid too much for education. In any case, the
question of establishing a free library should be decided by
vote of the ratepayers.
Mr. [Andrew] Broder thought the bill would do a good
deal of good.
Mr. Mowat said he could not give up the principle of the
bill, but would not object to the details being revised at a
subsequent stage.
The bill was read a second time.
Advertiser
A motion to read a second time a Bill to provide for the
establishment of free libraries.
Mr. Meredith said if the Government established free
libraries, then aid to Mechanics* Institutes should be stopped.
Mr. Young said that the Mechanics' Institutes virtually
supplied free libraries. The present Bill gave too arbitrary
powers to municipalities.
Mr. Lauder said the subject had been broached by Aid.
Hallam, but the circumstances of England and Canada in
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75
this matter were different. In England the free libraries were
established for the very poorest classes. Such necessity did not
exist in Canada.
Mr. [David] Robertson supported the Bill.
Mra Deroche said the Bill was good in principle, but the
public should have the right to vote on the question.
Mr. Broder said the library would reach a section
(Toronto) which had never had the opportunity of availing
themselves of the public school system, but he thought that
in the rural districts the law proposed would be a dead letter.
He should support the Bill.
Mr. Mowat said the measure would not impose any special burden upon the people, and free libraries were of the
greatest importance to the public education. Mechanics'
institutes were not well attended. In Toronto, with 70,00[0]
of a population only 1,046 belonged to the Institute, which
was the best probably in the Province. The burden which the
Bill would impose upon any municipality was one of the
lightest character. He trusted that in consideration of details
the House would well consider the importance of the Bill*
The Bill was read a second time.
The provisions of the bill were relatively agreeable to most parties. One
major objection was rectified by making it mandatory for qualified electors to
vote on the library bylaw. Also, the number of board members was increased
later from eight to nine with the addition of an extra appointment by the separate school trustees.9 The bill's essential rationale was the encouragement of
political activity at the municipal level where majorities for library bylaws
would be won. Each community would have to establish a semi-independent
board of directors according to terms set out in the act:
1. Free libraries could be established in cities, towns, or villages. The library
could include a free newsroom, museum, branch library, branch newsrooms or branch libraries.
2. Upon receipt of a petition from electors, the council had to submit a
bylaw to all qualified electors before passing the bylaw.
3. The management of the library was vested in a nine member board ("a
body politic and corporate") composed of the mayor (or reeve), three people appointed by the council, three by the public school board (or board
of education), and two by separate school trustees. Members of appointing bodies could not serve on the board of management. Appointments
76
The Late Victorian Transition
were to be made at different intervals: public school board and council
representatives held office for three years, separate school board
appointees for two years.
The bill allowed boards to become relatively powerful entities in the
evolving status of local self-government. Board governance meant many
responsibilities: to elect chairmen; to meet once a month; to keep records of
orders and proceedings signed by the chairman; to procure, erect or rent
buildings; to purchase and preserve books, newspapers, reviews, magazines,
maps and specimens of art and science; to provide fuel, lighting and similar
matters; to appoint and dismiss officers and servants; and to make bylaws for
the use and management of the library and its property. For financial purposes, boards had to submit yearly estimates to council by the first day of April
for interest borrowed, for payments to sinking funds, and for operating
expenses. Accounts were to be submitted to municipal auditors. A "free
library rate" not to exceed one-half of a mill on rateable assessment could be
levied. Debentures could be issued by council for buildings and, in the first
instance, for books and "other things/' subject to approval by a vote of the
ratepayers.
What type of library service was to be provided? How was a free library to
be organized by its directors? There were only a few sections in the bill that
gave direction on these important questions:
1. All libraries, newsrooms, and museums were open to the public free of
charge.
2. Mechanics' Institutes or Library Associations could transfer property to
free libraries.
3. Forms were appended that could be used for petitions, bylaws, and
debentures.
In this respect the bill resembled American "long legislation," which did not
provide many details on the functions of library service. The onus was on
local directors to identify functions and determine organization; by default,
adult services - a circulating collection, reference department, and newspaper
and periodical reading rooms - were library staples.
John Ross Robertson summed up the general sentiment, as he viewed it,
in a short editorial on the act.
The subject of public libraries has been so repeatedly discussed by the press that all must be familiar with the arguments that have been advanced in favour of Toronto doing
The Days of Advance
77
what has been done by so many other cities on both sides of
the Atlantic - establishing a library open to all without the
payment of fees. Such a library would be a great boon to the
working classes of the city, who cannot afford to lay in a stock
of desirable and useful books. Many men who attained to
eminence in various walks of life, attribute their good fortune
to the public library, where they found works which implanted knowledge in their minds that brought forth good fruit.10
To secure passage of municipal library bylaws, local advocates had to justify
the need for free libraries within the emerging sphere of local government.
The first two cities to apply the act were Toronto and Guelph. Both were successful in January 1883.
Carrying Free Library Bylaws
In Toronto, Hallam and Taylor spearheaded the effort to present a petition
and offer a free library bylaw to the ratepayers on New Year's Day 1883. They
orchestrated the printing of thousands of broadsides, 16,000 Christmas cards
for school children, and 1,500 posters; they wrote letters to the press and
appeals to the clergy; they arranged for public meetings to promote the
scheme. Because Hallam and Taylor differed on certain aspects about library
service, and the Mechanics' Institute s directors had not tendered any tangible
proposal to transfer their assets, Torontonians were unsure of what was being
promised. Grip joined the fray, printing two cartoons - "Sons of Toil" and
"Workingman's Chance" (Illus. 11-12) — that depicted the expectations of the
working class. But class concerns were not paramount; the issue was the
bylaw's general merits, and defending the bylaw were the two aldermen.
The free library project is to be voted on at the same time as
the civic elections are held. Messrs. Hallam and Taylor, from
the very best motives in the world, are doing all they can to
carry the by-law authorizing the establishment of a free public library in Toronto. Whether the project succeeds or fails
these gentlemen are entitled to credit for all they have done
in pressing it upon the public mind.11
They succeeded by more than 2,500 votes. Hallam was so pleased he cabled
Liverpool to inform British readers and his own correspondents that Toronto
had passed its bylaw.12
In Guelph, plans were more definite, but the scale of activity was less
comprehensive. There was virtually no public opposition to the directors of
78
The Late Victorian Transition
the Mechanics* Institute, who announced that they were anxious to transfer
their 3,000 volume collection and some furnishings to a library board. One
director, James Innes, suggested that any additional expenses incurred by the
municipality could be easily offset.
He thought the expense of managing the library could be lessened by the change by utilizing the western stalls in the rear
end of the market which could be so altered and fitted up as to
form a suitable place. He knew that a considerable portion of
these had not been used in the past and would not be for years
for market purposes, and by using them $150 or $200 rent
could be saved per annum. For every $600 that the Mechanics'
Institute expended for books and tuition the Legislature gave
them a grant of $400, and under the Free Libraries Act he had
no reason to doubt but the same grant would be made, unless
the present Libraries Act were repealed.13
People in the Royal City took pride in the fact that they shared with Toronto
the honour of voting first for a free library.14 One new Guelph trustee,
William Tytler, the secretary of the board, became a close friend of James Bain
(Illus. 10), Toronto's chief librarian from 1884 to 1908.15 Together they hunted in the "Muskoka Club" which Bain, George Paxton Young, and others had
founded on an island near Parry Sound in the 1870s (Illus. 13).16
How successful was the library movement in putting forth its ideas and
achieving its goals in local elections? Prior to 1895, only twelve free public
libraries were established in Ontario. The primary interests of most ratepayers
(if they cared to vote or speak out on local political concerns) lay elsewhere,
on issues such as lighting, streets, and railway bonuses. Few aldermanic
speeches referred to the library issue except in unusual circumstances. For
example, in 1883, Emmanuel T. Essery, a lawyer and alderman in London,
combined a ringing denunciation of corrupt "backroom wire pullers" with a
call for a public library.
He then made a plea for the necessity of a public library,
where the citizens of London could he helped to become better educated, and not be handicapped by the Thugs of the
Club, who say, 'Money is their God/ He proved the benefit
arising from the perusal of good literature, which was now
largely in the hands of the rich, and asked why should the
poor cringe to these men, when by their votes they can assert
their manhood.17
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79
London voters delivered a confusing verdict: they supported the library, but
Essery was trounced in his own ward. Undaunted, he fought on, eventually
becoming mayor in 1893-94 when London finally implemented plans for a
free library18
When library advocates were able to include bylaws on municipal ballots,
the results were often comfortable pro-library majorities. Moreover, low
turnouts suggest that the issue did not interest many voters. Usually, no more
than fifteen percent of the total population cast ballots. Election rules enabled
ratepayers to vote but excluded everyone else. As a consequence, voter
turnouts were not substantial (Table 6: Free Public Library Bylaws, 18831895). Perhaps the non-controversial nature of the bylaws themselves encouraged the government to eliminate the mandatory requirement for balloting in
every community. In 1895, when the provincial legislature finally decided to
reconstitute Mechanics' Institutes as public libraries, it allowed the formation
of non-free public libraries by means of council bylaw without ratification by
the ratepayers. In exchange for eliminating the need for a vote, this class of
public library was ineligible to receive the one-half mill public library rate. As
a result, after 1895 the number of non-free public libraries began to increase
significantly (Graph 4: Free Library Boards in Ontario, 1882 to 1918).
For the greater part of the decade following 1882, the provincial government was engrossed with matters far more weighty than libraries. Library legislation descended to a low priority as the Mowat administration battled with
the federal government on political-economic issues vital to Ontario's interests.19 Ontario emerged the victor in decisive court decisions issued by the
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. In 1883, Hodge vs. The Queen
affirmed the principle of provincial sovereignty in its own areas of jurisdiction
and effectively struck down the federal power of disallowance. Later, in the
bitter dispute over the enlargement of Ontario's boundaries and provincial
ownership of natural resources in the north, from James Bay westward along
the Albany River to Lake of the Woods, Ontario's land claims, rights, and
powers were confirmed. However, Mowat was less successful with industrial
and agrarian difficulties after the mid-1880s. His government did enact legislation covering workmen's compensation and arbitration procedures for
industrial disputes, but among the farmers, the core of Liberal support,
Mowat lost considerable ground in the 1890s to an agrarian political party,
the Patrons of Industry. This development foreshadowed the decline of
Liberal fortunes in its agricultural base across Ontario.20
In these circumstances the public library movement was forced to wait
until 1895 when George Ross, the education minister, finally introduced
important amendments to the library act (58 Vic., c. 45). These changes were
brought about by the movement's unflagging promotion of its political agenda
80
The Late Victorian Transition
and cultural aims; by the education departments.insistence on closer supervision; and by public opinion, which was slow to accept rate-supported libraries
as an integral part of government but was receptive to the less expensive voluntary alternative that had sustained Mechanics' Institutes. The government,
particularly the education department, realized that free library bylaws were
difficult to place on the ballot. Dr. May summarized his two decades of experience with the enabling bylaw process at an Ontario Library Association
meeting in 1902:
... our adult population did not seem to appreciate the benefits to be derived from municipalities providing good reading
for themselves and for their children; another reason which
retarded the progress of Free Libraries was that many members of Mechanics' Institutes were very conservative, and preferred paying membership fees, so that they might to a certain extent be exclusive in enjoying the privileges of the
Library and Reading Room .. .21
George Ross identified the substantial cost of "suitable buildings and
premises" as a major drawback to library creation in his 1896 school textbook.
In small municipalities it has been found, however, that
while the people may not' be willing to incur the larger
expenditure necessary for a library building, they are not
unwilling to contribute annually a moderate sum for the purchase of books and for contingent expenses. Accordingly, in
1895 the Public Libraries Act was amended, authorizing
municipal councils to appoint a board of management for
library purposes, even where a by-law had not passed for the
erection of buildings.22
Of course, from a financial standpoint, libraries were not free, as one
Hamilton citizen angrily declared: "It was nonsense to call the library 'free/
because the citizens would have to pay for it in taxes. You might as well call
groceries 'free' that you have to pay for."23
Obviously, civic economy was a dominate factor confronting supporters
who had to weigh the challenges confronting a rate-supported library bylaw at
municipal elections. Financial motives influenced liberal, conservative, and
nonpartisan citizens. They realized that municipal funding formed the basis
of library operations (Graph 5: Local Public Library Revenue, 1882-1914).
This obstacle, as well as the disinclination of the Ontario government to
The Days of Advance 81
improve its own incentives for forming free libraries, contributed to the more
relaxed 1895 legislation. Before that year, the directors of Mechanics'
Institutes, who could transfer assets to free libraries, realized that there was
usually little to gain financially from a library bylaw because most communities were reluctant to levy the maximum mill rate. As well, they knew that the
maximum mill rate was often insufficient to provide adequate services, producing less than voluntary contributions or a conditional grant. For example,
the village of Seaforth had an 1890 municipal assessment of $365,495, a sum
which would yield $188 for the free library. This was twelve dollars short of
the $200 government grant. The Globe remarked that the half-mill rate was
"utterly inadequate for small places. "24
Five years after the original act was introduced, James Bain, Toronto's farsighted librarian, suggested two remedies to alleviate the free library's financial
penury:
The problem therefore before us is to convert the institute
libraries into free public libraries with sufficient income to
pay a regular librarian. Two courses lie before us either by
giving them a larger area from which to draw a share of the
taxation or by altering the act so as to increase the maximum.
To this later proposition serious opposition would arise in
the cities, where the feeling exists that it would be dangerous
to permit a body not directly elected, power to enforce a
higher taxation.25
Moreover, as long as the reading public voluntarily continued to pay small fees
for library services, Bain's suggestions were unlikely to be enacted.
After 1895, many institutes simply changed their title to "public library"
without making any effort to achieve rate-supported free status. Niagara's
directors, including the writers William Kirby and Janet Carnochan, passed a
simple motion at the annual meeting to the effect that the institute was now a
public library. Business proceeded as before. Dundas possessed a small but
well-established library (Illus. 14). Its directors were more energetic but indisposed to seek free status. Instead, they approached council to pass a bylaw
increasing the municipal grant to three hundred dollars in return for a reduction in the membership fee to one dollar. The Dundas Star endorsed this policy: "One dollar is within the reach to any person and the volumes at their
command cost many thousands besides the magazines and newspapers on file
in the reading room."26
The movement's adherents had to rebut a range of practical objections
related to the costs involved in library services. This was a crucial test of polit-
82
The Late Victorian Transition
ical wills in the light of the need for bylaw approval by ratepayers. A
Hamilton lawyer protested that libraries were not necessities:
There will not be a book in the library that can be read as a
substitute for food, clothing or a warm house. If a public
library is not a necessity, it is in the nature of a luxury The
same economy and prudence shown in a family should be
practiced in the management of the affairs of a community.
No prudent man will purchase a library whilst he is in debt
for his cooking stove.27
The voters agreed. The 1885 bylaw failed by a slim margin of 189 votes. The
Hamilton Times reasoned that it failed because "when trade is dull and
employment is precarious ... it would be cruel to delude people into expenditures that were not absolutely necessary."28
Strict cost consciousness extended to the one-half mill rate, which most
communities seemed to find excessive. Consequently, library supporters occasionally predicted that newly appointed trustees would not demand the full
rate. This is precisely what happened in Hamilton where a December 1889
meeting concluded with a unanimous motion that the free library rate should
be kept to one-quarter mill on the dollar and that "it be impressed upon the
city council and board of education charged with the power of appointing the
managing board that gentlemen should be appointed who can safely be
depended upon not to favor an extreme expenditure."29 Hamilton's bylaw
passed comfortably on this occasion. In 1892, the province reduced the rate
to one-quarter mill in cities over 100,000 population (52 Vic., c. 24) to ease
electors' apprehensions.
The availability of inexpensive books also emerged as grounds not to form
free libraries. Goldwin Smith was among the first to state that cheap printing
allowed the public to buy plentiful reading; he suggested at a meeting of the
Ontario Teachers' Association in August 1882 that a reference library would
best suit Toronto's purposes.
Not only novels, but works of all kinds, literary and scientific, standard as well as the most recent, can now be bought for
a few cents, and everybody can have as much reading as business men or artisans have time for, at the cheapest rate, in his
own home. By exchanging with neighbours, the home library
may be still further enlarged. The need for city libraries,
therefore, seems to be less. What would be a certain benefit
in its way is a provincial library of books of reference and
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83
other works not likely to be reprinted in a cheap form, to
which students and persons engaged in special researches or
in need of special information might resort. It has occurred
to me that the Parliamentary Library might be developed
into something of this kind.30
This was not the last time when Smith would find himself in a minority on
library issues.
Concerned with Smiths stance, John Hallam corresponded with William
F. Poole in Chicago and Charles Ammi Cutter in Boston. Poole replied that
Smith was a bit old-fashioned: "He is behind the times." 31 The presence of
low-priced literature usually was not a persuasive argument against free
libraries. An editorial in the Conservative Toronto Mail illustrated this failing:
We wonder if those who say so ever put themselves in the
artisans place, and calculated how much he could spare in a
year, after supporting his family, for books. For a quarter of a
dollar in taxes, or less, the library will give him the use of, or
choice from, thousands of volumes.32
William Briggs, a well-known publisher, agreed, adding, "all that many readers
want is the reading, not the owning, of certain classes of books."33
Occasionally, in the heat of debate, financial issues could be turned to
good advantage against antagonists. The following exchange took place at a
Hamilton meeting between Thomas Brick, an active spokesmen for labour
and a city alderman, and a well-to-do property owner.
Mr. Anthony Rowan protested that the by-law should not be
carried. He said 1 can buy a book for 10 cents and read it.'
A voice [Thomas Brick] - a dime novel.
Mr. Rowan said that the library would impose a heavy
tax on property owners.
A voice - Serves you right, for having so much property.^
Sentiment for the library carried this meeting, but the bylaw did not succeed
at the polls.
In fact, financial considerations often cut both ways, especially when
transfer of the assets of Mechanics' Institutes' to library boards was concerned.
At Thorold, the town council inspected the Mechanics' Institute and took it
over as a free library, primarily because it was a "valuable asset."35 The
84
The Late Victorian Transition
ratepayers at Simcoe approved an 1884 bylaw for similar reasons. The town
was already paying $200 rent annually for use of part of the institute. It was
easy to see that the building's $1,100 debt bearing interest of six percent
would be eliminated in a few years and that the town stood to gain. In addition, the building was appraised at $4,500, the library holdings were valued at
$4,000, and the directors of the institute had $300 on hand. The library rate
would yield about $400 annually, and the government grant for books would
be the same.36 The Simcoe bylaw passed without objection and the transition
to free status for the library followed quickly.
However, the general legislative intent that an institutes' assets and book
stocks would constitute the useful foundation for a free public library did not
always hold true. When the St. Catharines institute came to an end, in midFebruary 1888, the municipal corporation had to assume $280 of its liabilities
and pay out $200 to cover the new free board's immediate expenses. William
J. Robertson, a prominent teacher who was to become the backbone of the St.
Catharines' free library, was quick to file papers with Dr. May to receive the
institute's annual grant. This was a vital consideration given the circumstances
of the transaction.37 Chatham voters supported a free library in 1890 partly
because it became known that the provincial grant to their institute would not
be available for library purposes if the directors were forced to close down.38
Afterwards, a lawyer involved in the exchange admitted to Dr. May that many
of the institute's books were "old and of little value and the principal object of
the Free Library Board is to secure the Gov. grant which but for this arrangement would go to the Mechanics [sic] Institute."39
Another major issue that bedeviled library advocates was the fiction question. Many novels published in the bookselling marketplace were not considered worthy contributions to higher culture; their literary merit was as questionable as their place in tax-supported circulating libraries. One observer
noted:
Probably the chief argument advanced against the adoption
of the Free Libraries Act is that because the circulation of fiction is from 50 to 75 per cent of the whole, therefore free
public libraries are a snare, a fraud and a delusion, and the
general body of ratepayers should not be asked to provide
foolish girls and beardless young men with novels to read
wholesale.40
This was a serious charge. How could free libraries claim to be educational
bodies when "light literature" was the chief circulating staple?
From the outset, library supporters met the challenge directly by justify-
The Days of Advance
85
ing novel reading and including a generous portion of the "better class" in collections. John Hallam told a meeting: "I can get more true knowledge and
real good from such books as the Vicar of Wakefield, Silas Marner, Jane Eyre,
Caleb Williams, Adam Bede, and the works of Walter Scott, Thackeray,
Dickens, some of Bulwer Lyttons, and those of other great novelists, than I
could from nine-tenths of the sermons that were ever preached or
published."41 All groups were in agreement to censor obscene titles which
might deprave or corrupt. The distinction between acceptable and unacceptable literature was based on the desired level of polite learning that a work
imparted. Literary genres were not a deciding factor. Most library enthusiasts
accepted popular recreational fiction and standard didactic fiction, both of
which lacked the higher qualities of creativity and imagination found in critically acclaimed authors. They did not yield to rigid evangelical moral strictures or the opprobrium of established literary authorities, who might frown
on the lightly-regarded Ouida (Louise de la Ramee) or realistic works such as
George Moore's controversial A Modern Lover, published in 1883.42 Thus, the
library's mission was relatively liberal: it accepted popular literature, thereby
respecting the tastes of a mass readership. This position often drew criticism
from a vocal constituency that felt public morality rested on untainted private
virtue and that the business of libraries did not extend to the proliferation of
entertaining novels.
The debate persisted for decades, with popular fiction gradually gaining
acceptance as works of literature despite aesthetic "deficiencies" and "distasteful" content. John Taylor revealed the course of public preference by stating
that the public was "too advanced in the nineteenth century to underrate the
benefits of good healthy fiction."43 While dime novels, penny dreadfulls,
shilling shockers, romances, railway novels, and most melodramas were obviously frowned upon, "serious" novels were considered a source of moral and
social instruction.44 As long as libraries exercised discretion in book selection,
critics might concur with one Toronto bookseller who said that libraries
would lead readers in a "proper direction."45 In his opinion, the higher class
of novelists included Dickens and Thackeray. They were followed by best-selling contemporaries - Francis Marion Crawford, William Black, and William
Dean Howells.
Many Canadian literary critics and public library spokesmen did not have
a high regard for either "inferior" fiction or the fresh trends towards realism
and naturalism in novels. Novels that probed everyday human experience typically portrayed people as captives of hereditary or environmental forces and
often contained sexuality, atheism, and nonconformist attitudes. These subjects were looked upon with suspicion or distaste. However, by the last decade
of the century, public opinion was changing. The Toronto Globe sensibly
86
The Late Victorian Transition
staked out the middle ground, stating the case for both serious and light fiction:
In Ontario, as in several other civilised communities, the
public library system has grown rapidly. The strain in which
this is announced is not always wholly congratulatory, there
being an undertone of regret at the fact that the novels are
well-thumbed, while poetty, science and history grow dusty
on the shelves... at an investment of $50 the reader can surround himself with a goodly company of these quiet and
unobtrusive friends. To the circulating library he goes for
works of less permanent value, for books which are untried,
for books which are too expensive to buy. And there is nothing very alarming in the fact that a large part of the borrowing consist of works of fiction.
There is another class of people for whom the circulating
library supplies nearly all the literature that they read. The
question which arises here is, Is such literature better than
nothing?' We are told that the young people neglect Scott,
Thackeray, Dickens and George Eliot and read 'trash/ But
literary people are in danger of becoming just a little pedantic
in their selection of authors who are to enter the charmed circle. There are many novels which do not rank as classics, yet
the influence of which is decidedly good and wholesome.46
The editorial closed with an endorsement of Edward Roe's formula novels.
Most libraries insisted upon better quality fiction, placing their faith in
hard-working book selection committees. They relied on standard tools: The
Athenaeum, Publishers Weekly, and The Bookman, which began publishing lists
of best-selling fiction in 1895. At one point, the Toronto Evening News pro
posed using the American Library Associations general public catalogue of
"best books."47 However, publication of this five thousand title guide for
small libraries was delayed for more than a decade; it was finally released at
the Columbian Exposition in 1893. This long delay prompted some
American libraries to devise ingenious solutions for improving public reading
interests: special reading lists, open shelf collections, book displays, a twobook charging system (one novel plus one nonfiction work), and readers'
advisory service.48 These ideas eventually spread to Canada. Gradually, librarians endorsed the rationale that readers could be weaned from light reading to
more elevated works. They did not abandon the role of censor, however,
because they felt that they had a duty to control "controversial" titles.49
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87
The education department did not issue its Catalogue of Books
Recommended for Public Libraries until November 1895, and even then it contained only a small section for "standard" novels, most of which were historical or romantic. The Department's respectable novels occupied a spectrum
from "light," represented by Rhoda Broughton, Margaret Hungerford, and
Mrs. Henry Wood, to "serious," represented by Balzac, Eliot, Hardy, Trollope,
Thackeray, and Tolstoy.50 Detective stories, a growing category, were classed
separately. Although the catalogue accepted the legitimacy of fiction, it muddied the fiction issue by incorporating novels in other sections. For example,
Annie Swan's Gates of Eden and Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter
turned up in the section on moral tales, essays, and romances; Jules Verne's
Round the World in Eighty Days enlivened the category of voyages and travels;
and Charles Kingsley's Hypatia appeared in historical tales. Juvenile fiction
also was classed in different sections.
By the early 1890s, efforts to restrict or discourage fiction reading sometimes suffered the fate of derisive editorials. When word spread that the new
chairman of the Toronto Public Library preferred serious novels, the Toronto
Saturday Night playfully entered the fray.
And inquiry has revealed the fact that there are shop girls in
the city who commit the crime of reading The Duchess [by
Margaret Hungerford]. Shall this state of things continue! In
this enlightened age are men and women to be allowed to
learn something of their fellow-men in the present and past
through the pernicious agency of the novel... Thank heavens, the abuse which allows the circulation of thousands of
volumes of fiction in Toronto will not long continue, the
temple will soon no longer be polluted, for has not D. A.
O'Sullivan, LL.D., introduced a resolution for the restriction
of fiction reading at the Public Library!51
But the novel in a variety of forms was to have its way; a mass audience drawn
from all classes grew steadily in size and hankered for romance, science fiction,
detective stories, and westerns.52
On the international scene a few talented Canadian novelists were beginning to receive due recognition. Lawrence J. Burpee, an insightful early critic
of Canadian writing, judged their work to be promising, wholesome, and polished.53 Throughout the 1890s popular writers such as Agnes Maule Machar
(Roland Graeme, Knighi), Sara Jeannette Duncan (An American Girl in
London), Gilbert Parker (Seats of the Mighty), Lily Dougall (The Madonna of
the Day), and Marshall Saunders (BeautifulJoe) expanded the range and quali-
88
The Late Victorian Transition
ty of Canadian fiction. Didactic and moral purposes were less evident in the
hands of these skillful novelists, although some instruction and ethical lessons
endured. By 1902, the Stratford trustee, John Davis Barnett, a collector of
Shakespeariana, could safely say: "Until I find a non-novel reading community (past or present) which in reforming energy or morals, in manners or charity of judgement, is superior to the novel using community, I intend to claim
novel circulation as one of the values the P.L. confers."54
Nonfiction also could pose problems. Liberals, of course, believed in freedom of expression, but on occasion freethinking literature, especially atheist
or agnostic tracts, could damage the case for libraries. The London Ministerial
Association, led by Walter M. Roger, protested against "infidel books'* after it
learned that the Workingmen's Free Library had requested $500 from council
to provide free services in 1892. In effect, the Association was offended by the
writings of freethinkers such as the controversial British MP Charles
Bradlaugh, an atheist and co-publisher of a book on contraception, The Fruits
of Philosophy, and Robert Green Ingersoll, the influential American writer and
agnostic. The Association claimed:
We live in a Christian community, whose laws are founded
upon the Bible, and whose Government, by repeated deliverances of its high judiciaries, has been declared a Christian
Government which will not tolerate for example, the use of its
public halls for the propagation of infidel doctrines, and
which claims the right to prevent the introduction of immoral
or other objectionable books, like those of Bradlaugh and
Ingersoll, through its mails and custom houses.55
In this case, the London Advertiser helped resolve the dispute. It published the
complete contents of the Workingmen's library with the prudent opinion:
"Our view is that the library as it stands is a very fair nucleus for a free library
such as is to be found in nearly all the larger cities in North America and in
Great Britain." The newspaper also advised that the Mechanics' Institute
library holdings should be included when a free public library began operating.56
There was persistent criticism that the working class would not be able to
use libraries in their leisure hours. The sixty hour work week being the norm,
the Hamilton Times explained:
About the usefulness of a library and reading room as a place
of resort for workingmen in the evenings we are inclined to
doubt. The workingman, who has to be at his place in the
The Days of Advance 89
shop at 7 o'clock in the morning, is not going to have much
time to loaf in the evening after he has got his supper and
read the daily paper. Professional and commercial men may
make the library a place of resort, but mechanics and factory
operatives, as a rule, will not.57
As well, it was said that optional reading materials existed for the public. One
person complained that books, newspapers, and libraries abounded and that
"few of us are disposed to yield to the tempter's charms to desert our homes
after a days work to absorb an extra taxed literature collected by a conclave of
any designing body of men, whether aldermen alone or in collusion with others."58 Sometimes support from organized labour could neutralize this criticism; trade unions were trying to become more active in local politics and
were interested in securing social benefits for their members.
During the debate on the Toronto bylaw, aldermen Hallam and Taylor
attended a Trades and Labour Council meeting in December to recruit support. The Council was not to be ignored. It claimed to speak for about five
thousand trade unionists in the city. The audience was a friendly one: the
TLC had previously passed a resolution favouring the bylaw. One workingman applauded the two aldermen and spoke out for public control:
He had been a member of a mechanics' institute for twenty
years, but when he came to Canada he found a bank clerk at
the head of the institution. If there was anything distasteful
to a workingman it was patronage. (Hear, hear.) He hoped
the library would come into existence, and they would do all
they could in favour of it.59
A vote of thanks was extended to Hallam and Taylor on this occasion.
Nine years later, in March 1892, Hallam and the TLC were allies again.
On this occasion, labour petitioned the legislature in support of the effort of
Hallam and the Toronto city council to reduce the library rate to one-quarter
mill. Toronto aldermen were upset with the library directors' efforts to establish a museum based on the maximum tax revenue to which they were entitled. The TLC believed that the half-mill rate, which had the potential to
raise $75,500 in 1892 (up from $31,000 when the library was established),
was "beyond the needs of the free library."60 The bill passed quickly despite
the Toronto library's opposition (55 Vic., c. 47). In general, labour leaders
concentrated on collective bargaining, wages, and working conditions, which
were crucial issues for the working class, leaving the library movement to
other people.
90
The Late Victorian Transition
There were times when existing library collections were suggested as fitting substitutes for municipal public library service. In a peculiar instance of
dejh vu> Hamilton's Central School library, dating from Ryerson's administration, was boldly advanced as a viable alternative during one unsuccessful free
library bylaw campaign.
I repeat that the public do not appear to be aware of the existence of this library, for there have not been a score of applicants for books in the past half dozen years. I refer to the volumes in the library at the Central School. The only expense
attending it is the nominal salary of $50 a year to the
Librarian. Let this library be divided into four parts and a
part placed in each district school.. .6l
But the prime candidates for substitution were the parliamentary libraries in
Toronto and Ottawa. The Toronto Evening Telegram lamented that "We have
a splendid library in Toronto, but it is locked up, except to members of the
legislature, and even of these very few ever think of using it." It later complained that the "only difference the throwing open of the library would
make, would be that there would be more work for the librarians to do."62
The parliamentary library in Ottawa contained an even more inviting store of
literature: "Those who need the more solid class of books already have a collection, not to be excelled in the country, at their service in the Parliamentary
library."63 However, neither the provincial nor federal legislators had any
intention of expanding the hours of operation or opening the collections of
their respective libraries to the public.
Most of the opposition to free libraries came from adversaries who
claimed that existing collections in Mechanics' Institutes were sufficient for
their communities. The response to this charge was predictable. Free library
promoters appealed to progress. Daniel Wilson reminded his Toronto audience: "The scheme, [Mechanics' Institutes] though well intentioned, and perhaps all that was possible at an early stage, has proved inadequate to the growing demands which a well organized system of education necessarily begets."64
Fortunately for library advocates, the appeal to progress often carried the day
in Victorian Canada and smoothed the way for a free library.
Finally, it was inevitable that local disputes between councils, aldermen,
library promoters, and library boards would arise from time to time, especially
in larger urban communities. The legislators had said as much when the original library bill reached second reading in 1882. London provided an instructive example for anyone wishing to avoid conflict. London's first library bylaw
passed comfortably in January 1884, on the assumption that the Mechanics'
The Days of Advance 91
Institute would provide a suitable foundation for a free library. Most London
aldermen were not concerned with the library; their interests lay in railroads
and water. But one problem loomed large: the three-storey institute building,
erected in 1876-77 in the Second Empire style, had become a heavy financial
liability.65 Within five months, the new board members had resigned. They
had been unable to reach agreement with the directors of the institute about
its debts or a transfer of its property. As well, the council had refused to
authorize the levying of the public library rate because the board s estimates
were not submitted in time. Shortly thereafter, Judge William Elliott, the
board chairman and a long-time supporter of the institute, wrote, "In this situation of matters we have either to engage in litigation with the Council, or
remain powerless members of the Board, or resign."66
Resignation hardly solved the issue in London. The original bylaw establishing a library remained on the statute books, but no more members were
appointed to the board until 1888. In that year, the Trades and Labour
Council threatened legal action against the municipal council unless library
directors were appointed. Municipal legal advisors confirmed the validity of
the TLC's threat, but, the aldermen had other ideas, foremost among them
being civic economy. Ignoring the opposition, they submitted a bylaw to the
electors at midyear to repeal the 1884 library bylaw. Despite efforts by the
Mechanics' Institute directors, who pledged to transfer their assets, the council's efforts succeeded: the library board was officially dissolved.67 London
remained without free public library service until another bylaw passed in
1893, and a new building was constructed in 1895.
New Directions
All these challenges presented serious obstacles to the passage of free library
bylaws, especially when the cultural assumptions and benefits postulated on
behalf of libraries either failed to match the reality of existing community
library services or conflicted with other interest groups. Nevertheless, the
movements encounters with divergent viewpoints helped shape its activities,
define its goals, and overcome entrenched opposition. After the provincial
government merged collections in Mechanics' Institutes with free libraries and
relaxed the free library bylaw process, in 1895, the ranks of the library movement, hitherto small in number, grew steadily as institute directors and
municipal participants joined the cause of public libraries.
One exceptional new member was Edwin Hardy from Lindsay. Like
James Bain, Jr. of Toronto, he recognized the need for more vigorous organization and additional goals and purposes for the movement. By the mid18905, Bain was advocating larger units of service, the inclusion of art galleries
and museums in libraries, and improved library funding and organization.68
92
The Late Victorian Transition
Hardy initiated another change. Writing to the education minister, George
Ross, in the summer of 1899, he asked for more centralized direction from
the education department; regular publications of library directories, new
book bulletins, manuals on management; and a better classification system.
Ross encouraged Hardy:
I think it would be well to have a conference before long of
the leading Librarians of the Province and of those interested
in Public Libraries, say at the time of the Annual meeting of
the Teachers' Association during the Easter holidays, in order
that the work of our Libraries may be systematized and the
views of those associated with them ascertained. I am glad to
see the interest you have taken in the matter.69
Formation of the Ontario Library Association followed swiftly.
When the American Library Association met at Montreal in 1900, at the
invitation of Charles Gould, McGill University's Librarian, Hardy and eight
others from Ontario and Quebec organized a provisional committee to form a
Canadian Library Association, on 11 June. Hardy and Bain then met in
October at the Toronto Public Library with three other men, Alexander H.
Gibbard, a newspaper editor and publisher in Whitby, Hugh Langton, chief
librarian at the University of Toronto, and Archibald B. Macallum, professor
of physiology at the University of Toronto and former president of the
Canadian Institute. These men decided that a provincial (not a dominion)
organization was the more feasible strategy. James Bain was chosen as president, Hugh Langton as first vice-president, Hardy as secretary, and Macallum
as treasurer. The committee drafted a short constitution and agreed to hold its
first conference in Toronto. The government, now led by George Ross, provided the Examiners' Room of the Education Department for the group's
inaugural session on 8 April 1901. A firmer organizational basis for provincewide collaboration was finally established. Library promotion would no
longer depend solely upon steadfast individuals and small local support
groups.
By about 1900, therefore, the public library movement in Ontario was
developing along "modern" directions with a stronger level of organization.
The establishment of free libraries in individual communities remained the
goal of advocates. Free libraries were both an urban and rural phenomenon
closely associated with the political culture of Ontario's local self-government.
Dr. May's annual report disclosed the amorphous nature of public library
growth across the province. Although a number of larger centres (Ottawa,
Kingston, Woodstock, Belleville, Sault Ste. Marie, and Peterborough)
The Days of Advance
93
remained outside the free library ranks after two decades, there was progress
in rural areas where several small free libraries were already in existence. The
formation of more public libraries at the polls or at council sessions fortified a
community's sense of place and helped establish a local identity, vital elements
in Ontario politics.
The democratization of reading seemed assured. On a provincial scale,
there was a new foundation for cohesiveness among library workers and
trustees. In many local communities, there was a structural base on which
supporters felt comfortable furthering the interests of the movement and contributing to intellectual enlightenment and material advantage through the
municipal process. Unfortunately, the man who had epitomized the movements progressive spirit for twenty years did not live to see its full flowering.
John Hallam died in June 1900 at his downtown residence, "Linden Villa."70
He had enjoyed an exciting life, rising from an impoverished boyhood in
England to campaign for the office of mayor of Toronto. It was his last
municipal election and he failed to win. Almost two decades before his death
he had written:
Toronto being the centre or headquarters in Ontario of law,
literature, science, and art, ought, I submit, to promptly
make a movement in this matter, and set an example to the
Province by inaugurating a free library and museum scheme,
and school of design.71
In time, it was a vision come true, a testament to a "Lancashire" liberal's faith
in progress.
The Toronto example prompted other communities to follow suit. A
foundation existed. A modern, post-Victorian program of action was about to
begin: the founding of publicly funded libraries across the province. These
libraries would offer open access to circulating collections, reading rooms, and
reference service to the entire public free of charge. Consensus about library
services and management would provide a unifying bond and a springboard
for collective action. Carnegie philanthropy, better organized cooperative
efforts, an expanded range of functions, and modern methods would invigorate the movement and broaden the range of organizational tasks to be undertaken after 1900. Nonetheless, the fundamental spirit of Victorian liberal
reform and its optimistic rationale would remain the guiding light for library
development in Ontario well into the first part of the twentieth century.
Chapter 5
FROM ONE CENTURY TO
ANOTHER
T
he two decades after 1882 did not pass without improvements in
library service and organization. During this period Liberal reformers
remained receptive to change. This was especially true of George
Ross, who succeeded Adam Crooks as Minister of Education in 1883 after the
latter could no longer perform his duties due to cerebral paresis. Ross, a powerful voice in Oliver Mowat s government, continued as education minister
until he became premier in 1899. He was consultative but more inclined to
direct control. Uniformity and regulations were bywords in the department
during his tenure of office. His general view was that the institutes were to
provide libraries and, if possible, reading rooms and evening classes. At the
outset, the new minister assigned Dr. May to modify the classification scheme
inherited from William Edwards. Proofs for a new edition of the Roll and
Record Book went forward in 1884, albeit slowly.1 Coincidentally, Ross's
communication with the Association of Mechanics' Institutes was sporadic,
even though its mandate had been enlarged by Crooks to include the promotion of arts and manufactures (independently or in conjunction with local
institutes), the employment of lecturers, and the publication of works.
Ross began instituting major changes shortly after he became minister of
education. He was more vigilant about organizational details which were the
responsibility of the institute directors. He consulted with the association
about firmer regulations, his usual initial approach to an issue.2 But, apparently, he did not inform its officers about his own government's intention to
abolish the association at the next legislative session.3 When a short act was
introduced to dissolve the association in 1886 (49 Vic., c. 35), no explanation
was forthcoming during debate. Instead, Ross disclosed to the legislature that
he wanted to "put an end to the irritating uncertainty as to the amount of the
Government grant." He continued:
From One Century to Another 95
The rule was that 20 per cent, of the Government grant
might be expended in works of fiction, but the Mechanics'
Institutes, as they had a right to do, had spent on works of
fiction a much greater proportion of the amount received
from private subscriptions. It was proposed to grant to the
institutes dollar for dollar of the amount subscribed.4
Surprisingly, there was no significant opposition to the dissolution of the association.
After passage of the act, grants-in-aid were arranged on a completely different basis, the principle being that equivalent amounts were to be raised
locally to match provincial dollars. Institutes with fifty members received
$25/year; institutes with one hundred members received $50/year. In addition, institutes with libraries were eligible for $150 (the usual twenty percent
was allowed for fiction) and reading rooms could receive a maximum $50.
Evening classes could qualify for up to $100. For most institutes, the new
grants meant a cutback in relation to libraries and reading rooms, i.e., a
reduction from $300 to $200 and a decrease in provincial money for fiction.
Ross's departmental arrangements necessitated a decrease in the amount of fiction; however, the department was not opposed to novels. It believed that
with less income directors would choose fiction more wisely.
As far as the operation of libraries was concerned, the departmental office
issued specific regulations that were more comprehensive than those Crooks
had hesitated to introduce in 1882. The principal of central control feared by
Otto Klotz and others, had been delayed, not discarded, by Ross. Improved
standards for library service accompanied conditional grants. Both the reading
room and library had to be conveniently situated. The reading room was to
be properly warmed and lighted and furnished with suitable racks and paper
files; there were to be chairs for at least ten people; it was to be open at least
three hours every alternate week day; and it was to subscribe to two daily
newspapers, five weeklies, and three magazines. The library itself was to be
open at least one hour every week; its books were to be properly numbered
and in order on the shelves; and there was to be an accurate record of charges
and discharges.5 No doubt the department believed observance of superior
business practices would promote greater efficiency.
Emerging Public Library Leadership
The dissolution of the Association of Mechanics' Institutes was not mourned
in the province; even its executive did not create a fuss. At its last meeting in
September 1886 in Toronto, the Associations executive simply expressed optimism that another organization would be formed to help conduct the work of
96
The Late Victorian Transition
institutes. But its disappearance effectively removed any possibility of coordinated voluntary action and ousted from the library field William Edwards, a
man who had provided continuity for many years. Edwards deserves recognition for developing a rudimentary classification and circulation system. It
drew the attention of Melvin Dewey; it was approved by the education
department; and it was used in the late 1880s by ninety-five libraries, including the free libraries in Berlin, St. Thomas and St. Catharines.6 He had
spurred on institute libraries; he had helped manage their functions more efficiently; and he had tried to effect coordinated programs. Now he had to step
aside for the less popular Dr. May, who was known for his strong opinions
and predilection for rules.
Given that free library direction would normally emanate from Toronto
("Toronto must necessarily lead the way," G. Mercer Adam chimed),7 the new
librarian, James Bain, Jr., and John Hallam naturally assumed the mantles of
leadership. Hallam had already established important American contacts. He
wrote to the influential library publisher, Frederick Leypoldt, and convinced
him to publish a short piece about his proposal to raise money to build and
stock the proposed Toronto library. Hallam's article appeared in the
March/April 1883 issue of Library Journal* Bain began to cultivate contacts
with scholars, notably in the Canadian Institute, which appointed him secretary and treasurer. The two men, deprived of a provincial library organization,
turned their attention to American Library Association annual conventions.
These meetings were held adjacent to Ontario on two occasions in the 1880s,
at Buffalo and the Thousand Islands resort.
At Buffalo, in August 1883, Hallam and Bain attended several sessions;
they were particularly interested in library architecture and Buffalo's plans for
a separate library facility. They also lobbied successfully to host the next ALA
meeting at Toronto.9 This was no small achievement. Their success came in
the face of stiff competition from libraries in larger north-eastern and western
American cities, such as St. Louis. Hallam's formal invitation included a succinct, cheerful rationale:
The recent passage of the free library bill for the province of
Ontario has stimulated many municipalities to action, and
we have in Toronto already commenced operations. The
influence of the Association in strengthening this feeling
throughout the country would be very great, and materially
assist the cause of free libraries.10
The ALA executive was impressed by the Canadian effort and satisfied with
Toronto's proximity to the north-eastern states. It hoped that British librarians
From One Century to Another 97
would meet with the ALA in Toronto, in early September 1884, following the
scheduled convention of the British Association for the Advancement of
Science in Montreal. However, Hallam and Bain became preoccupied in their
efforts to reopen the refurbished Mechanics' Institute by March 1884 and
were unable to organize conference sessions. When no other Canadian librarians stepped forward to assist them, the ALA executive cancelled the Toronto
meeting in mid-1884 with a short announcement in Library Journal. No conference was held in 1884. Not until the Montreal conference of 1900 would
the ALA meet in Canada.
At the Thousand Islands conference in New York State, in September
1887, James Bain read a paper, "Brief Review of the Libraries of Canada," and
contributed to discussions on extension work for public libraries.
I went to the heads of various corporations, and got them to
invite their men. I had a part of the library opened and lit
up. I had men who were engaged in a special branch of manufacture come on a given evening, and had all the things
relating to that branch gathered and spread out for use. Then
I had one of their number read a paper on the subject. I
found it a very profitable method.!!
That same year Bain compiled a list of public libraries in Canada. It was
appended to Richard Bowker's The Library List, a handbook recording information on libraries of over one thousand volumes as well as the names of
librarians and officers.12 It is clear from Bains classed compilation that the
term "public library" in Ontario still included a wide variety of institutions. In
addition to the free libraries operating under the 1882 statute, he listed
Mechanics' Institutes; subscription libraries, and twenty-five libraries in colleges, historical and scientific societies, government archives, theology and law
schools, parliament, and the provincial legislature.
James Bain was well qualified to lead the Toronto free library through a
series of fundamental changes. He was a skilled bookman-librarian capable of
scholarly endeavour, administrative insight, and profitable transactions with
the publishing industry. Bain gained his position in 1884 despite stiff competition from Graeme Mercer Adam, who had produced a recent list of
books suitable for libraries, and from the publisher-writer, Charles Dent.13
He had worked for his father, a Toronto bookseller, before joining James
Campbell & Son; then he moved to England where he eventually established
a partnership in a London publishing firm. It was dissolved in 1882. Upon
his return to Toronto, he became manager of the Canadian Publishing
Company before applying for chief librarian. His selection immediately
98
The Late Victorian Transition
raised some eyebrows, but his subsequent career dispelled any lingering
doubts about his ability.
The first order of business Bain confronted was the development of adequate reference and circulating collections. To stock the new Toronto city
library, Bain and John Hallam travelled to England and the United States, a
trip reminiscent of Ryerson's expedition three decades before, in 1850-51.
They returned with more than twenty thousand volumes. Fortunately, Bain
did not become embroiled in the contentious issue of the new library building; he was free to concentrate on book selection and library organization
with the help of his assistant librarian, James Davy, who had served as the
librarian of the Mechanics' Institute for many years. The incubus of arranging
a new building had fallen on John Hallam's shoulders. In this instance, the
weight proved to be too onerous.
Hallams original plan called for an estimated allocation of $130,000 for a
building and $95,000 for books and appliances. The money would be raised
by free library debentures. The plan met with a good deal of opposition from
the Toronto council, which preferred to spend no more than $50,000. Their
alternative was contingent upon the Mechanics' Institute transferring its real
and personal property to the city for a public library, by March 1883. John
Taylor also favoured this course. Colonel James Mason, the institute president, succeeded in bringing the council's plans to fruition by the end of June
1883.^ Once the institute was transferred, the library board decided to construct an addition to the rear of the existing institute, which would be the new
stack room, and to refit the first floor. When the renovation was completed,
the Globe cast a studious eye:
The original promoters of the Free Library scheme had no
intention of utilizing this building for the new project, but
when the people assemble on Thursday next to witness the
formal opening there is every probability that they will be
both surprised and delighted to find the city in the possession of so beautiful, so extensive, and so convenient a public
institution at withal so small an outlay.15
Hallam likely considered the new addition little more than a soothing anodyne.
The converted institute building, entering its third decade, was a typical
late century closed-stack free library with a capacity for 50,000 volumes in its
bookroom (86 ft. x 52 ft.). There was scant literature on library architecture
at this time, an exception being William Archer's statement on the Irish
national library at Dublin. He stressed the creation of central reading rooms
From One Century to Another 99
surrounded by closed stacks not more than eight feet in height to maximize
book capacity and access for staff. His plan was acceptable to most librarians.16 Toronto's design followed conventional wisdom and the practical
restrictions imposed by the physical layout of the existing institute. A librarian's counter separated the collection from the large reading room (76 ft. x 53
ft.) at the front, which was subdivided by railings into reference and periodical areas for the convenience of users.17 The cost was about $12,000. The
official opening on 6 March 1884 was a gala affair that celebrated Toronto's
fiftieth anniversary; it attracted a capacity crowd eager to listen to Goldwin
Smith and William Withrow, and to tour the building in the evening while
the band of the Tenth Royal Grenadiers entertained visitors.18
Later that year, two branch libraries opened in rented facilities at St.
Andrew's market and in the newly annexed municipality of Yorkville, thereby
bringing the library into city neighbourhoods. In the next five years two more
branches came into operation: an Eastern branch and one in the Parkdale area
on Dundas Street (Illus. 15). These smaller branches helped to relieve space
problems at the main library and made circulating collections more accessible.
Bain's philosophy was to build up a central reference library and have small
branches take on the duty of circulating popular books. In an 1898 report to
the ALA, he remarked that branches were essentially "a source of recreative
reading and not of study' and, further, that forty or fifty percent of the collection should be works of fiction.19 Branches necessitated more administrative
work, but their popularity negated the extra financial outlays.
Toronto's central library and branches were a dramatic improvement in
library facilities, but Bain also worked diligently to assemble special collections. Hallam, who continued to communicate with many important library
personages until his retirement from the board in 1888, donated his personal
collection of 1,600 books and pamphlets.20 Hallam's offerings formed the
basis for TPL's future magnificent Canadiana collection.21 Bain watched assiduously for book auctions, made a few selective buying trips abroad, dealt
actively with second-hand booksellers in North America and Europe, and
always was prepared to receive donations during his tenure of office. In a surprisingly short time, by the mid-1890s, he had built a collection that many
marvelled at.22 No less vital were his mastery of government documents and
his interest in establishing federal depository arrangements. The latter was a
farsighted scheme which he later advocated at meetings of the Ontario
Library Association, and in library publications and the Canadian
Magazine.2^
Bain was less successful in having a federal duty on books for public
libraries removed, despite a special board deputation to Ottawa in 1888,2^
and in promoting a scheme for a museum, a project approved first by a special
100 The Late Victorian Transition
board committee which studied the matter at length in 1891/92. When renovations began on the upper floor of the main library, Toronto city council let
it be known that it was not enthusiastic about the idea or the cost.25 Led by
John Hallam, now more interested in the mayoralty, the council successfully
petitioned the legislature to pass amendments that would reduce the mill rate
to one-quarter for cities of one hundred thousand population and that would
require council's consent for boards to establish a museum (55 Vic., c.47).26
Bain, not one to give in easily, later published a paper on the subject, reminding librarians that they "must never forget that the museum is neither a storehouse nor a bazaar, but an additional means of extending and popularizing
knowledge."27 Under Bain's supervision, Toronto was demonstrating its free
library potential.
Other Ontario communities could only dream about the type of free
library emerging in Toronto. There were only six places — Guelph, Toronto,
Simcoe, Brantford, St. Thomas, and Berlin - with free libraries five years
after passage of the library act. The remnants of Ryerson's free library system
fell into complete neglect in the 1880s. There is little evidence that these collections survived intact after the government finally removed the one-third
incentive grant for school library purchases in 1888. There were exceptions,
of course, such as Wilmot Township, Waterloo County, where old books
from the school library were transferred to the newly formed Baden
Mechanics' Institute in 1889.28 Free library service across the province was in
a nascent state, especially in rural areas where even the institute libraries were
viewed with mistrust. One farm journal criticized George Ross in 1886 for
the shortcomings of the Mechanics' Institutes and hoped that newly formed
farmers' institutes would be of greater literary benefit to the agricultural populace.29
William Wood, a member of the legislature from the rich farming area of
Brant County, asked for a legislative report in 1888 showing the location of
mechanics' and farmers' institutes and free libraries; in addition, he requested
details of revenue related to public libraries in schools and institutes for the
five years leading up to the depository's closure. Wood, like others familiar
with the rural scene, felt that library grants to farmers' institutes would
improve service in country districts. George Ross replied that "the extension
of the system of Mechanics' Institutes was really the best way of meeting the
difficulty."30 His 1886 regulations had made it easier for the institutes to form
libraries, and a steady rise in the total legislative grant began at this time,
although the average grant for each institute was decreasing compared to the
earlier regulations (Table 7: Grants for Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 18821895). When Wood's return was tabled in the legislature, it was obvious that
his scheme could not meet rural needs. There were 41 farmers' institutes but
From One Century to Another 101
some populous counties (e.g., Bruce and Wentworth) were not represented.
The tabulations of the return showed that 143 institutes or free libraries
served 35,195 members, received $23,831 from the legislature, and raised
$88,547 from local sources. Of this total, Toronto accounted for 14,445
members, $200 from the legislature, and $43,763 from local sources.31 Free
library service worked well in Toronto, but there was still considerable effort
needed in the rest of Ontario.
It was not long before the Ambitious City, without library service since
1882, joined Toronto as a leader. The old Mechanics' Institute on James
Street was but a memory. Hamilton was faced with the daunting task of
building a collection, erecting a library, and hiring a librarian, at the beginning of 1889. One new board member, Henry B. Witton, was a devoted bibliophile and library booster. He and another trustee began searching through
catalogues to compile a list of nearly 14,000 books worth $19,000 for the
new library, which could not be augmented by any major transfers from other
collections. When they submitted their list, changes were demanded, and
Witton resigned in anger, never to serve again. His son, Henry, later resumed
the connection with Hamilton as a trustee and helped ensure that his father's
valuable collection was housed at Hamilton in 1921. Fortunately, Witton s
loss was offset by the board's selection of Richard T. Lancefield, a bookseller,
as librarian.
Richard Lancefield had worked in Hamilton as an apprentice printer and
had operated his own commercial lending library for a brief spell until it
failed around 1883. He then lived in Toronto where he was secretary of the
Canadian Copyright Association and an editor for Canadian Bookseller. He
continued these important interests while he was Hamilton's chief librarian.32
Lancefield s first task was to assist with book selection for the new library, but
more pressing was the need to prepare a printed catalogue and to classify the
circulating books which would be in demand once the building opened.
Lancefield modified the classification system sponsored by the education
department; he added book classes for young people, French and German,
and useful and fine arts; then published a book catalogue arranged alphabetically by author.33 After a short trial period, he reclassified the collection, using
the Dewey Decimal system (except fiction and juvenile books). Lancefield
commented on the "great practical utility" of the decimal system in his annual
report for 1891. It is not certain why he chose to use Melvil Dewey s classification, but Lancefield s ideas and practices were far in advance of the average
Ontario librarian.
In the same annual report Lancefield mentioned that older students, a
group not normally catered to, were beginning to use the central library regularly.
102 The Late Victorian Transition
It is a pleasure, therefore, to record the fact that no class uses
the Library in all departments - reading rooms as well as
books - more than the teachers and students of the various
schools, embracing the Collegiate Institute, the Business
Colleges and the Art School... the student has use of the dictionaries, encyclopedias and other valuable aids in preparing
essays or following up special lines of study.3^
Hamilton's age limitation for borrowing, set at fourteen years, was relaxed by
most standards and would remain in place for many years. Public libraries
were for adults; children's libraries were just beginning to become fashionable
in America and Great Britain.3^
Hamilton's building opened to much fanfare in September 1890 (Illus.
16). The architect, William Stewart, had the honour of supervising the construction of the first Ontario building exclusively designed as a free library. It
cost about $45,000 - more than twice the original estimate the Ontario
Association of Architects had criticized for being unreasonably low.3^ The
library interior was just over 5,000 square feet to serve a city of about 49,000,
and internal accommodation followed North American experience: a reference room and two reading rooms (one for ladies, one for general readers)
flanked a nine-foot corridor leading to a long counter for borrowing transactions and indicators, a catalogue area, and librarians platform. Indicators were
a British invention. They had numerous compartments where tiny cases
which recorded the call numbers for books were stored. The ends of each
insert were coloured, e.g., red (out) and blue (in), to reveal a book's status.
The public could determine the availability of a book from the front side,
while staff replaced the inserts from the rear when a book's circulation status
changed.37 Behind the counters was a 33 ft. x 58 ft. stack room, which was
closed to the public and fitted up with shelves to hold 50,000 books.
The library's exterior architecture was conventional eclectic, a mixture of
late-Victorian Romanesque style, highlighted by an impressive wheelwindow,
a feature Stewart also utilized in many churches. To complete the facility,
rooms for an Art School and the Hamilton Association occupied the upper
floor. In Ontario, at least, the combination of a museum and art school with a
library was accepted readily by planners. Ratepayers doubtless found this
union cost effective. When the Earl and Countess of Aberdeen presided at the
festive opening, the Hamilton Spectator boasted that Hamilton had the best
arranged and finest looking public library in Canada, and that the ratepayers,
who financed the project, should be proud that they, unlike Torontonians,
had not patched up an old building.38
Hamilton's gala opening was a singular event. Only a handful of small free
From One Century to Another 103
libraries existed, and many of these were housed in street-front stores like the
one in St. Thomas. Library support outside these communities was meagre.
Few organized groups actively promoted libraries. Only the National Council
of Women of Canada (NCWC), founded in 1893 by Lady Aberdeen, and a
few local Boards of Trade headed by businessmen or professionals seemed
interested in supporting the cause on a wider basis in the 1890s. The National
Council was situated in large cities, and considered temperance and correct
morals to be bellwethers for good living. Community boards of trade were
flourishing, particularly in the province's southwest; they promoted a host of
commercial and economic interests such as trade policy, tariffs, railway rates,
immigration, and labour relations.
Boards of trade also dabbled in general social welfare topics. Businessmen
realized that improved educational facilities were necessary to train the work
force for industrial occupations. At Chatham the board helped form a free
library in January 1890, following a December meeting at which its president
urged members to prepare literature and assist in canvassing wards.39 At North
Bay, in 1895, a committee of the Board of Trade organized a public library in
August with Arthur G. Browning, a solicitor and active member of the board,
as president. In the ensuing year library management convinced council to
bring the library under municipal control. Browning continued as vice-president. He later became a deputy minister in Alberta politics and typified the
progressive attitude many boards of trade fostered during this period.40
One of the multifarious interests of the National Council of Women of
Canada was the effect of questionable reading matter on the public.41 Since
libraries provided an opportunity to improve the standard of reading, there
was a peripheral attraction between library promoters and the NCWC. The
first major effort for a free library by a women's local council was a wellfinanced campaign in Ottawa that fell short of its goal. It was another melancholy lesson in civic politics. As early as March 1895, the local council had
presented a petition to aldermen to form a free library. A month later, a special Saturday issue of the Ottawa Citizen prepared by women library supporters raised $600. It was a considerable war chest. In the autumn, the women
rented an office from which to organize public meetings and circulate promotional literature. However, their campaign failed to blunt the challenge of
municipal economy raised by critics. At the municipal elections, on 6 January
1896, the library bylaw was decisively defeated by a vote of 3429 to 1968A2
Understandably, this thrashing convinced NCWC local committees to discontinue active promotion of libraries and to concentrate on the issue of pernicious literature in schools, libraries, and bookstores.
Only a few free libraries were formed between 1890 and 1895: Chatham,
Ingersoll, London, and Windsor. There was a certain satisfaction with
104 The Late Victorian Transition
Mechanics' Institutes as libraries that was unmatched outside Ontario; after
all> they had provided books for the reading public with the government's
active encouragement for more than forty years.4^ A plethora of small, oneroom institute libraries with perimeter wall shelving, a few chairs and other
bare necessities, took advantage of the departmental grants. A good example
was the institute run by James Howe at Southampton (Illus. 17). It seemed to
be a time of complacency, a time for measuring success, and not a time for
free library advocates to reflect on future possibilities or structures.
The education department under George Ross was basking in the accolades it received at the World's Columbian Exposition at Chicago in 1893,
where Dr. May again worked his magic with Ontario's exhibit.44 At this gala
exhibition, surrounded by a giant midway, electrical lights, magnificent landscaped fairgrounds, and neoclassical revival architecture, the Ontario education exhibit celebrated its accomplishments in a separate Canadian pavilion,
an indicator of growing national stature. One of the department's wall charts
detailed the progress of free libraries and institutes between 1883 and 1892:
Statistics
Libraries and institutes
Members and readers
Reading rooms
Newspapers and periodicals
Volumes
Circulation
1883
93
13,672
59
1,540
154,093
251,920
1892
233
75,425
143
8,949
468,383
1,333,304 ^
At first glance, these figures were quite respectable to fairgoers, but further
inspection would raise uncomfortable questions.
The U.S. Bureau of Education report released in the same year implied
that Canadian public libraries might benefit from some invigoration. The
report continued to identify "public library" in the traditional sense: libraries
available for public use in a variety of institutions and societies, and libraries
open to specific classes of people. However, in consideration of the growth of
free public libraries, which had larger collections, the report limited its observations to libraries of at least a 1,000 volumes. At one stroke this eliminated
about half the Mechanics' Institute libraries in Ontario. The report found 202
libraries met this requirement in Canada - 152 in Ontario. Eleven free
libraries were operating under Ontario's 1882 legislation; 108 institutes made
up the majority (only one other institute reported in Canada!); thirty-three
other public libraries also were recorded. Additional details on thirty-three
larger public libraries in Ontario (118 did not report, mostly institutes)
revealed that thirteen charged fees and twenty did not; sixteen were strictly for
From One Century to Another 105
reference; and seventeen were both circulating and reference libraries.46 These
sober figures disclosed that the public library movement had gained a
foothold in Ontario, but, as the redoubtable English library champion,
Thomas Greenwood, observed the following year, it "has not yet taken deep
root inside Canada. "47
From Free Libraries to Public Libraries
When would beneficial conditions materialize for public library progress?
Within two years, significant changes occurred. Although the education
department's reports in the first part of the 1890s indicate satisfaction with
the prevailing system and the rising level of legislative aid, firmer direction
and less government largesse were to become the order of the day. Education
had become a public enterprise, not a voluntary one, and a recession had cut
into government revenue. The effectiveness of Mechanics' Institutes was in
question: a report on technical education issued by the agriculture department
in 1893 omitted their mention altogether.48 Next year, 1894, William Wood
again challenged departmental policy by asking for another legislative return
showing the location of free libraries and Mechanics' Institutes in cities,
towns, villages, and unincorporated villages as well as the electoral districts
where farmers' institutes had not been established. But this return was not
printed for the legislature, probably because it unveiled no new information.49
Finally, in spring 1895, George Ross introduced a bill that consolidated
Mechanics' Institutes and free libraries into one act.
When Ross tabled the consolidation bill in the legislature, there was virtually no debate. Even in Ontario, the Mechanics' Institutes had become an
anachronism; their metamorphosis into public libraries was to receive swift
legislative sanction.
The change of name from Tree library' and 'Mechanics'
Institute' to 'public library' was carried, and the bill was
passed. Mr. W.B. Wood objected to the decrease in the grant
to individual Mechanics' Institutes, which, he said, would
bear hardly upon the smaller institutes. Hon. Mr. Ross replied
that the number of these institutes had so greatly increased
that a decrease of this sort was necessary, as the Government
did not care to increase the vote for this purpose. The sum, he
said, was distributed in the most equitable manner. 5°
The total grant for public libraries was struck at $46,000 by the Lieutenant
Governor. The education department issued new regulations at the close of
the financial year in May.
106
The Late Victorian Transition
The 1895 Act (58 Vic., c. 45) was subdivided into four main parts. Part I
repeated legislation for the formation of free libraries and retained the old mill
rate, despite the constant criticism of its inadequacy for smaller communities.
Part II brought the older institutes and library associations into the municipal
sphere. Local councils were empowered to create a board of management for a
public library upon receiving a petition from a majority of directors on the
old board of management requesting transfer of assets to the corporation.
These were designated public libraries (not free); they were not eligible for the
library rate but could obtain municipal contributions of varying amounts. All
libraries operating under this section were to be open to the public free of
charge; however, voluntary subscriptions were always welcome. Part III
allowed at least ten citizens to incorporate for public library purposes, to
appoint a board of management, and to receive a legislative grant. These
libraries had to sustain a membership of at least one hundred persons: fifty
over the age of twenty-one years; no member to be under twelve years old.
The Dominion Grange protested in 1896 that these criteria were too rigorous
for rural communities.51
A concluding section of the act on ways and means introduced a new dollar-for-dollar grant formula: for libraries, the government would give $200 to
cities, $150 to towns, and $100 in other cases; for reading rooms, there was a
$50 maximum; and for evening classes, the maximum continued at $100. In
the following year, the formula changed again — $200 became the maximum
for libraries based on the dollar-for-dollar principle, which now allowed local
boards to use credit vouchers when applying to Dr. May for a grant (59 Vic.,
c. 57, s. 2). Libraries that failed to open for two years were to be dissolved,
and their books, magazines, and periodicals could be seized by the department
for disposal or transfer to other libraries.
Dr. May and the department set to work to prepare some suitable guidelines and regulations. Obviously, stricter expectations were in order for
libraries. The "management and control" of public library legislation by the
Education Department was formalized in a statute (59 Vic., c. 69, s. 3).
Another innovation, a one hundred page catalogue of six thousand books,
appeared in November 1895 "for the guidance of Book Committees."
Coincidentally, booksellers were doing a thriving business with "bestsellers,"
such as George Du Maurier's Trilby, first released in 1894 to instant success,
and Anthony Hope s romantic novel The Prisoner ofZenda. In fact, the magazine, The Bookman, had introduced a bestselling list in 1895, in which fiction
usually predominated. This was always a vexatious statistic for
educationalists.52 On the thorny subject of reading standards, the departmental catalogue, which omitted both Trilby and Zenda, seemed more concerned
with fictions position on library shelves:
From One Century to Another 107
At the present time there is a great diversity in the methods
employed in our Libraries in the classification of Fiction: on
inspection it has frequently been found, that books of
Adventure, Historical Tales, Religious Literature, Moral
Tales, Essays, etc., are classified as Fiction. In our classification we enter Novels only as fiction. Books of Adventure are
classified with Voyages and Travels. Historical Tales with
History, etc. 53
Dr. May's recipe for fiction classification was bound to attract criticism as
readers became more selective.
New and more stringent regulations appeared at the beginning of the
financial year in May. Library buildings and reading rooms were to be situated
in places convenient to the public. The exterior sign "Public Library' was to
be in letters at least four inches long and three inches wide. Rooms were to be
properly warmed and lighted. Reading rooms required racks and files for
papers, five weeklies, two dailies, and three standard monthly magazines.
Seating accommodation for no fewer than ten people was necessary. All
libraries and reading rooms were to be open at least three days every week for
issuing and exchanging books. Only twenty percent of the government grant
for books was allowed for fiction. Books needed to be properly stamped,
labelled, shelved, and kept in good order. Librarians were required to keep a
stock catalogue showing titles and prices paid for books, to retain a borrowers'
register, and to hold a record book detailing charges and discharges. An annual report had to be transmitted to the department.54
From George Ross's practical perspective, there were two suitable locales
for public library service: cities and larger towns which could support free
public libraries by means of debentures which could be used to construct and
furnish suitable buildings; and smaller municipalities which were unwilling or
unable to finance a building but could afford moderate operating sums for
public libraries (not free).55 The small libraries needed greater direction and
commensurately more government money and encouragement if they were to
promote free public library bylaws. The consolidated legislation, regulations,
and other aids were beneficial public policy changes that exhibited general
agreement on the broader, more relevant community appeal of public library
service. Compared to the individualism associated with Mechanics' Institutes,
the concept of free libraries was more broadly based. Ross himself emphasized
the community aspect at London:
This library is a post-graduate university, at which the citizens of London who have left public and high schools may
108
The Late Victorian Transition
take a post-graduate course, which Shakespeare or none of
the great writers of the Elizabethan age, or of the early
Georges, could avail themselves of. All honor to the municipality for donating the money; all honor to the board for
doing their work so well, and to the architect who garnished
the building with lines of beauty.56
The city's new library building, opened in November 1895, was viewed as a
source of community pride, a symbol of progress in late Victorian Canada.
London's red-brick library was designed by Herbert Matthews, a London
native who had worked briefly in a New York architectural firm. The
Romanesque style and interior design of the two-storey London library represented conventional civic architectural thinking. Its conical towers, rounded
arches, and smooth-faced red-brick cladding were fashionable and appealing
in the mid-1890s (Illus. 18). Hamilton's library had utilized the same revival
style, one which imparted a sense of permanence and strength. Inside, to the
left of the entrance, were large reading and reference rooms. The closed stack
bookroom was to the right side of the entrance. In the centre were magazines,
the circulating desk, and public indicator. The London Historical Society's
Museum occupied the second floor. The building with furnishings cost
approximately $16,000.57
The new librarian, Robert). Blackwell, formerly a bookseller, commenced
his duties in April 1895 (Illus. 19). Blackwell was part traditionalist (the period of the bookman-librarian was still in vogue across Ontario) and part innovator. At this time, the concept of library economy — the administration and
management of libraries according to accepted standards and regulations —
was pervasive in library organization and activities. It was reinforced by an
ALA 1896 publication on good library practices.58 Blackwell, however, was
willing to experiment with new ideas. When the ALA presented the results of
a survey of libraries which had children's reading-rooms, at Chautauqua in
1898, Blackwell reported that a juvenile room was "hoped for" in London.59
He was one of the few chief librarians in Canada, other than James Bain, to
frequent annual ALA conventions when they were held within a reasonable
distance from Ontario. He also played a supportive part in the formation of
the Ontario Library Association in 1900/01 and served on its executive until
cancer began to dissipate his strength. He died, still in office, in March
1906.60
Blackwell introduced London to free access to all books except novels.
Fiction readers continued to rely on the British indicator system for circulation status. Some American and British managers considered indicators obsolete and time-consuming because new cataloguing, classification, and charg-
From One Century to Another 109
ing improvements eliminated the need for them in an open access collection.
Blackwell came to adopt this view. He issued a classed book catalogue in
1897, using the decimal system and a thorough subject index; its appearance,
along with a comparable catalogue completed at Hamilton by Richard
Lancefield in the same year, showed the advantages of the new decimal classification system for finding subjects.61 When renovations took place in 1902,
Blackwell and the board insisted on a separate ladies reading room to improve
decorum. These rooms were popular until the first decade of the twentieth
century.62
The merging of the two streams of thought on library service - rate-supported free libraries and traditional subscription libraries — immediately made
the formation of public library boards easier. After the first year of the new
act's operation, 1895/96, there were 54 free public libraries. By the end of
1901, there were 132 free public library boards scattered across the province,
serving nearly a quarter of the total population (Map 1: Free Libraries by
County or Census District in 1901). Although growth in the number of
libraries between 1895 and 1901 was impressive, many recently established
free libraries were dangerously dependent on the bounty and goodwill of
municipal councils. The legal public library rate was a maximum figure; the
actual rate could be reduced by council. Public libraries were popular because
it was relatively easy to procure legislative grants and keep local tax levies at a
minimum!
There were different opinions about the appropriateness of the half-mill
library rate. Some felt that it was too low. Dr. May noted in his 1889 report
that the British rate, a penny on the pound, was the equivalent of four mills
on the dollar in Canada.63 However, exact comparisons with conditions in
Britain were misleading because the Ontario mill rate followed American
practice. Whereas in Britain the library rate was levied on the annual rateable
value of a town, essentially its rental value, in Ontario the rate was set on the
actual assessed value of real estate and personal property. British municipalities
normally operated on lower total assessments. When British and Ontario
municipalities of similar size were compared to each other, the Ontario mill
rate usually yielded more money for libraries.64 Perhaps for this reason,
Ontario's library directors faced a daunting task when they tried to achieve the
maximum mill rate.
In Toronto, where the special rate had been reduced to one-quarter mill,
the council usually cut back on the estimates the board requested. This practice became a point of contention in the late 1890s. The board became convinced that the erosion of its power had proceeded too far following the 1892
amendment. Its annual reports often included a threat to resist this routine
encroachment. Finally, the board, which had the benefit of counsel from
110 The Late Victorian Transition
lawyer-trustees such as Hugh T. Kelly, sought redress by seeking a court ruling
on the matter in 1900. The judgement handed down was in the board's
favour: it was within its rights under the law to demand the full mill rate.6^
The directors at least had the satisfaction of budgeting the full amount in
their estimates. However, most library budgets were small in relation to other
municipal operations and did not grow appreciably in the period 1895-1902
(Table 8: Comparative Statistics of Ontario Cities, 1901). In most cities the
total mill rate was barely more than twenty mills. An increase to the public
library rate by legislative amendment was not considered to be a realistic possibility. In a few cities - Ottawa, Kingston, Belleville, Woodstock - attaining
free status remained the primary goal for library advocates.
Modern Methods
As the nineteenth century drew to a close, new technological, managerial, and
organizational changes were transforming the face of institutions across North
America. The recognizable Victorian synthesis of ideas and cultural framework was giving way to "radical" modernist thought and the mechanization of
technology. Names familiar during the early days of Ontario's free libraries John Hallam, John Taylor, William Edwards, Emmanuel Essery, William
Cochrane - were no longer part of the movement. New leaders, such as
Edwin Hardy, were coming to the fore. They were anxious to elevate the
debate about library services, popular book collections, and internal organization. They also were interested in new library services and techniques pioneered in the United States. The modern age was touted as an age of betterment; it was an appeal few librarians or trustees could resist.
Some bookmen, such as the author George lies, magnified the potential
that libraries possessed to edify large numbers of people. lies, originally from
Gibraltar, had lived in Montreal before he moved permanently to New York
in 1887. For many years, he promoted the idea of literature appraisals by
trustworthy authorities. They would choose the best books and justify their
preferences to readers by means of annotations. lies s scheme became better
known in Canada after The Week published a speech he made at the 1896
ALA conference in Cleveland.66 He was motivated in part by Goldwin Smith
and others who felt libraries should emphasize collections of important literature, lies followed with another paper on the evaluation of literature at the
second International Library Conference held in London in 1897, as part of
Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee celebration. He was a member of a large
foreign contingent that included Hugh Langton from University of Toronto
and Charles Gould from McGill University.67 Subsequently, lies published an
article in Library Journal advocating the creation of a central bureau to assess
literature. Its accessions would record remarks on catalogue cards as an aid to
From One Century to Another 111
the general reading public.68 In 1902, lies gave the American Library
Association $10,000 to support publication of The Literature of American
History to which James Bain contributed Canadian history reviews. This work
became a standard bibliographic guide.
American library practices and ideas were exerting a strong influence by
the mid-1890s, despite the feeling in nationalist and imperialist quarters that
the brash republican neighbour could learn much from Canada, the elder
daughter of the empire, and from Albion, its wise parent. William I. Fletcher,
ALA president in 1891/92, commented on Canadian libraries:
In the Toronto library a librarian from the States would feel
quite at home, the arrangement of the library in its different
departments and the methods of administration being such
as are most approved among us. One exception is to be
noted, namely, the use of the 'indicator,' an apparatus quite
common in the larger libraries of Great Britain but never a
permanent accessory in the United States.69
Although Canadian political loyalties remained within the imperial orbit,
geography determined that ties with American libraries in northeastern states
were easier to maintain than transatlantic bonds.70
Despite anti-American sentiment fuelled by strong Canadian nationalism,
the imperial tie and British library practices were beginning to wane in
Ontario. The Toronto Globes front page might salute Canadian libraries and
trumpet national sovereignty with reference to Rudyard Kipling's poem, "Our
Lady of the Snows," which dramatized Canada's 1897 decision to declare a
preferential tariff for the Mother Country (Illus. 20); Empire Day might be a
special school festival inaugurated in 1898 to reinforce the imperial connection; and Richard Lancefield might publish his laudatory biography, Victoria
Sixty Years a Queen, to commemorate her jubilee year; but in the library world
even British librarians were debating the merits of experimental American
ideas such as unrestricted open access and very low age limits for all children.71 Even the terminology "public library" was now preferred in Britain,
the term "free library" having acquired such a stigma associated with poor
people that Thomas Greenwood was eager to jettison it completely.72
By the 1890s, American librarians were serving younger children (both
girls and boys), providing innovative legislation for rural areas, and attracting
more middle-class patrons in large cities. Improved conditions in library service were quite evident in urban centres where municipal government was
expanding rapidly.73 Business office techniques, supplies, and equipment also
were finding a congenial place in libraries: filing systems, catalogue cards, and
112 The Late Victorian Transition
typewriters were modernizing management theory and clerical systems.
Canadian libraries were beginning to take note and experiment accordingly.
Support for certain British conventions - indicators, reading rooms for boys,
separate newspaper rooms, and limited open access in circulating libraries was eroding.
Dr. May, a traditional Victorian who favoured orthodoxy and possessed a
healthy skepticism about untested ideas, was dispatched by the education
department in 1901 to tour library systems in New York, Philadelphia, and
Buffalo. Dr. May was past his seventieth year; this trip would be his last major
library investigation. Portions of his sober report disclosed that many Ontario
libraries were not keeping abreast with American advances in circulation, public access, children's services, and other methods that were modernizing internal operations.
It is gratifying to state that the Public Libraries in Ontario
are conducted at much less cost than the Libraries in the
United States. For example, on the 1st January, 1900: [specific accounts for central libraries and branches in New York,
Philadelphia, and Buffalo followed at this point] ...
This shows that 280 Libraries, viz, 21 Libraries, 30 School
Libraries and 229 Travelling Libraries issued 3,479,975
books. Total expenditure, $321,127.31.
Ontario. - 371 libraries loaned 2,043,904 volumes.
Open Shelf System. This would not be successful in Ontario;
it would require too many assistants, and I am pleased to say
that in nearly all our libraries the public are not allowed
access to the shelves. It will be noticed that in Buffalo they
have 81 employees, salaries $42,092.29.
Fiction. The proportion of fiction issued in the United
States is much higher than in Ontario.
Children's libraries in free libraries, and school libraries,
cannot be too much commended; when inspecting libraries I
always try to impress upon the officials the necessity of
encouraging the young to read books that will give them
information which will be useful to them ...
Fines. the libraries in the United States are stringent in
their rules for return of books, and derive quite a revenue
from fines. In Ontario this rule could be enforced in free
libraries, but in libraries subscribed for by member it is
impracticable, ...
Missing Books. The rule in the United States free
From One Century to Another 113
libraries is for the loser to pay the price of the missing books.
In some of our free libraries, in addition of the cost of replacing books, the authorities demand the amount forfeited for
fines;... I do not think that this could be legally enforced,
and have advised boards where the matter has been discussed
to charge for the missing book only.74
The status quo was still acceptable to Dr. May.
If Dr. May was not ready for the quickened pace of change, there were
others in the education department who were. Richard Harcourt, a former
school inspector, assumed the ministerial duties at the end of 1899 when
George Ross became Premier. Harcourt was reputed to be more progressive,
to be attuned to the child-centred ideas of the New Education Movement,
although he thoroughly approved of the traditional moral strand in
education.75 The findesiecle mood, together with the death of Victoria in
January 1901, perhaps furthered his desire to give more prominence to the
cause of education in the province. He wrote in the department's annual
report for 1900:
Canada may well take a hopeful view of the future if a genuine love of religion and truth permeates the training given
to the rising generation. With such a spirit may the reign of
the new King be entered upon by all the pupils of our
schools. In this way the highest patriotism may be manifested, and that person may be regarded as the best patriot who
seeks to aid in all movements that look to the instruction, the
elevation and the permanent betterment of all our citizens.76
Could library service be refashioned in this manner?
A rising power destined to administer policy in the education department
between 1906 and 1919, John Seath, saw a definite need for some improvement in libraries, particularly those in rural areas. Seath discovered that few
library boards exercised their authority to organize evening classes and operate
technical schools. He recognized that evening classes in libraries might prove
popular among school leavers, and he suggested that about $10,000 per
annum be diverted from the grant to Mechanics' Institutes (he was still using
the old name as late as 1900) in order to finance central libraries under the
control of county inspectors. These libraries would use the money to purchase
books on manual training.77 Seath continued to use the term public libraries
for libraries in schools, and he obviously was wedded to the older terminology
and concepts of public library service harking back to the Ryerson era.
114 The Late Victorian Transition
Harcourt himself was anxious to energize school library work and was unimpressed with the tardy progress of small public libraries in rural areas,
although he was satisfied libraries were working well In larger urban communities.
Harcourt's and Seath's concerns about rural libraries were shared by others. The involvement of farmers' institutes with libraries remained a lively
issue. In 1897, the Prince Edward Farmers' Institute protested the "serious
lack of agricultural literature in the Public Libraries in towns and villages." It
suggested that five percent of the government grant (ten dollars) be designated
for agricultural subjects.78 An order-in-council was drafted in 1899 using this
formula for library books on agriculture, forestry, horticulture, road improvement, and kindred subjects, but it was never signed into law.79 The Education
Department did ease its regulations somewhat by allowing those rural boards
which were unable to be open three times a week to open once or twice, but it
also decreased the grant in these cases.80
James Bain addressed the problem of rural library service at the Canadian
Institute in December 1897. His solution was travelling libraries working in
conjunction with public schools. These libraries were working successfully in
New York and Wisconsin.
Our school system, by providing school sections of moderate
area, each with its school-house and teacher, seems to have
placed the machinery ready to hand. In Wisconsin about
one-third of the libraries are kept in the postoffice, one-half
in farm houses and the remainder in small stores. But with
the school master as librarian and the school-house as the
distributing post, the most widely-scattered farm population
could be easily reached, while the results of the daily tasks
would be more satisfactory. By supplying also in this way the
smaller existing Public Libraries, which are barely able to add
to their collections, boxes of 100 new books every six
months, fresh life would be thrown into them and their readers brought into contact with the literature of the day.81
Bain advised that some money from the legislative grant be shifted over to
travelling libraries. Travelling library service and rural school libraries, a
neglected topic after Ryerson's retirement in 1876, were about to emerge as
important issues.
There was good reason for Harcourt to be satisfied with the progress of
libraries in cities and larger towns. Bain noted that the per capita percentage
of books was not unworthy of a province recently "redeemed from the wilder-
From One Century to Another 115
ness." However, there remained ample room for improvement. He knew that
scholarship required larger collections, better facilities, more qualified staff.
The Toronto Public Library, which was housed in the old Mechanics'
Institute building on Church street, with its elegant and massive newspaper
reading room (Illus. 22), was no longer suitable for special collections and
expanded, modernized reference services. With this in mind, Bain advocated a
Toronto based provincial reference library at the service of the entire province.
He recommended:
1. The Province and Toronto jointly maintain a Provincial
Reference Library, free to every Ontarian;
2. The Province erect suitable buildings in a suitable locality for the joint reference library;
3o The Legislative Library transfer its general books to the
joint reference library and concentrate on legislative services;
4. The Canadian Institute transfer its books to the joint reference library in return for a suitable meeting room;
5. Regulations be drafted for students in Ontario to share
the use of the books.82
Bain's ideas were publicized widely in the Christmas day 1897 issue of the
Toronto Globe.
A number of prominent people in the Canadian Institute formed a provisional committee in December 1898 to promote a provincial reference library
and the deployment of travelling libraries. They published a circular in
January 1899 to convince the Ontario government of the need for better
coordination of library resources. Their efforts, however, were not rewarded.
Even though there was no other "English-speaking people as numerous as that
of this Province which does not possess a Reference Library,"83 the education
department was not receptive to bearing the costs for any centralized system.
Toronto, Hamilton, and London were the only places ready for the type of
service anticipated by James Bain. But travelling libraries were another matter.
They captured the department's attention because they were successful in
American states, notably neighbouring New York. Within a few years, the
department would begin its own economical travelling library service for
northern regions in "New Ontario."
The state of Canadian libraries and status of Canadian librarians were
reviewed in 1902 by Lawrence Burpee (Illus. 21), a civil servant in the Laurier
administration. He outlined progress in cataloguing, classification, circulation
systems, and the role of the librarian, in a paper to the Royal Society of
116
The Late Victorian Transition
Canada entitled "Modern Public Libraries and their Methods." Burpee surveyed twenty-four of the more important libraries in the country. Seventeen
of this number were located in Ontario.84 Almost all of these were free
libraries (Dundas and Niagara were public but not free). Burpee found that
most libraries were moderate in size. A majority of them operated with one or
two staff members. The exceptions were Toronto (16), Hamilton (7), London
and Brantford (4), and Brockville (3). Collections ranged from 111,725 books
in Toronto to 3,366 in Lindsay. St. Thomas reported the median: 7,293.
Dundas had the lowest circulation figures (5,941); St. Thomas the median
(21,511); and Toronto naturally was the highest (539,226). Fiction remained
a staple in home borrowing. Only four libraries reported that fiction accounted for under fifty per cent of the total number of circulating books.
Technological improvements in the delivery of service were beginning to
catch hold in urban libraries. The older printed catalogue, supplemented at
intervals, remained the standard device for identifying books, although Paris
continued to rely on the outdated manuscript catalogue. Only London, St.
Thomas, and Brockville used card catalogues adapted from business enterprises. Libraries were experimenting with "guarded" open access to shelves. Berlin,
Elora, Dundas, Hamilton, Niagara, Paris, and Stratford were among the pioneers to implement careful supervision and controlled admittance to certain
areas. Since open access allowed people to move more freely among books and
periodicals, an easily understandable classification system and systematic
shelving arrangements became crucial. If the public were to locate and retrieve
their own books, a simple but expensive innovation such as a reduction in the
height of shelving units would be necessary. Ladders were no longer practical.
Opposition to open access often centred on the costs involved in the transformation.
The education department's classification system was a modification of
William Edward's scheme. Over the years it had retained its popularity, but
Burpee questioned whether it might be "dignified with the name of a system."
Hamilton and London had already adopted the Dewey Decimal Classification
with enthusiasm; Toronto's reference department was using modified Dewey.
In fact, the department's system had been criticized previously in the legislature by a Conservative member, Arthur Matheson, for failing to reflect accurately the circulation of fiction.85 Dr. May, however, had continued to issue
circulars on "uniform classification" that simply expanded Edwards' scheme.
By 1900 the department's entire classification had become a muddled combination of subject matter, printed format, and readers' ages or preferences:
From One Century to Another 117
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V
VI.
VII.
VIII.
IX.
X.
History: 1) Ancient, 2) Mediaeval, 3) Modern, 4)
Miscellaneous.
Biography: 1) Individual, 2) Collective.
Voyages, Adventure and Travel: 1) World, 2) Europe,
3) Asia, 4) Africa, 5) America, 6) Arctic Region, 7)
Australia, New Zealand, Pacific Ocean, 8) The Ocean,
Sea and Sailors, 9) Miscellaneous.
Science and Art: 1) Natural Science (e.g., Zoology,
Botany, Astronomy, Physics, Chemistry), 2) Useful
Arts (e.g., Agriculture, Electric Arts, Microscope,
Architecture and Engineering, Carpentry, General
Science), 3) Fine Arts, 4) Domestic Arts, 5) English
Language and Art of Teaching.
General Literature (e.g., Law and Constitutional
History, Moral Tales).
Poetry and Drama.
Religious Literature (mostly Christian).
Fiction.
Miscellaneous Books: 1) Anecdotes and Short Stories,
2) Detective Stories, 3) Fairy Tales, Fables, etc.
Reference Books: 1) Dictionaries and Encyclopedias,
2) Science and Art, Manufactures, etc.86
Indicators remained in vogue in Toronto, Hamilton, London, Berlin,
Brockville and Collingwood. Loan procedures and records continued to be
entered into the ledger book system, the roll and record books William
Edwards had promoted for decades until shortly before his death in 1904.87
Children's departments were virtually nonexistent, but Stratford and Berlin
reported space would be available in their new Carnegie libraries. Burpee did
not discuss the trend toward functional architecture and more integrated
internal arrangements, but this modernist thinking was beginning to displace
the Victorian preoccupation with picturesque styles and separate rooms. To
Burpee, modern library methods coupled with able direction from educated,
well-trained librarians offered almost limitless opportunities for service. He
was enthusiastic about the potential of the public library:
We are merely upon the threshold of a new era in the history
of public libraries. What the present century may see, in the
direction of increasing and broadening their mission as factors in the educational life of the community, it would be
118 The Late Victorian Transition
difficult to foretell, but that influence will be deep and lasting, everyone who has studied the recent development of
public libraries, especially in the United States and England,
must feel heartily assured.88
He foresaw the promise of an enlarged library mission in the service of all the
people.
Perhaps the most important contemporary development, one that Burpee
completely ignored, appeared in his own tabulations where the names of
librarians or secretaries were recorded. Several women had risen to the post of
chief librarian in small cities and large towns: Effie A. Schmidt in Berlin,
Carrie R. Rowe in Brockville, Margaret Graham in Guelph, Janet Carnochan
in Niagara, and Eliza Morgan in St. Thomas. This was not an entirely new
trend, but an important extension of the women's sphere of work.89 By the
mid-1890s, they occupied most positions in urban libraries. For example,
women held all the reference positions in the Toronto library (Illus. 24). A
report on working conditions and wages in 1892 found that the Toronto free
library paid women $300 for their first year and $400 for their second; a head
assistant could make $450 a year. These were relatively low wages, but, there
being no training schools for library workers, the pay compared favourably
with the average annual salary of $296 teachers were making.90 As a rule, men
continued to hold the key positions in larger cities; only a few women, such as
Frances Staton in Toronto, rose to senior management positions early in the
new century.91
Women were beginning to enter the Ontario public library field and
attain a predominance they already enjoyed in primary teaching, nursing, and
similar low-paying positions that required eager, educated recruits: they were
"tender technicians."92 The library's service mission in society - to educate,
uplift, and improve citizens - was an attractive one reckoned suitable for feminine talents. Burpee briefly hinted at the feminine contribution to the new
librarianship by borrowing a phrase from Minerva A. Sanders, chief librarian
at Pawtucket, Rhode Island: "the librarian should meet the reader in the position of a host or hostess welcoming a guest."93 Since males encouraged this
outlook, the library was ready to assume a different atmosphere, one more
akin to the warmth of a home. The tendency towards staffing libraries with
well-educated, unmarried women was to continue in conjunction with the
modern office revolution that required women clerks, typists, stenographers,
and secretaries.94 These trends would feminize most libraries and thrust gender to the forefront in a relatively young profession. From now on, as libraries
increased their service functions, librarians would play a more cordial, inter-
From One Century to Another 119
mediary role in the provision of information to patrons. The austere custodial
image of libraries, which had prevailed until 1900, was destined to soften.
For the most part, however, neither the appeal of innovative techniques
nor the impact of gender constituted a serious challenge to the library status
quo. General progress continued to depend on the creation of free library
boards, a process that broadened and strengthened the public library movement by adding more communities. A new generation of leaders would
emerge and join Edwin Hardy and Lawrence Burpee. A sign of the times was
the passage of the Sarnia free library bylaw at the end of November 1899. A
small delegation, including a young lawyer, Norman Gurd, and a newspaper
publisher, Robert McAdams, presented Sarnia aldermen with a petition for a
free library signed by 180 ratepayers. The two men estimated that this service
would cost $1000 a year, a small outlay. No determined public opposition
surfaced at council or ward meetings in December; the main fear was rejection at the polls because four other money bylaws (water works, drains, sewers, and town hall) would also be on the same ballot. When votes were tallied
in January 1900, the library bylaw passed by a vote of 733 to 217 - a majority
of 516 - the largest margin for any money bylaw. Meanwhile, the town hall
bylaw failed.95 It was an auspicious beginning for a new public library, which
began its existence in the first month of the first year of a new century.
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PART THREE
The Modern Public
Library Emerges
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Chapter 6
THE ONTARIO LIBRARY
ASSOCIATION
I
t was Easter Monday, 8 April 1901, two o'clock in the afternoon, the
Examiners' Room of the Normal School, St. James Square, Toronto. A
small group of about thirty men and women gathered to hear James Bain
explain the steps taken the year before at the American Library Association
conference in Montreal to form a national (later provincial) library association. Edwin Hardy (Illus. 23), who along with Bain and Hugh Langton had
worked tirelessly to arrange the first annual meeting, read the prepared draft
constitution for the Ontario Library Association.1 The delegates - including
the provisional officers who had encouraged the OLA's formation, William
Tytler, Richard Lancefield, William J. Robertson, and Robert Blackwell signed a register, approved the draft with minor changes, then listened to two
papers: "Modern Library Methods and Appliances for a Small Library" by
Lancefield and "The Character of Books for a Small Library" read by M.L.
Nutting for the Uxbridge publisher, William H. Keller.2 The first session
adjourned at five o'clock; it reconvened in the Department's theatre later the
same evening. James Bain opened by reading his paper, "The Library
Movement in Ontario." The deputy minister of education, John Millar,
offered a warm welcome and encouragement to the delegates, who listened to
three more papers before retiring for the night. It was a successful beginning.
The second day commenced with the formal election of the provisional
officers: James Bain president, Hugh Langton first vice-president, Archibald
Macallum treasurer, and Edwin Hardy secretary. The conference highlight followed. Edwin Hardy's paper, "The Outline Program of the Work of the
Ontario Library Association," stressed four endeavours vital to the work of the
OLA: assistance to libraries, the public, schools, and Sunday schools. Hardy
suggested that a regular book selection guide would benefit all libraries and
that bulletins and pamphlets on modern methods — loan charging systems,
classification, and cataloguing - would increase a library's utility. Concerning
the qualifications of librarians, Hardy proposed summer courses at London,
124
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Hamilton, Toronto, and Ottawa; short training sessions in city libraries; and
certification by the Education Department. He also mentioned joint projects
which the OLA might sponsor: cooperative efforts in book loaning, prevention of duplication in collections, the retention of periodicals, classification of
government publications, and affiliation of special libraries.
When it came to the reading public, the school system and Sunday
schools, the OLA could work with citizens, teachers, and various denominations to encourage their patronage of free libraries. The association could stimulate public interest in library formation, help convert subscription libraries to
free libraries, and encourage donations. Local history collections, a Canadian
bibliography and other bibliographic pamphlets also could attract interested
community groups. For Sunday schools and school libraries, the OLA could
prepare lists of books suitable to their respective clientele and clarify the relationship between their libraries and free libraries. To initiate these projects,
Hardy made three suggestions: all OLA publications should be issued as free
government documents to public libraries; voluntary membership fees and a
provincial grant should finance the OLA; and the association should encourage
the formation of a library commission in Ontario similar to the one in
Wisconsin. He concluded on a hopeful note: "that the library movement in
Ontario is now entering upon a period of progress, scientifically directed, that
will, in connection with her school system, place Ontario among the most
highly cultured and genuinely prosperous portion of the world."3
By any measure, the OLA had embarked upon an ambitious program. It
could count on hard-working delegates like Henry Robertson from
Collingwood to advance the associations goals as set out by Hardy at the first
meeting. He had been a reliable steward in the Mechanics' Institute for almost
a half-century and was now a spokesman for a Carnegie library.4 Robertson,
and many others, would determine the success of activities as set out in the
OLA's constitution.
Its object shall be to promote the welfare of Libraries, by
stimulating public interests in founding and improving
them, by securing any need of legislation, by furthering such
co-operative work as shall improve results or reduce expenses,
by exchanging views and making recommendations in convention or otherwise, and by advancing the common interests of Librarians, Trustees and Directors and others engaged
in library and allied in education work.5
It would be essential to attract more members in order to promote new library
methods and services and to end the isolation that had inhibited public library
The Ontario Library Association 125
development in Ontario. Dr. May's small branch in the Education
Department clearly had not kept abreast with change. The OLA hoped that
its missionary ideals would succeed where the government's passive strategy
had failed.
The three principals who gave the OLA its initial impetus believed that
they had concrete proposals on which to build better libraries. Bain wanted to
promote a travelling library system as part of his dream for a provincial reference library; Hardy was totally dissatisfied with library classification ("a scandal"); and Langton was interested in the library commission form of governance that was gaining popularity in the United States. The three men agreed
that stronger direction, planning, leadership, and encouragement of betterfunded library boards were essential. The government and the legislative
opposition fought over these issues until 1909, the year the old 1895 library
act was revised completely. Far from being what the Library Journal editorialized as a "new auxiliary of the American Library Association," the OLA was to
be an regional association in its own right, working for government reform in
libraries.6
The new minister of education, Richard Harcourt; his deputy minister,
John Millar; and Dr. May were ready to accommodate reforms, but they were
reluctant to accept the entire agenda put forward by the OLA. In any event,
Dr. Mays tenure as superintendent was coming to a close; he was a septuagenarian. A Victorian with eclectic tastes, he had divided his time between free
libraries, Mechanics' Institutes, art schools, museums, and exhibitions; he had
never specialized in library work except at the despised depository; he had
never expanded his duties as inspector; and he had never accepted wholeheartedly the new trends taking place in technical education. A transition was
underway; it was time to reassess the structure and function of library service
in Ontario. While Dr. May's superintendency was reduced in stages, the OLA
struggled to attain primacy for its ideas.
A "Proper Footing"
Ontario libraries had need of new ideas and vigorous leadership. The
Canadian Magazine for one was not impressed with its public libraries: "Our
public libraries have never been recognized as part of our educational system;
they have been regarded as simply luxuries for those who wished to use them.
Who will lead in a movement to place libraries on their proper footing?"7 Nor
were some librarians or trustees satisfied. In response to Lawrence Burpee's
panegyric on modern methods, one reviewer wrote in dismay, "I realized that
the true library spirit is yet in its infancy in Ontario."8 Edwin Hardy reported
that only twenty-five places could afford to pay the basic $300 salary per
annum for a librarian's service.9
126 The Modem Public Library Emerges
At this juncture, the OLA was still too young, too diminutive to exert
much influence. It needed a firm organizational base; it lacked the mechanics
of preparing programs for regular conventions, corresponding with executive
members, making travel arrangements, and balancing a small budget. Bain's
tenure as president, however, was not uneventful. The OLA's executive
received a setback in February 1902 when Richard Lancefield, a member of
the founding committee and an OLA councillor, fled Hamilton after defrauding the library of thousands of dollars.10 No charges were ever laid, but his
disappearance became a cause celebre in the local newspapers, Lancefield
moved to Toronto, and an awkward silence enveloped his past career. This
embarrassing episode coincided with Bains failure to arouse much enthusiasm
for a central reference library and with a revival of the debate over a mandatory library rate. In the wake of Lancefield s dishonor, Henry Carscallen, the
Conservative member from Hamilton East, introduced a bill that proposed to
allow councils to revise board estimates and limit the rate to a one-quarter
mill on the dollar for cities with fewer than 100,000 inhabitants, i.e., all cities
except Toronto, which already operated under this condition. Fortunately for
Bain and the OLA, the government blocked Carscallen's private bill.1 *
On the positive side, forces outside the OLA were working hard on Bains
suggestion concerning travelling libraries. Reverend Alfred Fitzpatrick, a
Presbyterian minister, and Walter Brown, who had recently returned to
Canada after working for the YMCA in Chicago and St. Louis, were lobbying
the government to establish this service.12 Fitzpatrick's main interest lay in the
lumbering camps of northern Ontario where reading matter was meager at
best. This type of work suited his missionary temperament and led ultimately
to the formation of Frontier College. Walter Brown was more concerned to
erect libraries in rural agricultural districts and to develop popular education
in voluntary associations, such as farmers' institutes. The department of agriculture also had contacted Richard Harcourt about the role of farmers' institutes.13 Brown was embarking upon a career in the field of adult education
that would eventually take him to the University of Western Ontario.
Walter Brown wrote Richard Harcourt at the outset of 1900, outlining his
ambitious plan, which was based on his experiences in Chicago and St. Louis.
In Browns words, the department should establish
a travelling Library Bureau', which would undertake to
select the most popular and most helpful books on a wide
range of subjects, and place them in cases (100 in each case),
and so distribute them that every school section and neighborhood in Ontario might have the use of an up-to-date
library. The Bureau should encourage, by adequate supervi-
The Ontario Library Association 127
sion, the formation of literary societies, debating clubs, and
magazine reading circles; conduct essay competitions, oratorical contests, and debates, by counties, districts and for the
Province. Subjects might be assigned, and awards made in
the form of medals, college and university scholarships, etc.
The Bureau might also co-operate with existing institutions
and movements that the people may have advantage of the
largest number of lectures and talks possible.14
Brown suggested dividing Ontario into sixty districts and starting fifty
libraries in each district - three thousand libraries in total! Rural postmasters
could serve as librarians and guardians of the book cases. Families and individuals could purchase cards to charge out books. Brown estimated that $25 for
each neighbourhood would produce an annual revenue of $75,000 towards
the cost of his scheme.
The enthusiastic correspondent continued to write the department about
his plans. During the spring he sent Harcourt information on American state
laws and agencies. Brown discussed his ideas with James Bain, who felt it was
overly ambitious to encourage societies, contests, and other activities.15 Brown
even offered his services as manager of the program. But, by mid-summer, the
deputy minister replied that the department could not arrange anything in
the near future and that Brown was "at liberty to undertake any private enterprise in connection with the project."16 Perhaps the magnitude of the scheme
dissuaded the department from adopting his proposals. When the department
finally commenced its operations later in 1901, only $1,200 was spent to ship
boxes of fifty books per box to lumber camps in the first year. The amount
increased to $2,000 in the second year. Browns experience with the department was not a happy one, and he later complained that he should have
approached the agriculture department first.17
By August 1900, Alfred Fitzpatrick was writing to Dr. May about travelling libraries. He had "come to the conclusion that small libraries may be put
into lumber and mining camps, and that a series of lectures and sermons may
with success be arranged for."18 Unlike Bain or Brown, however, Fitzpatrick
was able to use his contacts in the new north - at Little Current, Nairn
Centre, and Algoma - to pressure the department into activity. In September,
Fitzpatrick sent a circular to lumber firms seeking support for three recommendations: the appointment of a travelling library commission and an
appropriation from the province to purchase libraries; legislation to grant
library boards, particularly Little Current, the power to send small collections
into camps; and the organization of a camp library club to organize the work
of churches and library boards until the commission was formed. 19 By
128 The Modern Public Library Emerges
December, Harcourt was supportive; in fact, he went on record as "desirous of
aiding you [Fitzpatrick] in every way in my power."20
During the 1901 legislative session, the department gathered information
on travelling libraries from many sources. Melvil Dewey, the New York State
library director, was approached because he was a recognized authority.21 A
letter was circulated to prominent citizens, soliciting lists of books appropriate
for travelling libraries. There was some understandable delay on this point,
book lists being a time-consuming business, but James Bains response was
immediate.22 He knew an opportunity when it presented itself. In the first
year, the department managed to organize several small travelling libraries and
to issue regulations stipulating that the program was for "new and sparsely settled portions of the Province."23 The government also advanced Fitzpatrick
$100 for his good work in the reading camps. By April 1902, Harcourt could
say that "our short experience, in sending out these libraries, is very satisfactory/'24
It was during Bains presidency that Andrew Carnegie announced grants
for fifteen libraries; the Carnegie building program had reached Ontario. To
this end, Bain helped Hardy organize talks on library architecture for the
1902 OLA conference at McMaster University, Toronto. They arranged for
William R. Eastman, superintendent of libraries for New York State, to speak
on library buildings.2^ A resolution was also prepared to spur the education
department into more vigorous activity:
Resolved, that this Association, recognizing the growing
magnitude of the Library question in Ontario, involving as it
does a large number of problems regarding the supervision
and direction of Travelling and Public Libraries, the question
also of the provincial grant for Public Libraries, respectfully
requests the Lieutenant-Governor-in-Council to appoint a
Commission to examine into and report on the whole question of the Library System of this Province.2^
Since an election was imminent, it was left to the executive officers to press
Richard Harcourt (or his successor) for the creation of a commission.
The OLA's first major venture into politics was a failure. George Ross's
Liberal party barely salvaged a victory at the polls in May 1902 and was preoccupied afterwards by a series of election irregularities and by-elections.
Although Bain and Hugh Langton, the new OLA president, pressed Richard
Harcourt for a commission at a meeting near the end of October 1902, they
were unsuccessful; the government was not about to adapt the commission
style of library administration to Ontario. Harcourt discussed the matter with
The Ontario Library Association 129
the premier and reported to Langton: "It is not at all likely that he [George
Ross] will be able to appoint one in the immediate future."27 The only solace
gained by Langton and Bain was Harcourt's recognition that Dr. May would
have to be replaced and that the efficiency of library inspection required
upgrading.28
In fact, the education minister's immediate concerns lay elsewhere. A
departmental memo to Harcourt in the first part of 1900 had resurrected the
issue of rural school libraries, an enterprise the department had abandoned
under Adam Crooks. Harcourt was ready to give these libraries priority status
which meant the expenditure of $4,000 to $5,000.29 Consequently, his
enthusiasm was absorbed in building up school libraries, a subject revisited in
the minister's annual report for 1900, in which he noted that the requirements of children were often ignored in public libraries. Harcourt, like
Ryerson and Ross before him, believed young minds needed guidance to
avoid the effects of ubiquitous light literature; good books provided proper
direction.30 John Seath's article on manual training and his suggestion to
divert $10,000 from public libraries to school libraries also appeared in this
report. During 1901, the department was prepared to finance the school
library system without regard to the needs of adult readers. In 1902, a legislative apportionment of $3,000 was made for rural libraries. Regulations and a
catalogue of approved books were issued. Reading matter included biography,
history, geography, travel, mythology and fables, elementary science, and citizenship. Fiction was relegated to a minor role. School trustees would receive a
grant amounting to half the amount expended from local revenue for books
purchased from the new catalogue. The grant was not to exceed ten dollars.
Principals were required to make the selections.31
Harcourt also was scrutinizing grants to public libraries because the legislative apportionment of $46,000 set by the Lieutenant Governor in 1895
was no longer sufficient to provide a full grant to every single library that submitted an application. As a result, the government was forced to make unpopular pro rata reductions. It came in for some criticism on this score because it
was not paying "dollar for dollar" as the act apparently stipulated. Trustees
were often frustrated when preparing estimates: "We have to expend the sum
called for by the regulations.. .in order to qualify for the grant, and when that
grant is afterwards cut 20% you can readily realize the shape it leaves the
Board in." 32 The problem surfaced when George Ross had allowed
Palmerston and Clifford to use promissory notes or borrowed money to
match the legislative grant for books in 1896. This dubious use of credit
spread until Dr. May became concerned about the financial welfare of public
libraries that were not rate-supported. After 1895, the liabilities for this category of library had doubled. The superintendent wrote Harcourt to suggest
130 The Modern Public Library Emerges
that the minister amend the act or issue a circular stating that grants would
not be allowed on borrowed money after a certain date.35 Harcourt did
nothing.
Two years later, May sent another memo on the same issue, informing the
minister that sixty libraries might not be able to pay their incurred liabilities
even if the grants were paid in full.34 It was evident that a large number of
smaller libraries were dependent on provincial revenue and borrowed money
(Table 9: Public Library (Not Free) Revenue and Expenses, 1895-1910). This
time Harcourt acted. The department received an ingenious legal opinion
that reinterpreted the phrase "one dollar allowed for every dollar" to mean
that it would pay only half the total amount spent on books and newspapers
locally to a maximum of $250. Not many boards were able to spend $500
locally in order to receive $250 from the province. However, the legislative
grant in 1902, which paid for 1901 expenses, actually increased by more than
ten percent.
The following year Harcourt introduced a bill to abolish the use of credit.
A memorandum from Dr. May estimated that "if grants are not allowed on
Notes, etc. a large number of Libraries will not in future expend $100.00 for
Books."35 After the bill became law (3 Edw. VII, c. 23), the effect was dramatic and immediate for many small libraries - as provincial revenue plummeted
there were concomitant drastic cuts in expenditure and a dramatic rise in liabilities. The legislative grant paid out in 1903 was almost halved. More ominously, Harcourt had told the legislature that "this bill was intended only as a
temporary one, until a thorough public library act could be introduced,
which he hoped to be able to do next year."3^ Harcourt apparently had
become convinced that many public library boards in rural Ontario were not
working satisfactorily. In fact, farmers' institutes were now operating circulating libraries with the assistance of the Farmer's Advocate, which described
these institute libraries as "a movement of a self-helpful character, based on
the diffusion of useful knowledge - the safest of foundations."37
Harcourt's judgement was shared by the new president of the Ontario
Educational Association, John Seath, whose April 1903 presidential address
dealt with the relationship between school libraries and public libraries in a
predictable manner.
To secure this eminently desirable relation throughout
Ontario, one board should control the public library as well
as the schools; they are all parts of the provincial system of
education. But, until public opinion justifies the step, the
principals of our Public, Separate, and High Schools, or at
least one of each of them, if there are more than one in a
The Ontario Library Association
131
locality, should be members of the Public Library Board;
and, to them, when practicable, the Public School Inspector
should be added. These school functionaries should be members ex officio', and if they are what I trust our principals and
inspectors always are, enlightened and forceful men, our
public library statistics and our public morals should tell a
different tale before many years went by.38
Dr. Seaths conception of library administration was at odds with the idea of a
library commission, but he was in good company. Harcourt, in a confidential
note dated the previous month, had agreed that the inclusion of school principals as ex officio members on library boards was an excellent suggestion.39
James Bains protest in a Toronto paper that Seaths proposal held no "distinct
advantages" was ignored.40
The new OLA president, Hugh Langton, chief librarian at the University
of Toronto, made the formation of a Provincial Library Commission the subject of his presidential address in April 1903. He considered the OLAs initial
(unsuccessful) attempt the year before to persuade the government to create a
commission merely "a preliminary skirmish." Furthermore, he scolded the
government s complacency:
It is not enough to have the existing abuses reformed or regulations amended; we shall always lag behind at that rate.
What is needed is systematic stimulation of public interest in
libraries through the efforts of a central authority that shall
influence as well as regulate — a body with missionary, not
administrative ideals. No ordinary Government department
can supply these essentials, and therefore recourse must be
had to extraordinary measures and we must demand the
establishment of a Library Commission.41
There was faint praise for previous government efforts in his speech.
Langton expanded on the conditions and duties vital for a successful commission style of governance for his OLA audience. Regarding commission
structure, he said the appointment of five or six knowledgeable members representing different geographic areas would suffice. The members should serve
without remuneration. Regarding commission functions, Langton placed priority on the promotion and establishment of free and not free libraries and
travelling libraries. As well, the commission should assist small libraries with
book purchasing and book selection, and classification of collections. Advice
on library techniques and management (e.g., cataloguing and book charging)
132
The Modern Public Library Emerges
and the formation of courses of instruction (e.g., a summer school) should
also form part of its mandate. Unfortunately, the plan Langton put forward
was not widely publicized in newspapers. Instead, the press was feasting on
the latest Liberal misfortune, the Robert Gamey affair, which allegedly
involved financial payments to a Conservative member of the legislature in
return for his political support.
The Ross government continued to be plagued by scandal and absorbed
by plans for the Ontario Power Commission during the 1903 legislative sitting. Consequently, there was little opportunity for library reform.
Commission style governance was fine for the management of hydro-electricity, but for libraries it was a non-issue. Undaunted, Harcourt continued to
propose his own modifications. In his 1903 annual summary, the education
minister surmised that perhaps no grant should be given to a library that was
not free to the public. He added that it would be best for school trustees in
sections and small communities to operate libraries directly. There was no
need to have special purpose boards to maintain small libraries because public
libraries could be placed in schools and teachers could act as librarians.42
Moreover, there was a definite need for technical libraries, improved evening
classes, and a new syllabus for art school examinations; in fact, Dr. Mays handling of art schools was now under critical scrutiny.43 Whatever Harcourt's
plans were, they obviously did not include a library commission.
When the 1904 legislative sitting resumed, it became apparent that the
minister intended to reduce Dr. May's responsibilities for technical education
and, by extension, reduce the role libraries had assumed in this field. Art
schools were transferred to the new Inspector of Manual Training and
Technical Education, Albert Leake, and the syllabus for art exams was completely revised. Leake was to remain in the department until 1935. He was the
author of highly respected publications on vocational training.44 In the same
year he was appointed, he reported that evening classes conducted by public
libraries were practically nonexistent outside of Toronto, Hamilton, and
Brantford. "The old Mechanics' Institutes," he wrote, "have entirely disappeared and nothing has been done to fill the place they occupied. "4^ He
hoped to revive adult evening classes which had languished in the later years
of Dr. Mays superintendency.
The government also introduced a bill to allow the amalgamation of
library, high school, public school, and technical school boards into a single
board of education on a majority vote of the municipal council.46 The proposed amendments were circulated to some libraries. Norman Gurd, a Sarnia
lawyer prominent in OLA circles, responded negatively to the amendment in
a letter to his member for Lambton West, William J. Hanna.47 Hanna was an
influential Conservative who may have had a hand in changes to the bill at
The Ontario Library Association 133
second reading. The clauses pertaining to libraries were withdrawn in advance
of the OLA meeting at the Canadian Institute in Toronto. On another positive note, an amendment to the Public Libraries Act that would allow councils, upon a two-thirds majority vote of aldermen, to increase the public
library rate to a maximum of three-quarters of a mill, quickly became law (4
Edw.VII, c. 10,s.55).
At the Easter 1904 gathering of the OLA, delegates came to realize that
"little has been accomplished" to bring the idea of a library commission for
Ontario to fruition.48 Langton, Bain, and the treasurer, Archibald Macallum,
who was active in the Canadian Institute and a member of the advisory
provincial educational council, still felt that the matter was of prime importance. Macallum spoke to the issue with some humour:
...the committee appointed had waited on the Government,
but had been told that a commission was not in keeping with
the genius of the constitution. Personally he had not met the
genius of the constitution - (laughter) - but he inclined to
think it consisted of a disinclination to allow the matter to
pass from the direct control of the Government.4^
Delegates also remembered the recent appointments to the commissions governing Queen Victoria Niagara Falls Park and the Temiskaming and Northern
Ontario Railway. The government's logic in denying the OLA a library commission escaped them. They decided to continue their campaign. Clearly, the
unproductive consultation with Harcourt and departmental officials was disheartening. The library commission committee shouldered on for two more
years. Immediate prospects were not bright, for many people expected the
next election to end the long reign of the Liberal Party in Ontario.
At the same conference, McGill University's Charles H. Gould, who along
with Bain had stirred Canadian interest in the International Catalogue of
Scientific Literature, announced the opening of Canada's first summer school
classes for library workers at his university.50 The precarious position of small
libraries operating under the department's new fifty per cent interpretation
also came up next for discussion. It was agreed to leave the issue with the
executive because the deputy minister, John Millar, reported "no hope of any
change." William J. Robertson, the new first vice-president, gave a paper on
library certification. He had been active on many educational fronts: teacher
in St. Catharines; writer of mathematics texts for Ontario's high schools; senator of Victoria University; and president of the Ontario Historical
Association. While he did not think that there was any need for the government to establish special schools for librarianship — business colleges and pri-
134 The Modern Public Library Emerges
vate institutions could provide this training - he did believe that certification
by the department should be linked to grants in order to maintain desirable
public standards.51
Accredited training and government certification were becoming important issues. Robertson, aided by two other delegates, delivered a report on
training and certification at the next days session and made a motion concerning these two items:
That the librarians of public libraries receiving not less than
75% of the maximum government grant shall hold Junior
Leaving (or its equivalent) English standing, and in addition
be required to pass a professional examination in library
work, under the control of the Education Department. This
regulation not to apply to present librarians.52
His small committee was directed to consult with the minister of education
on the issue. Prospects seemed encouraging because the new president for
1904/05 was William J. Tytler, a long-time library trustee and a school inspector from Guelph who had a bent for practical matters (Illus. 25).53
William Tytler had supported pursuit of a library commission. However,
in the face of political uncertainty and Harcourt's antipathy, the new OLA
president and his executive officers turned their collective attention to the
issues of grants, library architecture, and classification. To these ends, they
expended most of their energy in 1904/05. They arranged for A.W. Cameron,
from Streetsville, to conduct an open session on the fifty percent grant interpretation. Hardy canvassed libraries for information on library buildings. As
well, they invited Melvil Dewey to the 1905 annual meeting, and asked Miss
Effie Schmidt, librarian at Berlin, to speak on classification. She already had
applied the decimal system to her library collection without incurring undue
financial expenditure.
Expectations for incremental change were now more encouraging. Two
months before the 1905 OLA annual meeting, the Conservatives scored their
long-awaited victory at the polls, smashing the remnants of Liberal rule
founded by Oliver Mowat. New men, unburdened by the past, pledged themselves to honest and efficient government under the leadership of Premier
James Pliny Whitney. In February, Dr. Robert Pyne, a physician from
Toronto, emerged as the surprise choice for minister of education. One of
his connections with educational affairs was his chairmanship of the
Toronto Public Library Board in 1891. Dr. May's position was no longer
secure; the old civil service veteran realized where he stood. Patronage was an
important consideration in government appointments. Only Dr. May and
The Ontario Library Association 135
John G. Hodgins, now the department's librarian and historiographer,
remained from the Ryerson era.54
The 1905 OLA meeting illustrated some internal divisions on fundamental concerns that existed in the library community. The introduction of decimal classification was still contentious in Ontario. The afternoon discussion
that followed Effie Schmidt's talk on "Classification" was pointed. Robert
Blackwell recommended the decimal system, saying that he had noticed "long
delays" in Toronto because the old class system was still in use.
That brought Dr. Bain to his feet in defence of his library. In
the first place, he said, the Toronto library was the oldest in
the country, and still held to the old system, but he did not
know any better one. The most ignorant man could find
three or four numbers. The object of the public library was
to reach a number of people in the quickest way, and that
they succeeded in doing in Toronto... The same system was
in use in Chicago and other western towns.55
Dewey disagreed. He responded that no one "had any right to run a library on
the idea that the 'old plan did very well.'" Afterwards, Hardy presented his
findings on library buildings. He spoke on selection, children's rooms, exteriors, heating systems, bookstacks, and domes.
In the evening session Dewey spoke on the library's relation to home and
higher education. Dewey was not necessarily a "commission man" at heart, for
he had spent many years as the director of the New York state library and was
in the midst of departmental reorganization at Albany. He recognized that an
educational bureaucracy could impose constructive measures leading to standardization. The type of service he described entailed acting as a bureau of
information, promoting library interests, founding and reorganizing libraries,
selecting and purchasing books, advising on library methods, inspecting
libraries, organizing travelling libraries, training librarians, and publishing
reports and bulletins.56 The next day, AW. Cameron spoke to the 1902 fifty
percent ruling. Not surprisingly, the convention decided to approach the new
government about that unpopular decision.
With Dr. Pyne as the new minister, the OLA sensed the possibility for
cooperation and progress. Premier James P. Whitney's party had repeatedly
criticized the Liberal government's handling of the grant applied to fiction
and its unwillingness to extend services to agricultural districts. During the
previous year, two Conservatives from rural ridings had introduced a house
resolution: that "the Government should take an early opportunity of establishing libraries in farming communities for the dissemination of useful infor-
136
The Modern Public Library Emerges
mation on agricultural topics."57 An opportunity to improve travelling
libraries and library organization was at hand. But who would emerge as head
of the department's library branch? One candidate, who was unknown to
OLA members, Thaddeus W.H. Leavitt, had applied for the library post
shortly after the Conservative election victory.58
Leavitt, age sixty-one, had been a newspaper editor for many years and
was an author of note; he had written a history of Leeds and Grenville and
Kaffir, Kangaroo, Klondyke, a travel book about his days in South Africa,
Australia, and New Zealand. He was also a Conservative Party organizer and
had worked for Dr. Pyne in the 1902 election campaign. Pyne recommended
him for the position.59 There the matter rested over the summer. In the
autumn, Pyne had to chose a new deputy minister to replace the deceased
John Millar. Finally, in early November, word reached the press of Dr. Mays
fall from grace and Leavitt's appointment as Inspector of Public Libraries,
Scientific Institutions and Literary and Scientific Societies.60 Dr. Mays long
service was not acknowledged in library circles; most people felt that he had
stayed too long. They were more interested in the policies his successor might
initiate.
The inspector's 1905 report to the minister was not very revealing, but
change was clearly in the offing for the entire department. In early 1906,
Arthur H.U. Colquhoun, a writer, newspaper editor and friend of federal and
provincial Conservatives, was appointed Deputy Minister, a position he
would hold until his retirement in 1934.61 For library enthusiasts it was a welcome selection - he was an author, a book collector, and earlier had written a
tribute to his close friend, James Bain.62 Less welcome was John Seath's
appointment as Superintendent of Education. He would oversee and develop
departmental policies in accordance with Pyne's announcement on 10 April
1906 that the government would amend and consolidate the two acts on high
schools and public libraries at the next sitting of the House.63
Towards a New Act, 1906-09
Thaddeus Leavitt did not have a library background, but he did have sound
administrative experience. He was convinced that public library development
in Ontario needed better direction. Travelling libraries had been introduced,
but improvements were obviously required. The issue of a library commission
remained unsettled. For the new inspector, working with the OLA was a sensible course because it provided a ready source of advice for the department.
However, not everyone accepted Leavitt. James Bain, for one, told Hardy that
he was "unfitted" and "unsatisfactory" for the position.64 But Bains influence
was waning because he was reluctant to adopt decimal classification, and he
The Ontario Library Association 137
was not a proponent of children's libraries. Hardy, who was emerging as the
principal organizer and heart of the OLA, was more disposed to accept Leavitt
and work for change. William Robertson, the president for 1905/06, knew
that the department could play a more central role in library matters — this
meant working with the new inspector. The vice-president, Norman Gurd,
inclined to agree.
An opening for cooperation came immediately. After the 1905 OLA
meeting, Norman Gurd and two librarians, Effie Schmidt (Berlin) and Carrie
Rowe (Brockville), agreed to compile a catalogue of books suitable for children. Gurd felt that it was essential for libraries to serve a broader public;6^
better provision for children was one of his chief aims*
The library must meet the competition of the dime novel
and the sensational story paper, and for this purpose nothing
is more effective than the sound wholesome fiction of Henty,
Strang or Macdonald Oxley. The librarian should not
attempt to force any book on a child. He should take an
interest in each child and endeavor to ascertain the child's
taste, so that he may tactfully influence the reading of the
child for good by easy steps.66
The education department was an obvious choice as publisher; it agreed to
print the booklet, which was a list of nearly one thousand books. Each title
was selected to stir the imagination, broaden the horizon, and add to the
knowledge of children. A new working relationship had been forged within a
short time.
The government also was willing to assist small libraries, although it
refused to reconsider the fifty percent ruling or restore promissory notes for
grant applications. The Conservatives believed that smaller libraries deserved
support only if they could demonstrate self-reliance. To help matters, Dr.
Pyne guided an unusual bill through the legislature in 1906. Leavitt discovered that some unscrupulous booksellers had gotten word of the abolition of
credit early in 1903. They had approached smaller libraries with the following
scenario:
c
We are rather hard-up this year, could you not, as the
Chairman, or as the Secretary, or as a member of the Board,
sign a note that we could put in the bank?' In most cases they
got the notes and when the law changed they had the individuals pretty tight. The signers of the notes had to pay.67
138
The Modern Public Library Emerges
To complete the financial transaction, the booksellers gave some of their creditors invoices for $200 to submit to the department. After investigating,
Leavitt concluded that "They never sold them the books at all, not one of the
books were ever in a public library, and yet they drew money out of the
Government on invoices of that kind, and some chairmen of Boards in the
Province swore to the truth of the statements."68 Pyne's act allowed boards
which had purchased books, periodicals, or newspapers in 1903, prior to the
abolition of credit on 12 June, to receive their original grant.69 Claims had to
be filed within six months.
There were mixed feelings towards the government at the 1906 OLA
annual meeting chaired by William Robertson. The association was small in
number and the opinions of a few counted heavily on some issues (Illus. 26)*
Leavitt attended the first session and said classification, travelling libraries,
and rural school libraries were immediate departmental concerns. With Dr.
Seath's appointment in mind, the OLA passed a motion cautioning against
the union of library and school boards. The main business featured
Robertsons presidential address; it highlighted the possibility of establishing
library institutes across the province, an idea which Hardy had raised in 1901
in his outline program and had elaborated upon in 1903. Institutes would
bring together library workers and trustees for one or two days on a regional
basis, thus promoting public interest in libraries and providing better instruction to librarians and boards. They would be forums for discussion and the
dissemination of community interests, new ideas, and better management
techniques. Teachers' Institutes had existed for many years and had been a
success, so there was an expectation that the department would finance a similar arrangement for libraries.70
Leavitt's appointment energized public library affairs. He was receptive to
Hardy's and Robertsons push for institutes. Before the end of 1906, he had
accepted a proposal to stage a small convention or round table somewhere in
western Ontario.71 He was interested in children's services and the removal of
age limitations in public libraries. He also realized that libraries could play a
supportive role in the field of technical education. He augmented his staff in
1907 by hiring an assistant, Walter R. Nursey, another Conservative fund raiser with a temperament for travel and adventure, to help manage travelling
libraries. Nursey s foremost qualification was literary; he had published several
histories and was working on a biography of Isaac Brock for William Brigg's
"Canadian Heroes Series."72 Most importantly, Leavitt was able to work with
the new OLA president, Norman Gurd, who presided over consecutive OLA
meetings in 1907 and 1908. The link between the department and the association was formalized in 1906 by an annual grant of $200 to the OLA and by
agreement to fund the publication of its annual proceedings starting in 1907.
The Ontario Library Association 139
Leavitt began an immediate reorganization of the travelling library system
along the lines James Bain had laid out almost a decade before. New regulations appeared in 1906 that extended the service and changed some conditions:
1. book cases could be lent out to small public libraries;
2. boards were responsible for losses;
3. transportation charges for receiving cases were to
be paid by boards;
4. cases were to be loaned for three months;
5. librarians were responsible for circulating the books.7^
The department redesigned physical storage for the books to facilitate transportation as follows:
Each case contained a movable shelf, thus providing for
books varying in length. The cover was hinged and fastened
with a lock. When the case is opened the cover forms a small
table upon which the books can be examined, while all of the
titles are immediately exposed at a glance. Locks with duplicate keys are used, one key being retained in the department
the other sent by mail to the borrower. A simple register is
included in each case for recording the circulation.74
The inspector successfully increased the grant for travelling libraries in 1907, a
trend that continued for several years (Table 10: Provincial Expenditure for
Libraries, 1902-14).
Both Dr. Colquhoun and Leavitt attended the 1907 OLA conference as
speakers. The deputy minister's talk was non-committal and informal.
Privately, however, he had already told Hardy that the government was no
longer contemplating the management of libraries by boards of education.75
Leavitt offered more clues to departmental plans when he outlined his ideas
on travelling libraries and submitted a series of questions concerning legislative matters, to which delegates responded favourably. Travelling libraries
remained his immediate priority. Leavitt earmarked $3,000 for them in the
1907 estimates. Library institutes would be improved and extended to more
regions. A new conditional grant formula was necessary. To this end, the OLA
passed a motion favouring a grant of $275 for libraries.7^
Commencing in 1907, the old classification scheme, devised for
Mechanics' Institutes by William Edwards, was another casualty of Leavitt's
reforms. The inspector originally had decided not to promote one classifica-
140 The Modem Public Library Emerges
tion system at the expense of another. But, in a March 1907 circular on
grants, the education department openly recommended either the Dewey
Decimal Classification (DDC) or Cutter System.77 This was the death knell
for the class subjects used in circulars and departmental reports since the mid1880s. From now on, all novels were to be classed as fiction, and a separate
juvenile section was encouraged. Furthermore, the percentage of fiction upon
which the grant was paid was increased from twenty to forty-five percent of
the total sum paid for books. When the matter of estimates for libraries was
raised in the legislature, the Premier stated that public libraries had hitherto
been circulating too many "slushy novels."78 The change, therefore, aimed to
balance the amount of fiction purchased and to rationalize the division of fiction, nonfiction, and juvenile literature in libraries. After a delay of one year
the OLA officially endorsed the DDC with Cutter author tables.
Leavitt favoured the development of children's libraries and the lifting of
age restrictions for youngsters. Anxious to implement these reforms, he hired
Patricia Spereman, librarian at Sarnia, in the first part of 1908. Her duties, as
initially conceived, were taxing.
Miss Spereman will be sent out to libraries to establish children's rooms in the libraries, separating the books for the
children from the adult portion, and to show how to catalogue and classify them. She will try to begin the story hour.
She will have about two hundred pictures with her. The
object of these is educational and also to attract the children
to the public library. She will also have a couple of children's
libraries, and I hope to put her into the places where they
had the rule that they would not lend books to children.79
Library boards had to apply for her services and then wait their turn. She
would visit for a short time and provide basic training for staff and volunteers.
Like most people entering Canadian librarianship, Patricia Spereman at
first did not possess any formal library training. She began working at Sarnia
after graduating from the Ursuline Academy in Chatham. The new Carnegie
library was nearing completion, and she was part of Sarnia's successful introduction to free access, decimal classification, and children's work. Her story
hour for children was a pioneering effort in Canada (Illus. 27). A year of
library training at the distinguished Pratt Institute Library School in
Brooklyn, which featured technical subjects and a semester of practical work,
prepared her for more rewarding opportunities. Her address at the 1908 OLA
meeting on children's work articulated the need to reach out to all children "little newsboys," "street arabs," and the "studious" — and was well received by
The Ontario Library Association 141
most in attendance.80 Her practical experience with decimal classification
proved to be a valuable asset. She would oversee its adoption in more than
one hundred Ontario libraries over the next several years. Patricia Spereman
remained with the department in various capacities until her death shortly
after the end of the Second World War.81
Leavitt's auspicious beginning was cut short by the news of James Bain's
death at the end of May 1908. His passing stunned the Ontario library community. In his final years, Bain's ideas were not accepted by everyone.
Advocates of decimal classification, like Robert Blackwell, found him
adamantly opposed to any acceptance of the DDC on the part of the OLA
When Bain openly took issue in the Toronto Telegram with Norman Gurd's
remarks on the need for better children's libraries - saying that small libraries
had been turned into "kindergarten schools" - Gurd privately complained to
Hardy that "there is certainly no library on this continent the size of Toronto
which is so badly administered."82 Gurd responded publicly in a letter to the
editor: "Unless a library wishes to become a home of lost causes, it must keep
pace with the movement towards freedom which after all means the greatest
good to the greatest number."83 Nevertheless, Bain remained highly respected.
No one in his lifetime had done more to raise the image of libraries or librarianship. He continued working right up until the time of his illness, having
arranged by early May for another $50,000 Carnegie grant for two more
Toronto branch libraries.84 Eulogies flowed freely on the day of his funeral, 26
May, and some of his old friends in the Muskoka Club served as his pallbearers.85 The Toronto Public Library was closed during the afternoon to honour
his memory.
The long awaited new legislation — An Act Respecting Public Libraries
and Art Schools - came into force in 1909 (9 Edw. VII, c. 80); its features
reflected the Whitney government's desire for better public control of libraries
by means of more scrupulous regulation.86 This policy meant that legislation
for free libraries remained mostly unchanged. Boards of management continued to be responsible for libraries, reading rooms, branch libraries, and museums; and for purchases of books, magazines, newspapers, maps, "specimens
illustrative of the arts and sciences;" and fuel, lighting, accommodation, and
buildings. Their authority to conduct the operation of art schools and evening
classes for mechanical and manufacturing arts also remained untouched. The
library rate could be increased to three-quarters of a mill upon a vote of twothirds of the council members, except in police villages and cities of 100,000
or more where the half-mill and quarter-mill rates were already in operation.
Public libraries (not free) founded between 1895 and 1909, which lacked the
right to receive a mill rate, now were eligible for the public library rate; part II
of the 1895 act was repealed.
142
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Part II of the new act established Public Library Associations. This type of
library could be formed by the incorporation of no fewer than ten people
under twenty-one years of age. The board of management was to be elected at
annual meetings each January; membership on the board ranged from five to
nine persons. Children over the age of twelve could be members, but no one
under twenty-one could vote at annual meetings or hold office in the association. Municipal councils could pass bylaws assuming the assets and property
of associations in order to establish a public library under part I. Evidently,
the government felt a continuation of the subscription public library was the
most suitable means to reach rural residents in the provinces southern counties.
Leavitt's changes to the grant system were introduced in Part III. The
maximum legislative grant was set at $200 for books, bookbinding, and cataloguing/classifying materials; and $50 for magazines, periodicals, and newspapers. This grant was only $25 less than the amount the OLA executive had
requested.87 It could not exceed fifty percent of the total local expenditure on
these materials; nor could it be paid on an expenditure on fiction in excess of
forty-five percent of the amount expended on other books. Part III also provided supplementary grants ranging from five dollars to twenty dollars, based
on local receipts, for reading rooms open for a specified number of hours.
Legislative appropriations were authorized for travelling libraries, schools for
training librarians, library institutes, and employment of departmental officers
as special instructors for boards and librarians. The membership requirement
for association libraries, which was tied to a library's eligibility to receive
grants, was reduced by half to fifty persons over twenty-one years of age. This
was a welcome relief to many small rural communities. Art schools continued
to be eligible for $400 annually. The department had to approve library rules
which prohibited free access "to the books of the library or of a section of the
library' and stipulated age restrictions for children. Two controversial issues
were effectively settled. The OLA approved the concepts of free access and
children's reading rooms when it reviewed the act at its 1909 convention.
Some OLA members, however, were less receptive to Leavitt's ideas on
technical education, which were aired at the 1909 meeting.88 The Inspector
had devised a plan whereby travelling libraries would be used to promote
technical instruction among mechanics and artisans with the support of participating public libraries which contributed $100 in the first year of the program. He proposed that certificates or diplomas be awarded upon successful
completion of a departmental examination.89 A centralized plan meant more
formalized control by the department and raised questions among members,
notably George Locke, who was Toronto Public Library's new chief librarian.
Locke preferred to design and coordinate programs at the local level.
The Ontario Library Association 143
Although he was a newcomer to OLA, and it was unlikely Toronto would
make use of travelling libraries, his basic philosophic arguments on the
library's mission in adult education carried considerable weight.
Its [the public library] courses are elective and it aims to
make them attractive; it is practical because it gives what you
think you want, not what a learned body of men think you
want... This helpfulness ought not to confine itself to books;
it ought to, in a visual and in a tangible way, show what may
be learned from books - in other words, there ought to be
lectures and practical demonstrations of the difference
between an artisan and an artist in any trade, and how the
artisan may become an artist.90
Since the public library's role in technical and manual education had a checkered history, a special OLA committee was struck to study the issue with
Leavitt.
The potential for change in the field of technical education, as conceived
by Leavitt and the OLA, was never realized. The inspector was unable to
attend the association meeting in April 1909, and he died in June at his summer residence in Bancroft. In his will he left a private collection of five hundred volumes to the Athens High School. His assistant, Walter Nursey,
became inspector. Nursey was the first to admit that his predecessor had "left
many unsolved problems behind him."91 In his short term of office, Leavitt
had swept away years of inaction and introduced a modern public library act
to Ontario. He recognized the provincial government's role in encouraging
free access, children's libraries, library institutes, travelling libraries, library
training, and technical education. He had not shied away from any major
issue. His work was not complete in 1909; but there were many associates
ready to follow his lead.
"Growing in Interest and Power and Influence"
Ten years had passed since Edwin Hardy had written to George Ross proposing a library conference; the OLA had matured steadily over this time. The
new president, Judge Alexander D. Hardy, a Brantford trustee who would
remain active until the end of the Second World War, summed up the accomplishments of OLA's first decade in his 1910 address:
Along with Mr. Carnegie's splendid work, our own
Government have been aiding library work in a very practical
way, and have been on the lookout to follow up suggestions
144 The Modern Public Library Emerges
that have been made from time to time. We are grateful for
that assistance. Then this Association has been growing in
interest and power and influence yearly. We find now that
the question of public libraries in Ontario is a living one. We
may be said to have created a public imagination as to what
the library should be. At least this desideratum is in process
of formation, and this is the first thing for us to obtain in
order to have behind us that educated and solid body of public opinion which will back up the work of this Association
by reason of its appreciation of the work we are doing. It is
not necessary now to justify the public library.92
Yet there was still much to be done. While it might be said that the public
library had "come of age," the OLA still had an agenda crowded with unfulfilled issues.
B. Mabel Dunham, chief librarian at Berlin (now Kitchener), exemplified
the new spirit of forward thinking. A former teacher and graduate of the
University of Toronto with a B.A. in languages and history, she had taken
Gould's summer school course at McGill before accepting her position at
Berlin as a library assistant in the summer of 1908 (Illus. 28).93 Colleagues
immediately noticed her ability; she became chief librarian within a short
time. It was not long before she was invited to address the OLA on modern
lines of work. Dunham delivered an entertaining paper about a visiting
Utopian gentleman who conversed with her on the requirements for successful libraries. There was much to be learned. According to this gentleman,
The public library is one of these unfortunate creatures of
circumstance with no law but the gentle rule of moral suasion and no power but what she herself creates. I have come
to believe in the old adage that human nature is much the
same the wide world over, but, in her helplessness the
Canadian library instinctively trusts to architectural
grandeur, to improved methods of classification and charging
systems, to its books, and lastly, to the librarian and the
board of management, whereas the Utopian library puts her
confidence in the same means of attraction though in exactly
the reverse order.94
Dunham's entertaining comparison of Canadian libraries with those in Utopia
has remained a classic to this day.
The Ontario Library Association 145
Immediate attention was focused on technical education. Dr. Pyne agreed
to provide $300 towards a tour of American libraries in the north-east: the
State Library in Albany, New York; Boston Public Library; Worcester Public
Library; Providence Public Library; Newark Public Library under John
Cotton Dana's direction; the Pratt Institute in Brooklyn; Buffalo Public
Library; and Niagara Falls Public Library. E.A. Hardy, David M. Grant, Judge
Alexander Hardy, and Walter Nursey left during February 1910 for a one
week tour. In their report, they concluded that Leavitt's original proposals on
technical education were sound, but they also had a few reservations:
As to the matter of instruction through the public library by
any such scheme as Correspondence courses and examinations and recognition of such work by Government certificate or diploma, the committee do not feel at present able to
offer any definite suggestion. They quite realize the possibilities of such a scheme, but they also realize the difficulties.. ,95
Their report, which abandoned a centralized arrangement for evening classes,
was presented and quickly approved at the 1910 OLA conference.
Later in the same year, John Seath issued a comprehensive report on technical education. Seath, who favoured vocational training in high schools and
specialized industrial schools, scarcely mentioned libraries. He was concerned
with formal courses, qualifications of teachers, legislation, and departmental
programs. The superintendent showed no interest in the supplementary
resources which libraries were best equipped to provide workingmen.
Educators realized that voluntary self-help could not succeed on a broad scale.
Reading books, attending lectures, and browsing book collections were not
enough to impart a thorough knowledge of a trade. Regarding art schools,
Seath felt they needed invigoration; his recommendations completely ignored
the role of libraries.96 It came as no surprise, then, that the Industrial
Education Act of 1911 rescinded previous legislation that allowed art schools
and libraries to conduct evening classes. The new act established two-year
general industrial schools, specialized schools, and vocational training in high
schools (1 Geo. V, c. 79).
In June 1910, the Dominion government established a Royal
Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education. Hearings were
held between July 1910 and February 1911. Ontario librarians and the OLA
made presentations emphasizing the library's role. Justice Alexander D. Hardy
stressed the usefulness of libraries for many workingmen who did not have the
time or financial means for special training:
146
The Modern Public Library Emerges
The technical school, college or university, it is true, provides
adequate training for the young man who has the time and
means at his disposal to attend there; but there is no provision made for the ambitious married man who has a wife and
family to support, and who is unable to give much of his
time for the purpose of equipping himself for the needs of
his handicraft. It is for such that the public library, with its
technical side fully developed, may prove of great benefit.97
The commissioners acknowledged the good work conducted by library
boards, but their final report, issued in 1913, never developed specific proposals integrating library work with other educational programs and institutions.
While the OLA struggled to retain its place in technical education, a positive advance during these years was the realization of a summer school for
librarians in Toronto. By this time, systematic school library training was
becoming the norm rather than the exception. In his 1910 OLA presidential
address, Alexander Hardy spoke of the need for trained librarians and an
Ontario library school. The era of the bookman-librarian, exemplified by
Adam Hunter in Hamilton, was ending. By 1908, more than twenty
Ontarians, most of whom were from the eastern region, had attended the twomonth summer library school at McGill. A few ambitious people had enrolled
in American library schools for one- or two-year programs. The OLA initially
had supported minimum qualifications and provincial certification of librarians without however proposing the type of schooling it preferred. After Walter
Nursey attended McGill, the department approached Charles Gould in late
1908 about the feasibility of opening a permanent library school in Toronto.
Gould felt that there was no urgency for two Canadian schools; he suggested
holding a summer school in alternate years at Toronto and Montreal.
This plan was really suggested to me by Dr. Bain during his
last visit to our Library School. He said 'When the new
building for the Toronto Public Library is finished and the
Library itself has been re-organized we will furnish you with
the requisite rooms and lend you what books you need, and
then you can bring your school up here every other year, running it alternately in the two places.'98
Following these conversations, the 1909 act went a step further; it allowed the
province to finance a school for instruction.
Inspector Nursey and departmental officials obviously believed that the
McGill University school was too distant for most prospective Ontario stu-
The Ontario Library Association 147
dents. They understood that money for training was a scare commodity in
small libraries and that promotions often depended upon local acquaintances,
not education or training. William Robertson's OLA speech in 1904 had
given a good description of how local patronage worked. Moreover, the public
perception of librarians was still unflattering:
The librarian in the village is usually a respectable old gentleman who has held a series of secretaryships and who
declines into the keeping of the library with a gentle resignation, which later on becomes a certain intellectual pride
in the treasures of the shelves... He wears garments of a subdued shabbiness and looks dubiously over his spectacles at
the High School student who demands the latest novel or
the young woman who asks for the recent number of the
Woman's Home Companion. He is frequently appointed as
judge in the debates of the local literary society and is capable of weighing nicely the arguments as to the relative devastating power of war and intemperance."
Nursey was determined to undo this general caricature of librarians as he set
about organizing library training in Toronto.
A one-month summer school for librarians opened at the Education
Department's Model School in June 1911. B. Mabel Dunham, who had
impressed Walter Nursey with her work at Berlin, was in charge. The
Inspector had worked hard to receive departmental approval from his superiors, and he forged ahead as soon as funding became available. The department provided books and supplies from its Educational Library, which had
been reclassed using the decimal classification, and also from its travelling
libraries. Nursey obtained the services of several people as lecturers, including
Dr. Colquhoun, and arranged visits to several Toronto libraries, such as the
reference department of Toronto's new College Street central library. The
school's primary purpose was to raise the standard of librarianship in smaller
centres. Accordingly, entrance qualifications were set at the high school level
or its equivalent and no admission fee was charged. Thirty-one candidates
were admitted the first summer (Illus. 29).
Under Dunham's direction, the school offered seven main areas of instruction. Dr. Lewis E. Hornung from Victoria College, a regular visitor at OLA
meetings, taught a general literature survey course. He had collaborated with
Lawrence Burpee to produce the first systematic bibliography of Canadian
English fiction.100 The school offered instruction and lab work in new library
methods for book selection and purchasing, accessioning, book preparation,
148
The Modern Public Library Emerges
charging systems, book repair and binding, patron fines, and accounts. Mabel
Dunham, Hester Young, chief cataloger at the University of Toronto, and
Grace Andrews, of the Educational Library, directed classes in classification
and cataloguing using the decimal system. Inspector Nursey and E.A. Hardy
taught library administration — acts and regulations, publicity, building
arrangement, equipment, and library services. Considerable emphasis was
placed on reference work, a subject of growing importance. William Carson,
chief librarian at London after 1909, and Toronto's Prances Staton and
Elizabeth Moir were the instructors. Nursey stressed the use of travelling
libraries and the importance of library institutes. Patricia Spereman and Bessie
M. Staton, Toronto Public Library's children's librarian, conducted classes on
juvenile libraries and story hours.
The school's curriculum stimulated new thoughts about the status and
training of librarians. A decade earlier, E.A. Hardy had provisionally divided
library work into two service components: mechanical and trained service.
His mechanical duties (routine circulation or supervision of books and rooms)
required no special expertise. Trained service involved acquisition, selection,
and purchase of materials; accessioning, classification, and cataloguing; library
publicity; coordination with schools, study clubs, and individual patrons; and
local history. Hardy suggested summer library training courses be organized
by the government.101 Now, according to William Carson, who spoke to the
issue at the 1912 OLA annual meeting, librarians were expected to possess
experience, natural ability, a broad education, and professional training. On
the subject of library related working experience, Carson had little to add; he
seemed to assume that apprenticeship was necessary above all else. Natural
ability included personal qualities such as resourcefulness, progressive attitudes, and common sense. These practical attributes were not unique to
librarians, of course, but they did constitute the ideal type which boards and
administrators were willing to hire.
Carson was cautious when speaking about education. It was not merely
formal academic achievement but applied knowledge that counted in librarianship; business training might be considered the equivalent of certificates,
diplomas, or degrees. On strictly professional training, Carson was specific.
He included three classes of work: bibliographic skills, administrative knowledge, and technical training. Bibliographic work encompassed the subject of
bibliography, book selection, and reference work. Administration took in legislation, governance and management of libraries; buildings and equipment;
secretarial work; library publications; history; and children's rooms. Technical
training concerned classification, cataloguing, accessioning, bookbinding, and
routine work (e.g., borrower registration). He described professional training
as a "scientific system" that underpinned organization:
The Ontario Library Association 149
[T]he public library offers unlimited opportunities for the
exercise of judgment and initiative. But the knowledge and
training in the subjects embraced in library science are essential to the librarian if he is to exercise his powers to the best
advantage.102
As for instruction and training, Carson considered the new summer school
suitable for those who did not have time to attend a one- or two-year library
school, but he also acknowledged that the summer school needed to be supplemented by advanced training. In some larger libraries, like his own,
apprentice classes were organized for promising assistants with senior matriculation. These library subordinates could benefit most from in-service programs.
By all accounts, the first school was a success for everyone, from the experienced hands to tyros. It attracted considerable talent from the Ontario
library field, mainly those people with close connections to their communities. However, conditions were not always conducive to study. There were the
long hours from Monday to Saturday plus the excessive heat of late June and
early July which on occasion reached about 100°F. One participant, Mary T.
Butters, chief librarian at Niagara Falls, spoke at Port Colborne in September
about the taxing hours: "We put in a very busy month, for after school hours,
which sometimes lasted till five o'clock, we were expected to write up our
notes taken during the day."103 Butters already had succeeded in arranging for
free access, the DDC, and children's services at her library; she continued as
chief librarian until retirement in 1923. Two new chief librarians also attended. They were Mary J. Black, who commenced her duties at Fort William in
January 1909, and Fred DelaFosse, appointed in January 1911 at
Peterborough. They were to serve their respective libraries for more than a
quarter century.
Mabel Dunham s efforts on behalf of the school were recognized by everyone connected with its operation. She modestly summarized her experience
for the 1912 OLA conference by saying that the school had "justified its existence."104 She returned as instructor-in-charge for 1912 and 1914, using her
vacation time on each occasion. After the first year, the school ran from the
end of May to late June to avoid intemperate, sweltering weather; classes were
held in the women's reading room at the University of Toronto Library. In
1912, McGill's Charles Gould gave a brief guest lecture on library training.
Hester Young, another McGill school graduate, was appointed instructor-incharge for 1913. She was joined by Patricia Spereman, Adeline Cartwright, a
graduate from the Pratt Institute, and Lillian Smith, a University of Toronto
graduate and Toronto Public Library's recently appointed children's librarian.
150
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Smith had trained for two years at the Pittsburgh Carnegie Library Training
School for Children's Librarianship and afterwards worked for a short time at
the New York Public Library. Examinations were held at the conclusion of
course work and certificates, graded in three classes, were awarded. There were
thirteen graduates in 1912, twenty-six in 1913, and thirty in 1914. No school
was scheduled for 1915, the last full year Inspector Nursey held office.
As improved apprentice school training was reshaping librarianship in
Ontario before the Great War, the OLA developed regional sub-groups and
expanded into many communities. Regional library institutes were the instrument of the association's advance. Executive OLA officers realized that the
number of delegates in attendance at annual meetings was small in proportion
to the total number of library boards in the province; between 1901 and
1906, the number varied between a low of 25 and a high of 38 delegates from
a host of well over 350 public library boards. To remedy this situation, the
OLA organized a demonstration institute at Brantford in July 1907. It was
hosted by the chief librarian, Edwin D. Henwood. Twenty-one libraries, the
majority from surrounding counties, took part in the all-day experiment.
Brantford's Edwin Henwood was typical of the kind of recruit the OLA
was hoping to enlist.105 He had administered the library since 1901 and
helped supervise the Carnegie expansion. He was quite willing to participate
in OLA matters, becoming a member of the committee on binding in 1907.
When the Brantford board invited trustees and librarians for an institute on
11 July, Henwood naturally agreed to help organize the program and stand on
the local executive. The meeting covered a variety of topics: library cooperation, small libraries, book selection, children's work, and finances.106 The
institute was an unqualified success and another one was planned. The following year Henwood spoke at the OLA convention on in-house binding. He
so impressed the assembly with his system that the education department
published his short treatise for distribution in Ontario and directed Patricia
Spereman to train staff according to his recommendations.107
Three institutes were arranged in 1908, at Chatham, Niagara Falls, and
Brantford. Legislation followed in 1909. The education department would
assist with funding, and the OLA would continue to administer the institutes
with local executives in charge of programs. The avowed purpose of the institutes was threefold: a community of interests could be fostered by assembling
librarians and trustees on a regional basis; departmental officials, especially the
inspector, could discuss library conditions and speak directly with participants; and participants could join round-table discussions and receive instruction on library methods, economy, new issues, and procedures.108 While
everyone was conscious of the need for training and local organization, recreation and socializing were not ignored. For example, at the 1908 Niagara
The Ontario Library Association 151
Institute chaired by William H. Arisen, the delegates took an evening side trip
on the country's busiest electric railway to the new St. Catharines Carnegie
library.10?
Following the new act of 1909, local response to the institutes was crucial.
By the end of 1910, representatives of 234 libraries attended twelve regional
institutes; this compared favourably to the 55 libraries which sent delegates to
the OLA convention that same year. This encouraging trend continued (Table
11: Libraries Represented at OLA and Library Institutes, 1907-14). On a
regional basis, the twelve groupings were Brantford, Chatham, Niagara,
Eastern, Belleville, Georgian, Guelph, Lindsay, London, Orangeville,
Stratford, and York. The autumn 1909 Eastern Institute meeting, hosted by
Lawrence Burpee at Ottawa's new Carnegie Library, was particularly important (Illus 31). Twenty-three libraries were represented; it was the largest institute to date. It included the Montreal librarians Charles Gould, the current
president of the American Library Association, and Mary S. Saxe from
Westmount. Otto Klotz, Jr., presided as chairman. Obviously, institutes were
a viable way of reaching many libraries with news, ideas, and practices.
The Education Department considered the institutes essential because
Walter Nursey's small staff could not possibly hope to inspect and direct
library progress from Toronto. To encourage participation, the department
covered the entire cost of travel for delegates and extended the sessions to
two days, an arrangement which made possible elementary library instruction. Attendance by librarians was considered essential. Nursey liked to point
to Ridgeway, a small hamlet of six hundred people, as an example of the
institutes' influence in the process of elevating the status of libraries. Dr.
George Snyder and another Ridgeway trustee attended the institute at
Niagara Falls in 1908 and came away excited about the prospects of building
a new library. By year's end, Ridgeway's building committee was hard at
work. The goal for 1909 was to find property, raise $1,100, and launch an
up-to-date library service. The trustees erected a small bungalow, thirty-six
ft. long by twenty ft. wide and hired Effie Schmidt, now employed by the
Library Bureau in Toronto, to recatalogue the collection with the help of a
few young ladies (they did not know that Patricia Spereman's assistance was
available through the education department). When Dr. Snyder recounted
his story at the 1910 Niagara Institute, Ridgeway was applauded as a model
for small libraries.110 Shortly afterwards, Snyder became president of the
Niagara district executive.
There were, however, few Ridgeways, as the findings of Snyder's own local
survey of twenty-five libraries in the Niagara district confirmed in 1911. Only
five libraries owned their building. Most libraries purchased too much fiction,
thereby reducing the maximum government grant they could receive if they
152
The Modern Public Library Emerges
budgeted the "right" proportions. Municipal grants ranged from $1,700 in
Niagara Falls to nothing at Cheapside. Half the boards failed to collect overdue fines, partly because circulation records were deficient. As a remedy,
Snyder favoured annual reader s cards that would limit to twenty the number
of books (half fiction, half nonfiction) a patron would be allowed to borrow.
New cards must then be taken out for the new year, and in
this way extra proceeds are added to your library funds and
every reader is more careful of his card. By the use of such a
card non-fiction is encouraged to be read, for the card is a
constant reminder that non-fiction is supposed to be read,
and also a person does not care to thrown away his card
when it is only half used up.111
Classification varied from library to library. Some devised their own scheme;
others used the old departmental system; six had changed to DDC and
Cutter. On the matter of librarians and trained assistants, Snyder advised
small boards to choose a young lady with a good education who would work
part-time for $30 to $75 a year. The diverse conditions in Niagara pointed to
a genuine need for increased library promotion, cooperative efforts, and training by institute executives.
As the OLA organized additional institutes, it became more apparent that
they served two different constituencies, trustees and library workers. This
was cause for some soul-searching because of its potential consequences for
long-term planning. Although organizational meetings usually were held in
Toronto each year to draft generic programs, some participants were dissatisfied with district offerings. Mabel Dunham complained to E.A. Hardy about
the undue attention trustees received:
The one thing I feel strongly about in this institute work is
the way the trustees attend and make the librarian stay home.
It makes me wrathy. I cant believe it. I do not feel that the
two-days session is long enough time to hope to give the
trustees any idea of the Dewey Decimal Classification and
Rules for Cataloguing. The librarians, in some cases would
benefit more I am sure. If this elementary school is to be carried on again this year, I suggest that Miss Spereman do the
instructing in all places...l12
Admittedly, local committees often were unable to strike a balance between
the needs of trustees and staff. Walter Nursey, who approved the bills and
The Ontario Library Association 153
tried to oversee the work of all the institutes, often grumbled to Hardy about
the suitability of program arrangements, the merit of printed brochures prepared in advance, or minutiae like the omission from circulars of any reference
to the Department of Education.
While Mabel Dunham's criticism was justified, it was equally difficult to
deny the need for trustee education and lay leadership. Public entities depended on public opinion and the guidance of appointed representatives. Trustees
such as Otto Klotz in Ottawa or Robert McAdams from Sarnia, who worked
mostly outside the circle of the OLA executive, provided needed regional
energy and encouragement. Klotz and his wife, Marie, had been associated
with the free library project in Ottawa since the mid-1890s. He spoke at the
Eastern Institute and had a paper read at OLA in 1910 on the role of trustees
and the library's value in a community.113 Robert McAdams, the Sarnia newspaperman, was less prominent, but his views were still important. He emphasized the vital link between trustees and the public. McAdams told trustees at
the Chatham district institute that they should develop policies to keep the
public in touch with the activities of the library: "The idea is to get the public
to realize that the Library is their Library; that the books which it contains are
their books; and that the employees and members of the board are at their service for any information or assistance which they may require."114 The subordination of the trustee's management function was an important new direction. Better trained librarians now were poised to assume a greater administrative voice in library work.
"Quite a Big Boy Now"
By 1913, after the addition of three more institute districts, two in the north
and one in Toronto, there were fifteen regional institutes in operation (Map 2:
Library Institute Districts in Ontario, 1913). With the sudden enlargement of
the "library community" to many parts of Ontario which were unaccustomed
to free service or modern lines of library work, it was evident that library
extension and collective efforts demanded even more attention. Small public
libraries, which formed an overwhelming majority in the province, led a precarious existence. Andrew Denholm, a trustee from Blenheim, reckoned that a
"small" library was one that could not earn a legislative grant of $100. Using
his definition, only fifty-six free and seventeen association public libraries were
earning more than $100 in 1910. For Denholm, reaching all persons was a
necessity because "the welfare of our Canadian nation demands that every unit
of the population should be given the largest opportunity for mental expansion." ^5 The OLA executive agreed with his assessment. In their view, the
1909 act had improved the fortune of the small library, but it had not solved
the problem of inadequate services in many rural areas.
154
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Inspector Nursey undertook to investigate the provincial dimensions of
library service in 1911. It was the first extensive survey of library progress
since the introduction of service in 1882. By grouping the 355 reporting service points into urban and rural categories, Nursey was able to chart the successes and problems of uneven library development.116 His figures have been
reworked with a computer program (Table 12: Public Library Service in
Ontario, 1910/11). In urban Ontario (cities, towns, and villages), 92.6% of
the population was served by a free or association library board. In rural
townships, a mere 7.4% of the population received library service through
boards organized in police villages or association hamlets; the remaining
92.6% was unserved. There were 377,170 people in townships who were not
served by any type of library board; 552,418 people lived in townships which
were contiguous to library boards and indirectly received service by payment
of non-resident membership fees. These two totals accounted for 91.8% of
the number of persons unserved by public libraries in Ontario and 40.5% of
all the people in the province!
The spatial extent of library service (based on Nursey s survey) is shown in
Map 3: Municipalities in Southern Ontario without Libraries in 1911/12.
The unshaded portion (377,170 people in townships without any access to
service) represents 16.4% of the provincial population; the shaded area represents a further 27.7% of the provincial population (635,909 persons) situated
in towns, villages, or townships who were served indirectly by neighbouring
library boards. In sum, 55.9% of the entire populace (1,283,068 people) was
being served.
There was an obvious need for collective action to reach the forty-five percent of the populace who were without direct library service, but opinions
varied on how to achieve this goal. Lawrence Burpee spoke on library cooperation at the Eastern Institute in 1911, saying that the 1909 act was a tad
paternalistic with regard to some rulings: "if some of the mandatory clauses
could be cut out, and room found for one or two broad policies, such as a
county library system, the act would be as near perfect as any reasonable
librarian could desire."117 County libraries were being formed in the United
States as an alternative to local municipal incorporation; in some cases, county
systems were established only for those localities without an existing library.
But rural Ontario, eager to guard its heritage of local political control, was not
yet ready for this development. Inspector Nursey summarized the situation
this way: "I think it is possible to make things too easy."118 William Arison,
who was beginning his lengthy tenure as chairman of the Niagara Falls library,
outlined in more detail this self-help and self-promotion attitude that prevailed locally, when he spoke at the Niagara Institute held in Beamsville in
1912:
The Ontario Library Association 155
Getting results is the main thing! Before entering into extension on county lines, let us make the fullest use of what we
have. The principal of efficiency is to-day recognized as allimportant in business management and is no less applicable
in library work...Good advertising brings results, and it is
regarded as of so much value that experts are employed to do
it by many business concerns.11^
Clearly, the extent of local initiative and freedom was the central issue to be
addressed in any rural library scheme.
Proponents for change were divided on how to introduce a plan that was
practicable. One proposal for the general organization of extension services
drew upon the idea that James Bain had made fifteen years previously: the
need for a central provincial library. A.W. Cameron, OLA president for
1910/11, felt that such a library was a necessary foundation on which to
develop rural library service.
There is need then of a Provincial Library whose volumes are
accessible to everyone in this Province; a system of County
Libraries to supplement the smaller libraries and to exercise
judicious supervision over them and such provision as will
make it possible for townships and even sections of them, to
organize so as to secure free Public Library facilities. Free
education will not be wholly attained in this Province until it
is possible for every sincere student to obtain the material for
his legitimate study and research from some of our Public
Libraries.120
Cameron proposed an amalgamation of the Legislative Library, the Law
Society library at Osgoode Hall, the Department of Education library in the
Normal School, and the Library for the Blind at Markham. But there was little interest. Even Hugh Langton, who had returned as OLA's treasurer for one
year, said that he failed to see the benefit.
In fact, Cameron's suggested amalgamation competed with another major
proposition by Lawrence Burpee, the incoming OLA president for 1911/12.
Burpee wrote to Hardy in February 1911 to say that he had called for the creation of a National Library at Ottawa, in the pages of Andrew Macphail's
University Magazine. He asked Hardy to "support it by an article in one of the
Toronto newspapers, or wherever you think it would have most weight."121
Burpee conceived a central library in the nation's capital which would collect
resources from the whole range of human knowledge, serve as a reference
156 The Modern Public Library Emerges
library, and interloan books to colleges, universities, and provincial and public
libraries across the country.122 The OLA membership unanimously endorsed
his concept at the 1911 meeting, calling for a royal commission to investigate
the establishment of such a body. Hardy forwarded the resolution to the federal government in May 1911. Although a number of prominent newspapers
and magazines, including Saturday Night, backed Burpee's argument, national
politics followed its own agenda.123 A federal election was underway by midsummer; it resulted in the defeat of Sir Wilfrid Laurier's Liberal party in
September. The plan for a national library lingered for many years thereafter.
Burpee resumed his lobbying in 1918 with a proposal to combine a national
war memorial with a library, but nothing concrete came of his efforts.12^
Burpee was not to live to see its creation in 1953.
To rouse support for library extension, Lutie Stearns, an outspoken advocate from the travelling library department of the Wisconsin Free Library
Commission, was invited to speak at the 1913 OLA conference. She was a
success. Stearns spoke of the "library militant," its need for aggressiveness to
disseminate "the right ideas and ideals," even if it meant barring certain magazines or authors. The practice of censorship in libraries had yet to be squared
with the public s democratic right to read. Comparing the work of her own
commission, staffed by seven workers, with the efforts of Walter Nursey, she
frankly stated, "I think he ought to get a Carnegie Hero Medal."125 Stearns
was a good judge in these matters: she had helped establish 150 libraries,
1400 travelling libraries, and 14 county systems since commencing her work
in 1903.
The OLA finally was in a position to develop a province-wide consensus
on library extension in 1912. By this time, library institutes were attracting
representatives from more than 250 libraries, which was four times the number in attendance at the OLA annual meeting. The success of the district programs meant that a more accurate gauge of grassroots opinion could be made;
thus the OLAs standing legal committee sought resolutions between 1912
and 1914 on a better system of rural extension. The committee considered
and rejected a proposal for obligatory library grants by county councils. It
then entertained rival plans for a "free rural library" system based on township
or county boards. Opinion was divided in the institutes: Guelph and York
favoured the county as a unit of service; Lindsay and the Eastern institute
advocated the township; Belleville, Niagara, and Chatham did not have a
preference; the other institute districts made no comment. In 1914, the legal
committee recommended the township as the next logical step.126
In fact, neither the OLA, nor rural delegates, nor the Inspector's office
could decide on the issue: a clear-cut verdict was impossible in the face of so
many options. County system advocates, such as Edwin Hardy and William
The Ontario Library Association 157
Carson, ran the risk of infringing the principle of local autonomy, despite
pleas for "a co-operative scheme so that the public money is expended for
every part of the public."127 The Chatham district put forward its own solution: it would allow any city, town or village library board to be taken over by
the municipality in which it was geographically situated, thus creating a free
library By this measure, surrounding township residents would be entitled to
use libraries free of charge and to receive a grant from the county. Andrew
Denholm stated the case at the annual OLA meeting in 1915:
Let the County Councils see that the people are getting the
benefit outside of the towns and villages and there will not be
any material objection from them. To adopt this proposition
means you are placing a burden on all the County Councils
in this Province, probably $50,000.00 a year. It is not a considerable amount at all, and by so doing you put the people
of all the townships in the position to go to their nearest
town and have library privileges, ...128
To some delegates, though, Denholms option trespassed on the autonomy of
cities and towns.
There were other remedies. Bolstering provincial aid or relaxing grant regulations for smaller libraries were familiar themes, ones popular with the
grassroots majority. However, Walter Nursey was quick to point out that
Ontario's financial aid took second place to none and that legislative aid was
not likely to be increased. This being political reality, some old library
schemes were revived. For example, following the 1914 recommendation, one
of the members of the legal committee, Norman Gurd (Illus. 30), who had
resumed his activity in OLA after writing The Story of Tecumseh, must have
startled his audience at the Eastern Institute when he suggested that the rural
schoolhouse could function as a free public library. The school section board,
then, would constitute the library board. He was aware that this system "was
tried years ago in Ontario and was not a success ... but much water has run
under the bridges since then."129
However, there could be no turning back to Ryersons free public library
system in public schools. Urban life and communications were transforming
the regional bastions of Ontario. Toronto was the hub of the province's industrial life. As the pace of society quickened, the interconnections between farmhouse and city factory became more binding. Now more than fifty percent of
the populace lived in urban centres according to the census of 1911; farm
communities were suffering the effects of this exodus. Highways were about
to replace railways. According to a 1912 automobile guide, close to twenty
158 The Modern Public Library Emerges
thousand automobiles were now registered in the province, several clubs had
been formed, and a concrete highway from Toronto to Hamilton was under
construction. By 1914, the transmission lines of the Hydro-Electric Power
Commission of Ontario, formed in 1906 under the direction of the ambitious
London politician, Adam Beck, connected dozens of southern cities with generating stations at Niagara Falls. Farmers were promised the convenience of
lighting, electric farm tools and house appliances. Telephone lines crisscrossed
the rural landscape and competed against rural free mail delivery. The old
school section, Ryersons centre of rural life, was dwarfed in the process.
But these changes being so recent were not necessarily pervasive. In rural
Ontario, there was no base on which to build a library system. The number of
police villages which had adopted free libraries since 1898 was negligible, and
smaller communities, where association libraries thrived, could not possibly
muster the tax resources to support free libraries. Permitting townships to
form free library boards was a simple, logical course, but the government
always had been reluctant to use this arrangement. A decade earlier, it had
blocked a private member's bill sponsored by Thomas Lennox, a Conservative
from York North riding, which would have permitted free libraries in townships.130 Presumably, the government felt more study was required before a
complete revision of the library act could be issued. When the government
finally did act in 1916, it was mostly in response to the township of South
Norwich, which wanted to secure a $6,000 Carnegie grant for a library in the
police village of Otterville. In this case, the member from South Oxford prepared legislation to allow townships to form free libraries (6 George V, c.45).
The act solved Otterville s problem; it seemed logical; and it reflected the
desire of rural residents to keep decisions for rate-supported services close at
hand. Self-help and local autonomy were integral partners in the success of
library extension, although it was an uneasy coalition to maintain in any type
of cooperative scheme.
If the OLA was unsuccessful in defining the kind of library extension best
suited to rural Ontario, it was able to boost the image of library service by
hosting the ALA annual meeting in 1912 at Ottawa. Executive members had
talked for years about such a meeting; however, they had never taken any definite action. There always seemed to be too few people to act as a local organizing committee or participate in programs. For example, OLA efforts to
promote a "Canadian Day" at the July 1910 ALA meeting on Mackinac
Island, Michigan, had failed for want of speakers and financial support.
Walter Nursey declined to become too involved in any plan to host ALA, but
he did agree with Hardy that "it would be an admirable idea to try and get
the American Library Association to hold their annual meeting say in 1912 in
Canada."131
The Ontario Library Association 159
Three days after receiving Nursey's letter, Hardy read a missive from
Burpee.
My dear Hardy:
A formal invitation has just been sent from here to the
A.L.A. to meet in Ottawa in 1911.1 have been trying for several years to arrange such a meeting, but hitherto the lack of
satisfactory hotel accomodation [sic] has stood in the way.
Now however we have the promise that the Chateau Laurier
will be completed next spring. I shall be very glad if
Cameron and yourself would formally endorse the invitation
on behalf of the O.L.A. You could either write direct to
Hodges, or send me a letter that I could submit at the meeting this year.
I hope that you and Cameron and at least a few others
will manage to get to Mackinac.
Yours sincerely132
Burpee was the right man to organize the meeting. He had many contacts in
the Eastern Institute, the government, and national organizations in the capital, which allowed him to put together an energetic local committee of
approximately forty politicians, academics, librarians, teachers, judges,
trustees, and organizational representatives. For their part, both Nursey and
Hardy were to become principals in rousing other libraries to make the convention a success.
After the ALA executive considered Ottawa's proposal, they chose 1912 as
a suitable time for their second visit to Canada. Burpee, Hardy, and Nursey all
worked tirelessly to organize a strong Canadian contingent. Dr. Pyne agreed
to allocate $900 towards the meeting; most of the money was reserved for
travelling arrangements. Hardy compiled a list of one hundred libraries and
mailed a memorandum in January 1912 requesting boards to send a representative, preferably the librarian, and to underwrite hotel accommodation for
five days. Delegates were asked to fund their own registration and membership fees, which were set at $3.00.133 The April OLA gathering, attended by
sixty members, was another opportunity to discuss the advantages of registering for the ALA conference.
This undertaking occupied Hardy and Nursey for the first six months of
1912. Some boards were reluctant to send the librarian; others had to be
prodded to attend. In the case of Palmerston, Miss Adeline Kopp asked Hardy
to write the board s secretary again, suggesting that the librarian be allowed to
attend. The board finally responded to Hardy s follow-up letters and permit-
160
The Modern Public Library Emerges
ted Kopp to go to Ottawa.134 These day-to-day maneuvers on Hardy's part
eventually spelled success. By the beginning of June, Nursey was anxious
about costs — he had fewer than $700 to pay transportation expenses all
round. He asked Hardy to close the invitation list because "we won't have
money enough."135 Then a preliminary list of about seventy-five delegates,
along with railway and hotel arrangements, was published.13^ Eventually, one
hundred and twenty-five people from Ontario registered for the ALA conference. This was more than any single American state, including nearby New
York. When one considers typical attendance figures at the OLA annual meetings in Toronto, this turnout was a well-organized Canadian showing.
ALA delegates travelled to Ottawa at the end of June by special trains from
the east and mid-west states. The western travellers stopped at Toronto where
they were guests at a round of local receptions and dinners. Mary Ahern, the
editor of the Chicago-based Public Libraries, described them as cordial and
pleasant but tiring.137 The conference opened on 26 June; the outgoing president, Herbert Putnam, from the Library of Congress, declared, "we are free to
indulge in reciprocities that will be complete, mutual, and enduring."138 On
Dominion Day, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, now leader of the opposition in the
Commons, spoke to the assembly about Canadian-American ties, extolling the
undefended border as an ideal friendship between two nations worthy of emulation by others. Laurier's sentiments were shared by Richard Bowker, the editor of Library Journal, who replied that "American" should be used in a broader sense: "We may almost hope that there shall be no Canada library association, but we hope that Ontario, with its library association, will be the pioneer
to lead its sister provinces into the fellowship and affiliation in which our
other [state] associations stand in the American library association/'139
Ontario representatives actively contributed to the proceedings. Canadian
offerings dominated the Trustees Section held on Friday evening, 28 June, in
the private dining room of the Chateau Laurier. Otto Klotz prepared a paper
on board members' duties, and Walter Nursey spoke about the role of
trustees.140 The Americans were surprised (or amused) by frequent references
in the local press to the sizeable number of women at the conference, and they
found the number of male trustees from the host province unusual.141 At the
conclusion of the general annual meeting, a resolution was passed supporting
the establishment of a National Library "at the earliest possible moment." By
all accounts, the conference was deemed successful. It was proof of Ontario's
growing stature in the world of librarianship. The ALA would not return to
Canada for another fifteen years, and when it did, George Locke, a minor
official in 1912, would host events at Toronto as ALA's president.
By 1914, the OLA had unquestionably matured. The president, William
F. Moore, summed up the general sentiment: "This is the fourteenth year of
The Ontario Library Association 161
our existence and we are getting to be 'quite a big boy now, and we should
pause and take stock of our proceedings."142 He remarked that the association
had secured some impressive achievements, notably summer training schools
and library institutes. But the promotion of modern methods in local libraries
seemed foremost in his thoughts:
Before we organized, every Library stood as an isolated unit
with very little influence even locally. The great majority of
them were Mechanics' Institutes with a membership fee and
a very high age limit. I do not think there were ten libraries
in the Province with open shelving and probably not more
than the same number have a standard system of shelving.
Many of them have at least the card system of cataloguing
and nearly all of the towns and cities have the Dewey
Decimal or Cutter System. No possible help could be given
as to systematic purchasing of books or of repairing them.143
Moore also stressed that improved government support after 1905 and
Carnegie benefactions had helped position the library closer to the centre of
local concerns.
In Ontario, library service had improved dramatically within a brief span
of time. The provincial population had reached two million after 1900.
Meanwhile, the number of volumes held and circulated by free libraries had
doubled (Graph 6: Free Library Volumes and Circulation, 1882 to 1918). As
well, the OLA was gaining national and international recognition, an impressive feat for so young an organization. In Canada, dedicated alumni from
OLA were now helping to organize in other provincial jurisdictions. The expresident, A.W. Cameron, and Alexander H. Gibbard, one of the original
organizers, were instrumental in establishing the Saskatchewan Library
Association, which lasted from 1914 to 1918.l44 American librarians conferred recognition upon the OLA at the Ottawa meeting; subsequently,
Canadians were invited to speak at state association meetings in New York
and Michigan.145 More American contacts also were made because the OLA
shared similar international interests. For instance, in 1914, Matthew
Dudgeon, from the Wisconsin Free Library Commission, spoke in Toronto
on the universality of library service. It was a goal shared by most trustees and
librarians across North America. Like his Ontario colleagues, Dudgeon felt
victory depended "upon the people engaged locally in the work, and upon
nothing else."146
The dimensions of OLAs leadership can be gauged by its position on the
thorny problem of book selection, particularly "respectable" fiction. At the
162 The Modern Public Library Emerges
first OLA meeting in 1901, William Keller, an Uxbridge publisher, had
tapped into mainstream thought when he gave his opinion on the selection
process by library board members.
Therefore we attach a great deal of importance to the character of the books intended for promiscuous readers, and recommend directors or purchasing committees of a library to
exercise as much care as they can in selecting books, and a
parental censorship. With the greatest care possible some
trash will creep in, and a lot of light stuff will be read. In fact
we have to buy a certain amount of it knowingly. Selections,
however, can be made with a view to lead the readers of the
lighter fiction into the realms of historical tales, biography
and voyages and travel, which are a good substitute.147
Keller's acceptance of the stepladder theory of reading was not uncommon. It
came at the same time when new literary genres were emerging, such as the
espionage novel and American western fiction. Erskine Calder s The Riddle of
the Sands (1903) was an excellent example of the former, and Owen Wisters
The Virginian (1902) became a benchmark for the latter. As well, the censor's
role continued to be an integral part of librarianship before 1914.148 On the
censorship issue, OLA leaders were hardly enthusiastic proponents for more
lenient standards.
The inhibition of thought was an ingrained part of the Edwardian mentality. After William Sykes, Ottawa's new chief librarian, set about the task of
developing a retrospective list of about two thousand fiction titles for
Canadian public libraries, he spoke on the subject of trustworthy selection
guides at a session of the 1914 OLA conference. For current books, he recommended the American Library Association monthly book list, the OLA's yearly book list, and the English Librarian and Book World; for current reviews, he
suggested the Chicago Dial, the New York Nation (both termed "fearless" for
their independence), and the London Athenaeum ("a stern watchtower"). For
retrospective buying, he favoured the ALA. Catalog, 1904 and its supplements, the H.W. Wilson Company's Fiction Catalog published in 1908, and
Ernest. A. Baker's Guide to the Best Fiction in English^ Sykes' own work,
Selected List of Fiction in English (1914), supported the status quo: along with
the 1904 ALA. Catalog and the 1908 Wilson Fiction Catalog, it declined to
include controversial novels. Gustave Flaubert's Madame Bovary, Emile Zola's
Germinal, Thomas Hardy's Jude the Obscure, George Meredith's Lord Ormont,
Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray, George Moore's Esther Waters, Arthur
Morrison's Tales of Mean St., Henry James' Turn of the Screw, The
The Ontario Library Association 163
Ambassadors, and Awkward Age, and Frank Norris' McTeague all these significant works of literature were absent from the three lists.150 Librarians and
trustees believed that there were limits to public tolerance, and the OLA did
not explore the boundaries.
The first years of the Great War fortified traditional social beliefs and values. It was a time for self-reflection on the part of Ontario library workers. At
the Ashbury Park, New Jersey ALA annual conference, on 1 July 1916, Edwin
Hardy lectured on the special features of Ontario's library system.
First, the public library is an integral part of the educational
system of the province. Second, voluntary co-operation,
organized as the Ontario Library Association, is a driving
force of increasing power. Third, the joint activity of the official staff [the education department] and the unofficial organization makes possible many things that neither could
accomplish by itself. Fourth, the development of the trustee
has kept pace with that of the librarian. It may be that this is
our most distinctive feature ...151
The Ontario library movement was riding a crescendo of applause and selfcongratulation. A good deal was justified. The system's merits outweighed its
faults, and Ontario's librarians had a right to radiate enthusiasm and energy.
The worthy accomplishments of the OLA were interrupted abruptly by
the outbreak of war in Europe. All public energies were urgently channelled
towards the swift subjugation of the Central Powers. In every community
across the province, patriotic work and enlistment became the order of the
day. Almost a quarter-million Ontarians would shoulder arms for Empire and
Country in a struggle the magnitude and ferocity of which no one imagined
in August 1914. Library trustees and other officers were no exceptions.
Inspector Nursey, a veteran of the North-West rebellion, canvassed libraries to
find that forty men and women already had joined military ranks by the first
months of 1915. Their names immediately were published as an honour
roll.152 Patriotism and heroism were still noble virtues in spring 1915.
However, as the conflict escalated with no decision in sight, a noticeable
change of public mood transpired as the grief, horror, and ultimate futility of
warfare came to be better comprehended. Many readers saw the truth of the
matter in H.G. Well's Mr. Ending Sees It Through, a realistic wartime novel
which portrayed a young American recruit in the Canadian army who
dreamed not of conquest but of a lasting peace. The Great War came to signify not another imperial interlude in the nation's history, but a psychological
watershed, a coming of age undertaken in a brutal baptism of fire at obscure
164
The Modern Public Library Emerges
infernos: Ypres, the Somme, Hill 70, Vimy Ridge, and Passchendaele. Once
the soldiers returned home, politics and private life were changed forever. The
library movement was no different. Its many pre-war achievements were pale
memories by November 1918.
Illus. 1 Egerton Ryerson [AO, s-623]
Illus. 2 Toronto Mechanics' Institute entrance to Music Hall on Adelaide
Street, n.d. [AO,s-ii78]
Illus. 3 Ontario's prize and school library book display (front row, far left) at
the Philadelphia Exhibition, 1876
(J.G. Hodgins, Special Report on Ontario Educational Exhibit (\87 6)]
Illus. 4 Waterloo Mechanics' Institute in Town Hall on Albert Street, n.d.
Entrance On right Side. [Waterloo Public Library]
Illus. 5 John Taylor served on
Toronto library board, 1884-99
[MTRL, T-3061]
Illus. 6 Joseph Gould Institute built of white brick with red brick trimming,
completed 1887 [RMEfor 1907]
Illus. 7 Stack room and delivery desk in Clinton library [AO, 5-2031]
Illus. 8 Streetsville Free Public Library after 1 Nov. 1901 [AO,s-i6035]
Illus. 9
Merchant, alderman, library
chairman: John Hallam,
1833-1900 [MTRL,T-13698]
Illus. 10
James Bain, Jr., 1842-1908
[MTRL,T-13648]
Illus. 11
Grip cartoon, 2 Dec. 1882,
"The Workingmans chance":
Scene: a gentleman's house
Tom Plane Jack, how long do
you spose it will be before you
or me owns a library like this?
Jack Square Not long. I
expect to have something finer
than this early in the new year.
Tom Nonsense! What do you
mean?
Jack I mean that I'm going to
vote for the Free Public Library
at the same time that I mark my
ballot for John Taylor as
Alderman.
Illus. 12 Grip cartoon, 30 Dec. 1882, "A chance for the sons of toil":
Santa Claus: Vote for it, my dears, and you shall have it.
Illus. 13 The Muskoka Club: the OLA presidents are James Bain (4) and
William Tytler (7). [MTRL, 7-15202]
Illus. 14 Dundas Public Library in the old Elgin House Hotel on King Street,
C. 1896 [AO,S-6934]
Illus. 15 Toronto Public Library's branch on Dundas Street, c. 1900
[MTRL, T-30605]
Illus. 16 A quiet place to read: Hamilton's reading room, n.d.
[Hamilton Public Library]
Illus. 17 James Howe with his captains hat in the Southampton Mechanics'
Institute library, n.d. [Bruce County Museum]
Illus. 18 London's old red brick library, n.d. [London Public Library]
Illus. 19
Robert Blackwell, chief
librarian 1895-1906,
London Public Library
[London Public Library]
Illus. 20 Globe cartoon, 26 Jan. 1899: "Our Free Library." What Uncle Sam
doesn't known about governing a nation would fill several volumes - and we
have the books.
Illus. 21
Lawrence J. Burpee believed in
modern methods
[NAG, PA-110839]
Illus. 22 Standing room only: Toronto Public Library's central newspaper
reading room, c. 1900 [MTRL, T- 12006]
Illus. 23
Edwin Austin Hardy,
OLA secretary 1900-25.
[E.A. Hardy, Public Library]
Illus. 24 Toronto reference staff, c. 1895. Standing I. to r.\ Eva Davis, Rose
Ferguson, Elizabeth Moir, Hattie Pettit, Margaret McElderry, Margaret
Graham, Frances Staton. Seated I. to r.\ Teresa O'Connor, Mina Wylie.
[MTRL, T-12007]
Illus. 25
William Tytler, one of the OLA
originals
cc
. «
•
1 »
[E.A. Hardy, Public Library]
Illus. 26 OLA conference delegates, 16 April 1906. Seated in front row:
Norman Gurd (third from left), William Robertson, president (centre),
JameS Bain (far right) [Ontario Library Association]
Illus. 27 After the story hour: Sarnia Public Library, 2 March 1907
[AO, S-2058]
Illus. 28
B. Mabel Dunham, chief
librarian 1908-44, Kitchener
Public Library
[E.A. Hardy, Public Library]
Illus. 29 First Summer Library School, 1911. Top row I. to r.\ Inspector
Nursey, Fred DelaFosse, Lewis Hornung. Centre row I to r., third, Patricia
Spereman, y?/% Mabel Dunham. Frontrow far/.: Mary Black. [RMEini]
Illus. 30
Progressive ideals: Norman
Gurd, Sarnia Public Library
1900-43 [E.A. Hardy, Public Library]
Illus. 31 Eastern Institute meeting, Ottawa, 17 Nov. 1909. Otto Klotz (1),
Charles Gould, McGill (2), Lawrence Burpee (3), Mary Saxe, Westmount P.L.
(4),
Walter Nursey (5) [Ottawa Public Library]
Illus. 32 Andrew Carnegie (to left of the mayor of Ottawa wearing the chain
of office) at the opening of the Carnegie Library, Ottawa, 30 April 1906
[Ottawa Public Library]
Illus. 33 Pedimented Beaux-Arts style: Lindsay Public Library, c. 1905
[AO,S-2037]
Illus. 34 Columned Beaux-Arts style: Guelph Public Library, c. 1905
[AO, S-2035]
Illus. 35 Ottawa Evening Journal, 28 April 1906: "Wake Up! Were Going to
Open the Library."
Illus. 36 Children's department at Ottawa, c. 1909 [Ottawa Public Library]
Illus. 37 Reference library on College Street, Toronto, 13 March 1915
[NAG, PA-61384]
Illus. 38 Reading room, Toronto Public Library, 11 March 1924
[NAG, PA-86499]
Illus. 39 Adam Hunter (and library staff?) at the laying of the cornerstone at
Hamilton, 1 Aug.
1911 [Hamilton Public Library]
Illus. 40 Plans "A" to "C" from Notes on the Erection of Library Buildings by
James Bertram
Illus. 41 Plans "D" to "F" from Notes on the Erection of Library Buildings by
James Bertram
Illus. 42 Sarnia Public Library floor plan [PME£OI 1906]
Illus. 43 Public Library, Victoria Park, Sarnia, c. 1907 [NAG, PA-60700]
Illus. 44
Mary J. Black, chief librarian at
Fort William 1909-37
[E.A. Hardy, Public Library]
Illus. 45
William O. Carson,
1874-1929 [London Public Library]
Illus. 46
George Herbert Locke, c. 192-?,
chief librarian, Toronto Public
Library, 1909-37 [MTRL, 7-13722]
Illus. 47 Toronto Public Library branch on Church Street, 8 Feb. 1924
[NAG, PA 86436]
Illus. 48
William Sykes, OLA president
1921/22 [NAG, C-27771]
Illus. 49 Boys* and Girls' House, St. George Street, c. 1922 [MTRL, T-30604]
Illus. 50 Waiting for the story hour at Toronto Central Library, c. 1921
[MTRL, T-12141]
Illus. 51 Main floor of Kingston Public Library, c. 1925 [Kingston Public Library]
Illus. 52 Passing the Carnegie Brantford Library entrance, 7 May 1922
[NAG, PA-84804]
Illus. 53 Ontario Library Association executive officers, 19 April 1926:
/. to r.\ E.A. Hardy, F. DelaFosse, William Briden (St. Catharines),
James Steele (Stratford), George W. Rudlen (Arnprior), Fred Landon,
Winifred Matheson (Brantford), Aimee Kennedy, Mary J. Black,
David Williams (Collingwood), George Locke [AO, 1018]
Illus. 54 Foreign delegates at ALA conference, New York's Hotel Plaza
ballroom, 9 Oct. 1926. George Locke seated third from right at head table
[MTRL,T-13643]
Chapter 7
CARNEGIE PHILANTHROPY
"T"T7rThen Andrew Carnegie retired from the business of steel in 1901,
V \ / he formally offered a program to fund the construction of public
\ahlibrary buildings in Engl
munificence accelerated the transformation of library service in Ontario.
Leaders in the OLA provided ideas and energy for action, and the Education
Department encouraged and regulated developments; however, Carnegie
grants were the necessary catalyst in the rapid expansion of public libraries
during the Edwardian era. Carnegie's generosity made possible the erection of
public edifices specifically designed as libraries, supplanting the ill-suited halls
and cramped, rented rooms that had passed for libraries since 1882. In some
instances, the metamorphosis was swift. Robert Nixon, the son of a Liberal
premier and a former leader of the Liberal party in Ontario, said, "The
founder of our library system was Andrew Carnegie, an American who was
born in Scotland. He did more for the library system of this province than
this Legislature ..."1 Nixon's judgement, far from being hyperbole, accurately
summed up the lasting impact of Carnegie philanthropy.
The steel magnate from tiny Dunfermline possessed a simple philosophy
about libraries. He was uninterested in almsgiving. As he noted in his essay,
"The Gospel of Wealth," his fortune was directed to those who demonstrated
the indispensable ethic of self-help: "No millionaire will go far wrong in his
search for one of the best forms for the use of his surplus who chooses to
establish a free library in any community that is willing to maintain and
develop it."2 Carnegie's faith in libraries stemmed from his belief that they
were an integral component of local self-government. Municipal government,
particularly the American variant, was a feature of the democratic genius of
the Anglo-Saxon race. It was a political convention which citizens in other
nations should adopt to their own advantage. Writing in Triumphant
Democracy, an industrial captain's paean to the American republic and its
industrious citizens, Carnegie stated, "her members are readers and buyers of
books and reading matter beyond the members of any government of a
class."3 Years later, in Ottawa, Carnegie still held to this belief: "The free
166
The Modern Public Library Emerges
library flourishes only under free institutions. It is the child of triumphant
democracy. Within its walls there is perfect equality."4
Carnegie was like John Hallam: he had an abiding respect for book-learning and self-education. It was a panacea he had adopted when he emigrated
from Scotland to America and began working as a bobbin boy in a cotton mill
near Pittsburgh. He never abandoned his faith in libraries; it became a lifelong
commitment. On 11 March 1915, he wrote William Carson, the president of
OLA, summarizing his thoughts on the value of the library as a social force.
The library has become an essential part of the useful and
intellectual life of the community. Its work begins with the
children, in many cases before the school. It follows the pupil
through the school years and helps him in his study hours. It
follows him in his business and profession and helps his wife
at home. In fact, it furnishes instruction, recreation, solace,
help and inspiration.5
If knowledge was power, people of all ages from every station in life, who
availed themselves of the library's resources, might benefit from its civilizing
force.
The terms for receiving a grant directly from Carnegie or the Carnegie
Corporation (between 1911 and 1917) were straightforward,6 Two businesslike commitments were required from local municipalities before funds
for a building were released: a suitable site and a promise to provide at least
ten percent of the total grant for annual operating expenses. Most architectural arrangements were made locally; not until 1908 were communities required
to forward building plans before grants were authorized. Carnegie and his
personal secretary, James Bertram, who handled library correspondence, both
insisted on dealing with elected officials and library trustees on this score,
thereby eliminating voluntary associations from the philanthropic process.
The standard Carnegie formula for awarding grants was approximately two
dollars per capita. In Ontario, grants ranged from $275,000 for Toronto's central library to $3,000 for Kemptville. Most grants were not sizeable. Only
three places - Toronto, Ottawa, and Hamilton - received $100,000 or more
before the Carnegie building gifts ceased at the end of 1917.
There was also a third requirement, one that boosted the social standing
of public library service: the library must be free to its citizens. Society or
association libraries which charged membership fees were excluded from
Carnegie's largesse. In 1900, there were 126 free library boards and 263 public
libraries classified as not free for a total of 389 boards in Ontario. This was a
remarkable increase over two decades. Free libraries were mostly of recent ori-
Carnegie Philanthropy
167
gin; they had come into existence after the revised 1895 legislation had broadened the meaning of free status and eliminated the necessity for a local bylaw
vote. However, some large cities, such as Ottawa or Kingston, had not made
the transition to free status; their communities could apply for Carnegie
grants but were not eligible to receive them until they adopted those procedures in the provincial act which refashioned the power, funding, and governance of their boards. The American millionaire's program strengthened the
ranks of free libraries, and provided an important asset for local organizers
who were attempting to improve library conditions.
What then were the major consequences of Carnegie philanthropy in
Ontario? Ottawa's civic address of welcome for the New York celebrity, who
personally opened its library in 1906 (Illus. 32), proclaimed a lasting debt: "In
your generous support of the public library movement you have earned not
only the gratitude of the present generation, but the gratitude of generations
to come."7 Beyond the rhetoric, Carnegie funding was a pivotal moment in
the province's public library history. There is ample evidence that it provided a
strong incentive for libraries to attain free status. Since the local interplay
among individuals, library boards, municipal councils, and aldermen usually
resulted in acceptance of a proposed gift, libraries generally profited from these
debates. Even in difficult circumstances, any increase in public support furthered the cause of free libraries. Tavistock is a good example. It received
Carnegie approval in April 1914 shortly before the Great War; it passed its free
library bylaw in May 1915 by a vote of 123 to 20; and then it proceeded to
erect its building while public energy was devoted to the war effort.8
The Carnegie program of library building undoubtedly stimulated and
reinforced the library movement. Free library service and the popular use of
books grew steadily during the Carnegie years. The public perception of the
library changed at the same time new library methods, building techniques,
and architectural concepts were introduced. Trustees, librarians, and architects
experimented with open access; shelving arrangements which accommodated
books classified according to the decimal system; less imposing circulation
counters which used more efficient charging systems; children's sections; and
improved floor layouts which reduced the number of halls and passageways.
The emphasis in library design evolved from a priority on storage to user convenience and preference. As a result, the public library's service programs garnered increased public respect; its institutional base in the community was
strengthened; its ranks were swelled with new recruits; its goals were redefined
with the object of catering to the convenience and perceived needs of users.
The Carnegie boom of the first two decades of the twentieth century helped
create a shared vision of the library as a busy centre of community intellectual
life.
168 The Modem Public Library Emerges
Mr. Carnegie s Canadian Reception
Carnegie funding was often a source of contention in many Ontario communities. Carnegie spoke freely on many issues; his name was associated with
many causes and viewpoints, some less palatable than others, which transcended national boundaries.9 The conflicts that surfaced when library gifts became
available provided a valuable opportunity for library boosters to explain the
important role libraries served and to attract more supporters. A great awakening was slowly taking place. Many local allies, who otherwise would not have
served as library trustees or have been associated with the OLA, came forth
and successfully altered the status quo within their communities. Obviously,
additional backing was crucial, for a community's alleged fondness for bookreading by itself would not convince many aldermen to accept the responsibility of erecting a library and providing subsequent maintenance.
Although opposition to Carnegie funding arose on numerous occasions,
the opinions of local elites and the general public converged to actuate a high
degree of acceptance. The various reasons for acceptance underscore the complexity of local political culture and the growing strength that the public
library movement was achieving in the age of Carnegie. Recent American
research on local or regional responses to Carnegie benefactions indicates that
pro-library arguments may have been similar across the nation but often were
voiced in terms of dissimilar local cultural settings; also, variations could exist
within regions.10 The Ontario experience suggests similar conclusions, that is,
a resemblance of surface events with underlying structural differences. It also
demonstrates, in a Canadian context, that pro-Carnegie considerations boosted the public library movement during this critical period, even though
Carnegie's opinions and his image clashed with some of Canada's national
goals.
Andrew Carnegie was the son of a Chartist weaver. He loved to invoke his
Scottish roots and sometimes recalled that his father had organized a circulating library in his home town. The Union Jack sewn to the Star Spangled
Banner flew over Carnegie's holiday castle at Skibo, described by an Ontario
writer-poet, Wilfred Campbell, as ancient Scotland with American touches.11
But in Canada the steel king was regarded as a foreigner, an American capitalist who did not know (or care) about Canadian aspirations and the country's
material and social conditions. On the question of Canadian nationhood,
Carnegie claimed that Canada's destiny lay with the United States, that the
British connection would falter in a world where all colonial linkages were
weakening.12 In Triumphant Democracy he wrote:
But why talk of Canada, or of any mere colony? What book,
what invention, what statue or picture, what anything has a
Carnegie Philanthropy 169
colony ever produced, or what man has grown up in any
colony who has become know beyond his own local district?
None.1*
Naturally, this drew the ire of strict Canadian nationalists, who were opposed
to continental union, and imperial thinkers, such as Premier George Ross,
who felt that Canada had to evolve within the British orbit. Another serious
liability was Carnegie's decision to champion American style republicanism —
"the march of the Republic" - over British political institutions at a time when
Canada was still proud to be the eldest daughter of the empire and when
Canadian Clubs were forming in major cities.
Many Canadian imperialists believed that Canada's national character was
unfolding within a British imperial federation that was strengthened by the
young nations vigour. In fact, the phrase "splendid isolation," often used to
describe Britain's findesiecle diplomatic situation, originated in Canada's parliament. It was coined when American pressure on Britain heightened during
the Venezuelan crisis of 1895-96. Its terminology applied not only to Britain
but also to the great Mother Empire itself to which Canada belonged by
choice and which Canada was destined to transform as its stature and influence matured.14 The imperialist sentiment thrived in Ontario. Sara Jeannette
Duncan's The Imperialist was an accurate barometer of this mood. However,
as Canadian nationalism grew, the British tie weakened. Common sense dictated a middle course. Canada was the United States' best neighbour, a partner in the world's longest undefended border. It shared a continental culture;
for example, in 1904, Canadians competed as a separate team at the third
Olympiad held in St. Louis. A growing number of people were inclined to
think that Canada could live peacefully with both powers as a completely
independent nation.
Some Ontarians refused outright to accept any Carnegie assistance. To
them, self-help meant carrying out good works at home; charity from abroad
was denounced as demeaning and enervating, especially when they read
Carnegie's pronouncement that "Canada has no future except as part of the
United States."15 The Conservative federal member for West Toronto,
Edmund B. Osier, characterized Carnegie's $350,000 offer to Toronto as "a
piece of impertinence." He felt that Toronto was able to govern its own education and should not submit to Carnegie's arbitrary terms. LieutenantColonel George T. Denison, an old "Canada Firster" and ardent imperialist,
stood his ground: the outside offer should be resisted, Toronto was able to pay
its own way. But other staunch supporters of Canadian independence disagreed. John McConnell, the assertive manager of Saturday Night who advocated increased national autonomy, wanted to accept the money to build up
170
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Canada; he reasoned no one would refuse money from Canada if it were
offered abroad.16
A Methodist clergyman, A.H. Going, issued a typical nationalist expression of disfavour at the beginning of 1902. Going told his Stratford congregation that an important reason for refusing Carnegie's money was the issue of
his comments on Canadian nationality.
Carnegie was a foreigner and a foreigner who aimed at the
subverting of our relation to the mother country. 'He would
touch money from no man who would aim to pull down the
British flag from over the Dominion, to replace it with the
stars and stripes/17
When Going's remarks were attacked in Stratford newspapers and rejected by
the municipal council, he repeated his earlier criticism and proudly asserted,
"I'm a Canadian. I'm not a great man, but I want it understood that a colony
has produced one man who spurns his proffered gold, and who would feel
himself less a man if he did not say so."18 His stand drew support from many
quarters, and the Stratford council only accepted the gift by a narrow vote of
five to four after three months of debate.19 Stratford became one of the first
Carnegie libraries to open its doors in Ontario, in September 1903, but the
name "Carnegie" did not appear above the entrance.
Opponents, including Going, were at a serious disadvantage when they
were asked to propose alternative sources of funding. They had to admit that
there were no donors close at hand as generous as Carnegie. The public
libraries built at Clinton, Napanee, and Uxbridge, which were built before the
Carnegie program, were exceptions. Why did Ontario not produce men such
as Carnegie or his English counterpart, John Passmore Edwards, who funded
about thirty free libraries before his death in 1911? A contemporary columnist
in the Canadian Magazine wrote, "It is largely a question of a lack of ideals
both on the part of the giver and the town."20 From the perspective of hindsight, perhaps it was simply a case of having fewer millionaires.
For whatever reason, benefactors in Ontario usually did not find the
public library worthy of attention. Only a few communities drew substantial
support from local donors; for example, Belleville received $25,000 from
Senator Harry Corby. Kingston, a city that refused library gifts from foreigners, had to make do with a butcher shop donated in March 19II. 2 1
Regardless of one's opinion about the man, Andrew Carnegie was forthright
in his financial support; once an agreement was struck, the Carnegie
Corporation would fulfill its promise if local elected authorities performed
their tasks. As a result, philanthropy became divorced from the realm of local
Carnegie Philanthropy
171
paternalism. The direction of Carnegie library benefactions established the
modern pattern for foundation grants based on regular, rational, transnational policies.22
The absence of bountiful individuals, the woeful condition of some
libraries, and the unlikelihood of municipal debentures for a building left no
alternative in many cases. In 1903, James Bain, who had gone on record
about the need for a revitalized central library in Toronto, and who had spoken about the need to add branches in the last part of 1902,23 made a strong
case on behalf of accepting Carnegie's proposal.
... the Public Library building, having been erected in 1854,
had become so rotten that on Saturday last three men were
required to bail out the water which leaked through one section of the library. To place the library in anything like a safe
condition would necessitate an outlay of at least $15,000.
The heating apparatus had been put in 1872, and such was
the condition of the pipes that sufficient heat could not be
driven through to keep the temperature about 55 degrees on
a cold day.24
The librarian's predicament carried the day in a Globe editorial that pronounced in favour of Carnegie's intelligent style of philanthropy: it was simply
a matter of replacing an unfit and unsuitable library in order to open up "a
new era of progress and usefulness."25 In due time a promise was secured, land
was designated for a site, and before the end of 1906 a cornerstone had been
laid by the board chairman, Chief Justice William G. Falconbridge.
Some of Carnegie supporters had difficulty dealing with the nationalist
charge that he was an American alien, a scheming plutocrat, who could not to
be trusted. These same people found comfort in one of the philosophic ideas
Carnegie encouraged, "Anglo-Saxon" racism. He believed that the civilization
of the two major English-speaking nations, Great Britain and the United
States, was racially superior.26 This vague sentiment softened Carnegie's foreign image to a degree. Since the racial bond between Britain and America
made the countries appear to be natural allies, a rapprochement between the
two powers became more plausible. Some Canadians, notably Goldwin
Smith, a loyal friend of Carnegie, had promoted this convergence theory for
many years. It conveniently smoothed the way for British withdrawal in the
Americas and recognized the inevitable American expansion in the hemisphere.27 Even the conservative-minded Toronto World, a newspaper ready to
scold anyone critical of British tradition, seemed to find elements of nobility
and grandeur in Carnegie's global vision.28 As Anglo-American friendship
172
The Modem Public Library Emerges
slowly supplanted the long held hostility between the two nations, Canada's
position as a younger member of the Anglo-Saxon family sparked discussion
on both sides of the ocean.
Anglo-Saxonism connoted different things to different people. Most
knowledgeable Canadians realized that the possibility of a formal alliance
between Britain and the United States was unlikely.29 For some, AngloSaxonism implied not so much a racial convention as a cultural aptitude for
liberty and self-government. At times, Anglo-Saxonism was evoked as a potent
vision of destiny and greatness. Its civilizing mission was, after all, linked with
progress. The retired millionaire, who was sometimes inconsistent on many
points, eventually revised his stance on Canada without retracting his previous
contention that ultimately it would be absorbed by its southern neighbour.
When he visited Toronto on 26 April 1906 to address the Canadian Club, the
city newspapers reported favourably on Carnegie's declaration that Canada's
immediate task was to bring together Great Britain and America, thus reuniting the major English-speaking nations in the beneficial process of "race
imperialism." His revision was welcomed. Canada's function as a mediator
between the two powers was a familiar theme with prominent imperialists,
such as George Monro Grant.
Carnegie's espousal of Anglo-Saxonism coexisted conveniently with
Ontario's latent xenophobia concerning its major partner in Confederation,
Quebec. Most Anglo-Saxon proponents held that Quebec was inhabited by
the predominately Catholic, less gifted French-speaking Latin race (the positive aspects of Norman lineage were acknowledged by more discriminating
racial theorists). Even though the idea of racial superiority was shot through
with the internal contradictions and intellectual shortcomings of Social
Darwinism, there were library boosters in Ontario who could not resist
recounting the case of Montreal. In their view, Montreal had declined
$150,000 from the American millionaire in 1902 mainly on language and
religious grounds, and to their way of thinking, this was folly on a grand scale.
When Toronto debated its own offer a year later, the Loyal Orange Lodge
counselled aldermen to accept immediately, for it objected to any Roman
Catholic ecclesiastic or adherent "attempting to prevent this great Protestant
city from enjoying the benefits offered by Mr. Carnegie."30
Ontario's anti-French atmosphere, and the posture of its Conservative
government, stiffened over time. In 1912, the government considered severely
limiting instruction in French in its schools, a course it finally adopted with
the infamous Regulation 17.31 At the same time, Saturday Night came, to the
defense of Carnegie when a Quebec journal, L'Action Sociale, attacked him for
financing educational services that could erode the strength of Catholicism.
The Toronto editor was puzzled and outraged:
Carnegie Philanthropy
173
... as for Carnegie libraries they [Quebec] have long passed
them over, with the result that there is not to-day a decent
public library in Quebec city, Montreal, or in any other centre of the province of Quebec where the Catholic church
holds sway,32
Toronto, on the other hand, had chosen wisely and was reaping the blessings
of its earlier decision to accept Carnegie gifts. Obviously, the power of AngloSaxonism aroused strong emotions and tended to strengthen Canadian ties
with the American benefactor.
A more positive political factor weighing in Carnegie's favour was his
belief in progressive social reform fashioned by idealistic individuals, municipal governments, and organizations. Here he was on an advantageous footing,
not only in terms of local self-help or personal improvement, but also in general terms regarding social equality, civic and municipal reform, and liberal
improvement. These were transatlantic bonds shared by Canadian reformers,
American progressives, and British liberals.33 Stephen Leacock might satirize
the bumptious face of businesslike reform in "The Great Fight for Clean
Government," published in his Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich, but
reform and boosterism remained a potent force in municipal life. Such was
the fervour of local resourcefulness that Lawrence Burpee applauded
Carnegie s decision to turn down St. Catharines' request in 1905 for an additional grant of $5,000 to buy furnishings. This city, he alleged, by its attempt
to exploit a generous donor, had discredited a principle that all Anglo-Saxon
communities ought to possess: self-reliance and self-respect.34 Both Carnegie
and James Bertram doubtless agreed: the Secretary simply rejected St.
Catharines by stating, "he [Carnegie] does not see his way to add to the
amount."35
The pursuit of Carnegie money sometimes introduced the suspicion of
opportunism. In Sault Ste. Marie, a new town of the north blessed with pulpwood mills and hydro-electric potential, a local architect, H. Russell Halton,
sought a grant and planned a library as part of a larger civic complex that
included a fire station, magistrates' court, city offices, and a spacious public
hall underneath the library.36 When the library gift was announced in
December 1901, hyperbole in the local newspaper heightened the perception
that aldermen were too anxious to grasp a one-time windfall.
Andrew Carnegie, who has so much money he feeds his bull
pup on fruit cake the year around, has promised to let go of
$10,000 for a free library building for the Soo. Andrew gets
four freight car loads of money dumped into his backyard at
174
The Modern Public Library Emerges
No. 5, West 51st street [sic], New York, every morning,
whether he will or no, and the thing has got to be a nusance
[sic] ... So he heaved a sigh of relief when Mr. H.R. Halton
came forward and asked him for a free library building for
the Soo.37
Whatever the local intentions, municipal expense was kept to the absolute
minimum. After fire destroyed the uninsured Sault library in 1907, a second
grant, this time for $5»500, had to be secured from Carnegie.38
Not everyone was ready to acknowledge that libraries deserved lavish
sums of money. Goldwin Smith, corresponding with Carnegie, continued to
doubt the merits of popular circulating libraries two decades after downtown
branches opened in Toronto.39 Smith wrote to a friend:
In my humble judgment, Carnegie is making a very doubtful
use of his money, by multiplying popular libraries, which will
multiply fast enough of themselves, and which circulate
about seventy-five per cent of novels. But if I were to tell him
this, I should run the risk of impairing our friendship.40
Part of Smiths unwillingness to offend Carnegie stemmed from a recognition
that his friend s philanthropic habits were a positive force for local improvement in many different countries.
Carnegie poured sizeable sums into respectable causes outside the municipal realm that diffused his adversaries* criticisms and attracted support for his
personal philosophy of giving. His library giving introduced him to Melvil
Dewey, the influential American librarian, who was among the first to endorse
the wisdom of Carnegie donations, in an article for the respected Journal of
Social Science^1 Carnegie later corresponded with him on many occasions and
gave considerable sums to Deweys efforts to simplify English spelling. The
attempt to make simplified English a common world language, which was
assisted by well-intentioned luminaries, notably President Theodore
Roosevelt, enticed Carnegie to fund Dewey's campaign. However, as time
passed and the efforts of the National Simplified Spelling Board yielded few
results, he withdrew his annual $25,000 support in 1915.42 The outbreak of
war in Europe dispelled Carnegie's optimistic opinions concerning human
nature and the viability of progress. It also ended the immediate prospect of
international peace, another cause he held dear to his heart.
Carnegie's involvement in the prewar peace movement was perhaps his
boldest initiative in world scale hurnanitarianism. He often denounced the
bellicosity of foreign nations and the ineffectiveness of international diplomacy.
Carnegie Philanthropy
175
He liked to point to the peaceful boundary shared by Canada and the United
States. On his 1906 Canadian trip, Carnegie lauded both the undefended
border and Sir Wilfrid Laurier's pronounced distaste for European militarism.
The Canadian-American relationship was an illustrious precedent for the rest
of the world to imitate: two Anglo-Saxon nations demonstrating the power of
peaceful coexistence! It was difficult to argue against Carnegie on this score.
Even Laurier himself admitted that the two of them held many ideas in common.43
At first, Carnegie elected to exploit his own influence with international
figures, but, upon further consideration, he decided to spend his money for
peace on a modern corporate plan.44 After he allocated ten million dollars for
the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace in 1910, the prospect for
creating worldwide organizations and tribunals to adjudicate disputes between
hostile nations seemed auspicious. Carnegie's concern for peaceful endeavours,
coming as it did midway in the library program, earned him some credit, but
Canadian pacifists were still on the political periphery during these years.
Only a handful of people associated with libraries, such as Lewis E. Hornung,
supported the peace movement or seemed concerned about international
efforts to stem the tide of militaristic jingoism.45 Nonetheless, Carnegie's
exploration of mediative ways to achieve peace conveyed a constructive force
in world affairs.
If one ignores Canadian nationalist aspirations, one might view the
Carnegie image in Ontario's political culture in a positive light. But that light
was diminished by the charge of tainted money. The steel baron had not
made his fortune without confrontations with his workers. The most notorious episode occurred in Homestead, Pennsylvania, in July 1892, while
Carnegie was abroad. The Carnegie Iron and Steel Company hired three hundred armed Pinkerton agents to deal with a workers' strike organized by the
Amalgamated Association of Iron and Steel Workers. It was a perilous situation. After negotiations had reached an impasse, the union strikers seized the
steel works and refused to leave. As soon as the Pinkerton guards arrived in
Homestead, gunfire erupted. During the course of the fighting, 145 were
wounded and 11 workers and 9 agents were killed. When order was restored,
the union cause was smashed, and the strike was terminated. Many observers
held Carnegie directly responsible for the violence; labour leaders vowed to
remember the bloodshed.46
Although labour organizations and trade unions were a growing power in
Ontario's cities, union membership rolls were not swollen by any means. Less
than ten percent of the non-agricultural work force was unionized in 1911.47
Working class parties and trade unions were struggling to assert their place
within the framework of municipal, provincial, and federal politics, and they
176
The Modern Public Library Emerges
were striving for effective legislation on collective bargaining. Allan
Studholme first represented Labour at the Ontario Legislature in 1906 for
Hamilton East. Labour membership on library boards normally was restricted
to one person, so its ability to influence decision making was limited. At
Toronto, T.W. Banton was serving as the designated labour representative
when the Carnegie offer came in 1903. His was the only vote cast in opposition. Obviously, labour leaders were at a disadvantage when aldermen or
library trustees voted on Carnegie offers.
The memory of the Homestead strike became an albatfoss lurking over
Carnegie gifts in the United States and Canada. At the rhetorical level, at
least, labour organizations recommended that the public oppose his gifts. In
many large cities, labour organizations usually were quick to disparage
Carnegie's generosity. In 1903, the Toronto Labor Council voted seventyseven to seven to protest the $350,000 promise because "Workingmen had
not yet forgotten the tragedy of Homestead."48 In Ottawa, J.W. Patterson, a
long-time labour organizer and former candidate for Parliament, lamented:
"Build a Carnegie library in Ottawa and when workers pass it they can bow
their heads in memory of the martyrs of Homestead and the humiliation of
the Canadian capital."49 It was a powerful image to invoke. At Welland,
where the Trades and Labor Council openly opposed a Carnegie grant, the
library bylaw was defeated by a small margin (144 to 83) in May 1914, but,
the result was partly attributed to poor organization rather than labour intransigence.50
On balance, labour unanimity across Ontario failed to materialize on the
Homestead issue. Not all labour officers or rank-and-file members wanted to
decline Carnegie offers - at least publicly. Some were genuinely alienated by
the tragic events at Homestead, but they chose to accentuate the positive
aspects of Carnegie libraries. The president of the Ottawa Allied Trades and
Labour Association, A.J. Kelly, did not place any stock in Pattersons prose; he
felt that the workers needed the benefits of a library more than the satisfaction
of spurning the offer.51 Some newspapers, which adopted a pro-Carnegie
stance, often interviewed labourers to demonstrate the troublesome division.
The Guelph Mercury, for one, found an ironworker transplanted from the
Pittsburgh mills who believed Carnegie's philanthropy was worthwhile
because "the Pinkertons [not Carnegie] were responsible for the deplorable
and fatal riot which occurred at Homestead in 1892."52
Another labour-inspired obstacle the pro-Carnegie forces worked hard to
counter was the general attitude that the canny Scott had made his fortune on
the backs of workingmen. Big business had a reputation for manipulating tariff barriers, underpaying its employees, and securing handsome subsidies.
Carnegie's capitalistic skill in these fields was legendary. The Canadian
Carnegie Philanthropy
177
Magazine helped buttress this argument in a 1905 editorial on people and
affairs. After noting that Carnegie had made $450,000,000 within a short
lifetime, it suggested that
[t]here must be something inequitable and unjust in a state
of industrialism which allows men like Carnegie, Rockefeller,
Strathcona and Macdonald to amass millions when a large
percentage of the population of this continent is in actual
want. 53
The editor of the piece was encouraged that some cities had chosen to refuse
library offers.
The Guelph Mercury pointed out an obvious flaw in the criticism of the
robber barons in one of its frequent editorials waged on behalf of acceptance.
So long as the people support protective tariffs, railway subsidies, municipal bonuses, and systems of taxation, legislation
and administration which inevitably tend to the benefit of
the strong and wealthy, and to the detriment of the weak and
poor, we do not see how they can set up a higher standard of
conduct by refusing his money, or can even consistently
attack Mr. Carnegie, who had only done, to the measure of a
high ability, what hundreds and thousands have done to the
measure of a lower ability, but all using the same conditions.54
The exploitative capitalist system, rather than the visible Carnegie symptom,
should be the object of reform. In a democracy the people should rule; they
also should accept responsibility for societal failings.
A few union leaders discovered for themselves the quandary which grant
proposals presented. When Toronto's Thomas Keilty, an organizer for the
American Federation of Labor (AFL), sought counsel from the AFL's Chicagobased president, Samuel Gompers, he was advised to take Carnegie s money.
Gompers admitted that the steel king's fortune undoubtedly had been
amassed at the expense of labouring men, but he insisted that Toronto workers should bargain for a reduction in working hours. Fewer working hours
meant more leisure time to use the new central library.55 His recommendation
was consistent with the AFL's practice of avoiding partisan political activity. It
is fair to say that Canadian labour, which was mostly non-unionized during
the Carnegie era, was divided on the issue and disagreed on the tactics to deal
178
The Modern Public Library Emerges
with it. Consequently, labour's influence on the outcome of local decisions
usually was negligible.
Community acceptance of library promises periodically became entangled
with local matters. In these circumstances opposition groups, aldermen, individuals, councils, library trustees, and trade unions, intervened in a variety of
ways. Reticence, delays in construction, or adverse local conditions (such as a
fire at Thorold in March 191556) sometimes accounted for a protracted delay
between the promise of money and its receipt. In one unusual case, the city of
Toronto annexed the town of Toronto Junction before Toronto Junction's
library came into operation and its status as a free library could be realized.57
It was left to George Locke to complete the details of Toronto Junction's
incorporation as a branch library into the Toronto Public Library system.
Trustees on non-free boards ordinarily were eager to receive a promise
from James Bertram, yet many such boards delayed changing status for several
years. Examples were Owen Sound, Dundas, Dresden, Beaverton, and
Teeswater. At Teeswater, a village experiencing depopulation (930 people in
1901; 854 in 1911), a bylaw to accept a generous $10,000 Carnegie promise
was defeated in January 1908 by a margin of 128 to 35.58 Five years later the
ratepayers relented. In March 1913 they voted for a free library bylaw at
which time the grant application was resumed by the local council.59 At
Owen Sound a handsome offer of $17,500 arrived in June 1904, but the
ratepayers declined to establish a free library in January 1905, partially owing
to anti-Carnegie sentiment.60 The library board continued as an association
for several years until it was in a stronger position to revive the offer and open
its Carnegie building in February 1914.
At Lindsay, the Central Committee of the Allied Organizations endorsed
the objections of a few local aldermen who said that council should make all
appointments to the library board. Dissatisfaction with appointees from bodies other than the elective council was always an issue in Ontario community
politics. A few Lindsay aldermen resented their exclusion from the library
board; they felt that "according to the present arrangement they are not good
enough to be associated on the Library Board."61 But on this occasion, the
council was reluctant to use a special act of the Ontario Legislature to override
general legislative provisions. In the end, the Lindsay council accepted
$13,500 from Carnegie, continued its purchase of the market site at Queen's
Square for the building, and allowed the board to continue as constituted by
provincial legislation (3 Edw. VII, c. 61).
A similar scenario had unfolded in Ottawa in 1902, but the results were
far different. A free library did not exist in Ottawa prior to the Carnegie proposal. Ottawa aldermen decided to use a special act to authorize receipt of the
Carnegie grant of $100,000, to specify the location for the library, and to
Carnegie Philanthropy
179
enact a clause to retain the right to control all library board appointments. By
resorting to special legislation, council kept complete control of the grant
process and the formation of a free library board. Despite protests from longstanding library supporters, such as Otto Klotz, the Ottawa council established a local board composed of the Mayor, eight aldermen, and three citizens. Council made all the appointments and limited the term of office for
members to one year (2 Edw. VII, c.55). The legislation eventually was
repealed.
At Palmerston, a small town of 2,000, the Carnegie offer of $10,000,
promised in February 1902, became embroiled in the politics of turn-of-thecentury reform. It was a confrontation with the old way of thinking which
John Hallam had pilloried in the early 1880s. As recounted by one participant, a few determined reformers created a slate for mayor and aldermen who
were pledged to modernize the town by building a lighting plant, a public
library, water works, and sewage system.
The 'Old Guards' put up a challenge, using the cry 'Don't
use Carnegie's money for a library!' and some joker issued
cards, and spread them over the town. These said: 'The
steamer youngster' will start out 1st of January, 1903, for the
City of Destruction, and arrive at its destination at 6 p.m.
unless wrecked before on Carnegie Rocks.' The youngster'
slate, however, carried by a huge majority.62
Opponents sought an injunction to block acceptance of the grant by the new
council and library board but later withdrew their complaint. The reformers,
successful on this occasion, added $2,000 from local revenues to the original
Carnegie grant and housed the library in a modest civic complex.
At Orillia, the Carnegie offer became ensnared in a contentious dispute
that raged for six months. The town initially received a letter in April 1909
pledging $12,500; however, as a first step, it had to establish a free library
board. As a result, the vote on the proposed bylaw assumed a dual character: it
was a vote on the legal precondition for a free library and, indirectly, on public acceptance of the offer. One local newspaper summarized the dangers
inherent in this procedure:
It seems to us that in the interests of the library by-law, the
Council would do well to separate the questions as to taking
over the present Public Library, and changing it into a free
library, and the totally distinct issue of the desirability of
accepting Mr. Carnegie's offer of $12,500 for a building.
180
The Modern Public Library Emerges
There are undoubtedly a number of ratepayers who would
heartily support the former poposal [sic], who are either
lukewarm over, or opposed to, the Carnegie building. But as
the matter stands at present, once the by-law is carried, the
Council and the Library Board will be free to do as they like
about the Carnegie building, without consulting the ratepayers further.63
The bylaw campaign continued with each side expounding the pros and cons
of Carnegie giving.
Both Orillia papers promoted the bylaw; their support may have tipped
the scales in the closely fought contest. The Orillia Times conscientiously
declared that the public should show "the same spirit of Christianity and liberalism that prompts the donor of the gift."64 The library board and a majority of the aldermen also supported the bylaw. The board actually had touched
off the drive for a free library and Carnegie grant in January, three months
before a promise from Bertram arrived. The Council received a boost when
the Deputy Minister of Education, Arthur Colquhoun, responded positively
to its request for information about the advantages of free libraries and suggested contacting Norman Gurd, the OLA president. Gurd forwarded a
lengthy letter supporting free libraries.65 But a combination of people who
opposed a free library and those who wanted to decline the $12,500 left resolution of the issue in doubt to the very end. Finally, on 14 June 1909, the
ratepayers spoke: the bylaw passed by a slim majority of thirty-four, 335 for
and 301 opposed. Shortly after, councillors voted to locate the library on a
corner of the market square.
A common concern which surfaced during discussions about grant offers
was the location of a new library. The Carnegie Corporation insisted that
localities assume responsibility for the provision of suitable sites. Central locations were highly desirable, but they were expensive to obtain. Moreover,
councils tended to be parsimonious and did not appreciate that location was
vital to the success of a library. The temptation to acquire donated property or
to build on municipally owned land was difficult to resist.66 The real estate
motive also extended to ratepayers. At Lindsay, bylaws to raise $2,000 for a
site were defeated twice.67 Site selection often provoked public reaction
against acceptance, prompting questions about the potential value of the gift
to a community. St. Marys and Goderich were typical cases in this respect.
St. Mary's was, by all accounts, a strong pro-library community. A free
library was instituted in January 1896 by a vote of433 to 254, or almost sixty
percent in favour.68 Carnegie's offer of $10,000 passed in council in March
1904 without discussion. As it turned out, the real problem was finding a
Carnegie Philanthropy
181
good location for under $800, a relatively low price for property in the central
business district. When council decided by a close vote of four to three to
build on its own property, on the north side of the town hall, where it kept its
steam road roller and watering cart in a shed, nearly a hundred people signed
a petition, protesting
that such a site is entirely unsuited for any such purpose not
being near the centre of the population of the town, inconvenient of approach and surmounted by cattle yards, town
scales, stables and other buildings being more intended for a
general market and traffic business and insecure title if not
absolutely worthless, while there are a number of suitable
sites on Water street and Wellington street, east or west
side.6?
After council voted four to three to uphold its original decision, a group of
citizens directed a firm of barristers to write Carnegie, cautioning him that
legal action might ensue because council had acted "irregularly" and the
library idea had become "unpopular."70 Nevertheless, the project proceeded
and a handsome stone library was erected on the site.
A similar dispute arose in April 1902 at a public meeting in Goderich convened to discuss the Carnegie offer of $10,000. The audience generally
favoured approval, but the proposed location of the library remained controversial because it involved transfer of the marketplace, a convenient service for
surrounding farmlands and townsfolk. The mayor explained that council
intended to build on the market grounds, a few blocks from the main square;
this option involved removing the market to the fairgrounds, a less central
location. There were questions about whether the market or a library was more
suitable for the site; whether there was a prior claim on the lot for a hospital;
and whether there was a lease on the site's grain warehouse. In the end, the
library emerged victorious. Council resolved to move both warehouse and market and authorized a building contract for the proposed library.71
Not every community's Carnegie experience was rewarding. In a few
cases, opposition, lethargy, inflation, unusual circumstances, and changing
local priorities united in various configurations to postpone library construction for lengthy periods or even to prevent its start altogether. Gravenhurst, a
free library since 1897, received $7,000 in April 1906. Years of delay followed.
Different committees were established to investigate the suitability of different
sites and to raise funds locally, in 1910 and 1916, but essentially nothing was
accomplished. When war ended in Europe, the Carnegie Corporation
enquired about Gravenhurst's progress. The problem at this point was not
182
The Modern Public Library Emerges
indifference but inflation. It had seriously eroded purchasing power during
the intervening period. Fortunately, the education department offered assistance with floor plans. After seventeen years of procrastination, the
Gravenhurst library opened on 1 May 1923.72
Other communities were not so lucky. Smaller places were usually in a
more precarious financial state. Tilbury's original $5,000 grant, approved
before the First World War, was rescinded by the Carnegie Corporation in the
mid-1920s. The entire project was beset by a perplexing series of false starts at
the tendering stage, a reluctance to submit a free library bylaw to the electors,
requests for additional money, delays because of municipal funding problems,
a prohibitive rise in costs, and bitter local rivalry over site selection.73
Otterville, a police village situated within the Oxford County township of
South Norwich, was first considered by Bertram to be too small for a grant;
instead, he promised $6,000 to the township in March 1915* Special legislation permitting townships to form boards was duly arranged in 1916, but the
war effort scuttled any further movement in this direction until January 1923,
when the township electors refused to pass a free bylaw. Consequently, the
award to South Norwich lapsed.74
Even a few cities and larger towns encountered problems. Port Arthur
received three promises: a grant of $10,000 in 1902, an increase to $30,000
in 1909, and an additional $10,000 in 1910. Despite some delays with building plans, the city was ready to erect a $40,000 building by early 1912.
However, Bertram reduced the grant by $10,000 in March of that year
because revised population figures released by the Dominion census indicated
fewer people than the official application, which was based on municipal
assessment. As a result, everything collapsed; the library board and council
preferred a larger building and the project was lost.7^ Trenton received a
promise for $10,000 in April 1911 and passed a free bylaw; however, when
local library efforts flagged, Inspector Nursey rescinded the board's free status
in 1913, and Bertram judged the endeavour finished. Efforts to revive the
Trenton pledge after the war failed. Bertram testily advised that a proposal to
construct a library as a war memorial should be financed by a local community, not an "outside agency. "7^
In sum, then, despite the cropping up of a variety of objections, Ontario's
communities proved to be fertile ground for Carnegie endowments. No political, national, ethnic, or class opposition blocked the building program.
Eventually, 111 Carnegie libraries valued at two-and-half million dollars were
constructed in Ontario, an unprecedented building program never replicated
again. The province's share of the Carnegie bequests compares favourably with
the three leading American states: Ohio, California, and Indiana. Libraries
were erected in 104 communities (seven branches were built in Toronto and
Carnegie Philanthropy
183
Ottawa). Of these 104 places, 56 already had free libraries in 1900; another
48 achieved this rank by 1918 when the building program ceased. In that year
there were 183 free boards, an increase of 57 since 1900 (Graph 4: Free
Library Boards in Ontario, 1882 to 1918). Naturally, there were deletions and
additions to the free list not attributable to the building phenomenon during
this eighteen year time span, yet a significant segment of the increase after
1900 - 48 boards - did partake in the Carnegie scheme. Local library boards
realized that the Carnegie program was indispensable to the erection of modern library structures, and that free status was a small price to pay for
Carnegie generosity.
The formal acceptance of a grant, the attainment of free library status,
and the completion of construction did not always unfold smoothly for every
community, despite favourable conditions during the economic boom
between 1900 to 1913.77 Nevertheless, most grants and building arrangements took place expeditiously under the watchful eye of James Bertram, local
communities, and enthusiastic councils and boards which desired modern
library quarters. Oshawa was an excellent case in point. The mayor, Frederick
Fowke, corresponded directly with Bertram, arranged a vote of the ratepayers
in June 1906 to purchase a site at the corner of Simcoe and Athol streets, and
had the Toronto branch office of the New York firm, Carrere & Hastings,
draw up architectural plans in advance of the promise of $14,000 which was
offered in November.78 Carnegie's philanthropy, coupled with general economic expansion and public approval, presented a strong inducement to
amplify, redevelop, and democratize library services. It was a constant, dynamic force that aligned people with free public libraries at a time when modern
library service was changing rapidly. The public image of libraries improved
vastly in all parts of the province. The library was now associated with progressive forces which were modifying the face of society.
In the decade leading up to 1914, Ontario was being transformed into
an urban, industrialized province with Toronto as its leading metropolis.79
The city was replacing the farm as the centre of economic activity; its aspirations would dictate socio-economic changes. Urban expectations for future
development were shaped by businessmen, clergy, doctors, lawyers, educators, journalists and other professionals. The members of this relatively
homogeneous stratum of society shared many local interests through voluntary organizations, met regularly, and shared common career or work conditions. They recognized that urban growth and technological advance
required better organized social services. Their decision to include libraries in
their reform agenda for making local government more efficient, effective,
and accountable to the general populace was crucial to the well-being of
libraries in the Edwardian era.
184 The Modern Public Library Emerges
For the municipal elite, the Carnegie name symbolized many desirable
things: progress, self-help, Christian generosity, idealism, business knowledge,
and educational advancement. Progress was perhaps the most important of
these symbols and, of course, progress meant growth. At some stage the local
library would have to modernize. Why not start with a new building? Mr.
Tomlinson, the wealthy donor in Stephen Leacock's "Arrested Philanthropy,"
discovered as much after he was led to a university library said to be in urgent
need of financial assistance - it was too old at the age of twenty! This
humourous episode in Arcadian Adventures mimicked real life. Progress and
reform were the order of the day in many municipalities. People viewed
Carnegie grants as beneficial, as a stimulus to a better future, and they were
willing to shoulder the necessary tax burden. Ideally, the public good would
be served, for the library was an exemplar of public ownership at the service of
all citizens. From a practical standpoint, a splendid opportunity to inject new
and vital life into public libraries could not be dismissed out of hand.
Ontario's cities, towns, and villages were in good company. Carnegie had
financed promises for 2,500 libraries in English-speaking countries. So
impressed was H.G. Wells that he included a chapter on public libraries in his
popular social commentary, Social Forces in England and America. This short
article, reprinted from a British magazine, succinctly captured the essence of
the Carnegie legacy. Wells told the story of a philosopher seeking to create a
better society, one which happily included public libraries. How would the
sage establish his library? Wells s philosopher would first draw up a catalogue
of holdings, then offer to construct a suitable building. And what of future
upkeep?
He would try to make a bargain with the local people for
their co-operation in his enterprise, though he would, as a
philosopher, understand that where a public library is least
wanted it is generally most needed. But in most cases he
would succeed in stipulating for a certain standard of maintenance by the local authority.80
That is how Wells's rich philosopher would obtain efficient libraries throughout the country "at minimum cost." It was a plan well suited for the temper of
the time.
Library Architecture
The construction of new libraries enabled local library boards to shape the
type of service they felt best suited their own communities. The proper
arrangement of space for the needs and purposes of library buildings was a
Carnegie Philanthropy
185
tremendous opportunity. It also was a frustrating task because there were no
authoritative manuals on library architecture at the turn of the century No
clear-cut consensus existed on what constituted conventional library services,
uniform administrative practices, and proper staffing. There were no library
standards set by governments or professional bodies in the United States,
Great Britain, and Canada to help determine overall building size or space for
collections and staff. Most articles or booklets were content to put forward
general recommendations: secure a large site, make room for future expansion,
keep an eye to economy on building size and staffing, consider local needs.
Very few architects or librarians were prepared to give explicit guidelines dealing with general building size, interior layout, or functional relationships.
A growing body of literature had appeared since the 1890s on basic
library architecture. Charles Soule, a Boston bookseller and publisher who
was an active ALA trustee, was the author of an introductory architectural
booklet published by ALA in 1902. He suggested twenty volumes per square
foot for the capacity of a book room (an area 30' x 40' would hold 24,000
books). He also urged a trefoil grouping of functions: the stack room to be
located behind the central delivery counter and the catalogue area to be
flanked on either side by a public reading room and a reference area.
With this theme, with subdivision of each department, proportioned to the size of the library, with provision made for
enlarging each department as the library grows, the architect
may plan a building which will stand all tests of library science, which can be built within the desired limit of cost, and
which will also be an ornament to the town in which it is situated.81
Too often in the years before 1914, Soule's sensible advice was ignored by
architects, builders, municipal councils, librarians, and boards.
A lengthier, illustrated British manual by Frank Burgoyne, the librarian of
the Tate Library in the London suburb of Brixton, was balanced but permeated with caution. This book addressed the merits of two conventional building
designs - the traditional perimeter/alcove book hall system that could be
accessed directly by users and the closed stack system of more recent vintage
with its delivery counter and adjoining reading rooms — but it avoided making a preference or giving standardized rules about building types or sizes.
Burgoyne believed that the most frequented areas would be the newspaper
and periodical rooms, the boy's room, the lending library, and the reference
department. British experience in the closing decades of the nineteenth century demonstrated the suitability of the two-storey library for most large cities.
186 The Modem Public Library Emerges
The lending library, newsroom, and boys room were on the ground floor, the
reference department and bookstacks were upstairs, away from the noise and
traffic of less studious users.
Burgoyne's Library Construction advocated the assessment of local needs
prior to the assignment of space for basic services and optional, specialized
features. The former included reference and lending departments, a reading
room, and staff work area. The latter included separate rooms for girls, boys,
and women, lecture halls, museum and art gallery, and restricted areas for
incunabula and local collections.82 On the question of free access, which was
becoming commonplace in smaller public libraries, especially in the United
States, Burgoyne instructed his readers that "a large public library should have
the bulk of its books shelved on the stack system, in book stores adjacent to
the readers' room; but this may have a wall case around it for the most popular works, open for use without the formality of filling up a readers ticket."83
This was a popular option in a few of the larger British cities where busy
home circulation departments were on lower levels.
Statistical tables which correlated library income with building accommodation were not available until 1903, with the appearance of James Duff
Browns Manual of Library Economy. The British library community considered Brown, the librarian at Clerkenwell Public Library in the Finsbury district of London, to be something of an iconoclast. He championed the "workshop concept" of public libraries: they "should be constructed and stocked
with the view to constant revision, and that their size should be limited by the
number of live books likely to be wanted at any period."84 He outlined the
following relationship between local funding for yearly maintenance, and suitable building sizes, book capacity, and accommodation of readers.
Income
£
1,000
2,000
3,000
4,000
5,000
10,000
Size in
Sq. Ft.
Capacity
in Voh.
4,412
8,824
13,236
19,200
24,000
48,000
34,000
68,000
102,000
136,000
170,000
340,000
Readers
Accommodated
200
400
600
800
1,000
2,000g5
Browns tabulations were formulated for British conditions (Canadian equivalents can be calculated at the prewar exchange rate of $4.80 to the £1). They
may seem rudimentary today because he rejected population as a factor in his
calculations. This shortcoming, however, was compensated by his progressive
i4eas which have prevailed over time: the correlation of building size and local
Carnegie Philanthropy
187
funding; free access to collections; the use of decimal classification; and the
adoption of children's libraries.
On one point there seemed to be unanimity: exterior features and ornamentation should remain simple. The interior plan should be designed first,
keeping in mind the principles of good lighting, convenient public access to
rooms, ease of supervision, and proper ventilation and heating. Decoration in
a "high" architectural design should be tasteful and discrete.
The exterior may properly be embellished to any degree, if
the windows are grouped and planned as interior lighting
requires; and of the interior, the halls and stairways, if located
so as not to separate or interfere with the service-rooms, offer
opportunity for effective ornament.86
Many of these guidelines departed from the typical Victorian library which
gave prominence to eclectic revival styles for the exterior, newspaper rooms
with mandatory stands, lofty ceilings, heavy furnishings, a separate women's
reading area, and closed stacks. Library architecture was entering a period of
transition. Modern library service was maturing slowly. It was characterized by
the open design concept, an expanded range of public services, and additional
technical requirements for interior floor plans (e.g., electric lighting, security,
heating, and fire prevention).
The chief characteristics of Carnegie library buildings in Ontario were the
ubiquitous neoclassical style associated with the ficole des Beaux-Arts in Paris
and the rigidly planned interiors which restricted flexibility. The World's
Columbian Exposition, held at Chicago in 1893, had ushered in the BeauxArts style and captured the imagination of the architectural profession.
Consequently, traditional Graeco-Roman orders - Doric, Ionic, Corinthian,
and Tuscan - graced many processional library entrances built in the first two
decades of this century. There were two basic categories of neoclassical style:
1) a columned temple entrance with a triangular pedimented roof; 2) a
columned arch entrance divided into one or more bays which supported the
roof line (Illus. 33-34).87 Although this monumental style prevailed in most
Ontario localities, it was not universal: Victorian revival (e.g., Tudor in
Toronto's branches) and modest vernacular exteriors ("cottage" or "street
front"), which incorporated aspects of "high" styles, also were employed by
local architects and builders.
The interiors of early Carnegie libraries usually were delimited by means
of permanent walls or partitions which denied the possibility of expansion or
alteration. While not every Carnegie building exhibited a fixed compartmental make-up, it remains largely true that flexibility in relation to function sel-
188 The Modern Public Library Emerges
dom was given priority. This changed in 1911 when the Carnegie
Corporation, under James Bertram's firm hand, issued a small pamphlet, Notes
on the Erection of Library Bildings [sic], Bertram was assisted in part by the
New York architect, Edward L. Tilton. The publication was aimed at the
small library Its leading recommendations stressed simplicity and the use of
movable bookcases in place of permanent partitions. Bertrams pamphlet came
too late. With the exception of Hamilton, the Carnegie libraries in major
Ontario cities already were built. Form, not function, determined the character of most Carnegie buildings.88
Canadian library architecture remained a quiescent field compared to its
American and British counterparts. Before 1900, neither architects, nor librarians, nor trustees disputed ideas bearing on architecture, William Langton, a
Toronto architect and brother of the University of Toronto librarian, Hugh
Langton, did contribute a piece on library design to the Canadian Architect
and Builder in 1902. He helped generate dialogue on some major issues by
distinguishing between small and large libraries. Langton ruled out open
access - it was still serving a trial period - except in small libraries where all
major activities could be confined to one floor in the usual perimeter/alcove
arrangement. For smaller libraries, Langton followed the trefoil plan by illustrating the new library at East Orange, New Jersey: the bookroom and working rooms were at the back; the delivery area, library staff, and the reading
rooms were at the front. He felt that the announced design for New York
Public Library represented "the best that is known on the subject" for large
libraries.89 Thus, a closed bookroom on the lower level with a reading room
on the second floor above the stacks would serve as a good model for
Ontario's principal libraries.
Langton discussed the most efficient ways in which Carnegie's gifts could
be applied to smaller libraries.
We may then perhaps assume not less than: 1. For the public;
a reading room for the grown up people, a reading room for
children, and ample space apart from these for the coming
and going of borrowers. 2. For the librarian; a delivery desk
and a private room in connection with it; ... There should
be also working room for unpacking, marking and cataloguing the books. The unpacking room would be best in the
basement, but the other work should be done on the ground
floor, in close connection with the librarian's office. 3. For
the storage of books; plenty of room now and an opportunity
to grow.90
Carnegie Philanthropy
189
The Toronto architect also expressed his preference for a floor area subdivided
by open screens of columns; this sensible method would reduce noise and provide a sense of seclusion in various rooms without the necessity for permanent
partitions or walls.
Naturally, the OLA stressed the need for improved library design; at its
inaugural meeting, Dr. Lewis Hornung, from Victoria College, moved that a
committee be appointed on library architecture. The next year, 1902, Hugh
Langton, the committee s chairman, reported on the state of Carnegie grants.
Reiterating an idea aired by his brother William, he suggested that only small
libraries should resort to open access. In 1903, Gordon J. Smith, a Paris
trustee who was engaged with the development of his towns Carnegie building, offered practical advice for smaller libraries which presaged Bertram's
Notes by eight years:
The building should not be more than one story, using part
of the basement, which ought to be well lighted, as a small
public hall for holding meetings for literary or scientific purposes. The general design of the building should be artistic,
with enough distinction to set it apart from the general run
of buildings one encounters in a small town. All the accommodation for the public in the way of reading-rooms, etc.,
should be on the main floor with in the range of vision of the
librarian.91
Smith eagerly supported acceptance of grants, his only proviso being the omission of the Carnegie name at the entrance.
Edwin Hardy made three valuable contributions to library architecture at
annual OLA meetings from 1904 to 1906; his first presentation summarized
Carnegie donations to date; the second explored merits and defects of contemporary Ontario libraries; the third dealt with general arrangement - plans,
elevations, and sections. The 1905 annual meeting stimulated a lively discussion about sites, open access, and technical points such as heating and space
requirements.
The unanimous testimony was that a hot-water system of
heating was the best, superior both to steam and hot air.
Anyone could work a hot-water system, but steam required
an engineer. The annual cost for coal, with a hot-water system, was put at $ 120 by delegates from some of the new
libraries. Other ideas made clear were that a dome should not
be built on small library buildings and that the stack room
should be made large.92
190 The Modern Public Library Emerges
Similar views were gaining ascendancy in the United States and Great Britain,
but regional or local experiences were more germane to the Toronto audience.
As more Carnegie libraries opened, Hardy continued to collect information which he passed along each year for the benefit of trustees. In 1906, he
condensed his findings on Ontario libraries and advised not to overbuild.
Smaller structures and simple designs were in order.
The trefoil arrangement of the reading-rooms and stackrooms was [s]hown to be generally adopted. The open supervision system was shown in an illustration of the proposed
Yorkville branch library. It was stated during the discussion
that the Carnegie libraries had been found expensive to
maintain, so that less money was available to buy books than
formerly.93
The OLAs industrious secretary published a selection of his data, illustrations,
and blueprints in the education department's annual 1906 report; this served
as an important guide to the first five years of Carnegie building in Ontario.
The popular press and general interest magazines seldom described the
design problems architects faced. Contemporary reports usually focused on
the personalities involved in securing grants. Architectural analysis was not in
demand. One exception to this was the praise the Sault Star conferred on H.
Russell Halton, an architect who pursued a grant for his community in 1901:
Mr. Halton deserves a deal of credit for the way he has stuck
to the library scheme through thick and thin. When he first
broached the idea last fall [1901], the council poured cold
water on it, and the property committee could not see the
advantage of getting a gift of $ 10,000.94
When the merits of Haltons architectural plans were appreciated more fully,
the Sault Ste. Marie council accepted them as part of a combined municipal
centre.
The library is a large, airy and well lighted room in the west
wing, 40 ft. by 50 ft. It contains a separate reading room for
ladies, librarian offices, extensive accommodation for books
and board room for the library board. It will be fitted up
with reading tables and every library convenience and finished in oak.95
Carnegie Philanthropy
191
Two interesting details about this library were ignored: it was quite small for
the size of the city, and it opened in 1904, when separate women's reading
rooms were beginning to vanish because of space restrictions and changing
attitudes about the place of women in society.
In the early period of Carnegie building, 1900-1908, before James Bertram
required the inclusion of architectural plans during the approval stage, Ontario
communities had a free hand in designing their own libraries. This led to concerns about the poorly planned libraries. Goderichs triangular shape made it
impossible for attendants to supervise the reading room from the main lending
desk. Guelph emphasized its ornamental exterior, especially its dome, and
neglected requirements for adequate interior space.96 Bertram deplored these
preferences. By the time Andrew Carnegie accepted invitations to visit two of
his benefactions, Ottawa and Smiths Falls, in 1906, the OLA and the education department had accumulated so much documentation on new buildings
that they began to loan their material to libraries. This timely collection, supplemented by experience, was used in planning many buildings. Disagreement
on library design was closely linked to the debate on library service. Consensus
was difficult to reach on many matters: open access to shelves; an age limit and
separate room for young children; the need to reserve space for a separate
women's reading room; catalogue access to collections and the use of indicators; and a classification system for public retrieval and browsing. These were
fundamental service questions, the resolution of which would affect the optimal size and interior design of a community's library building.
Questions of appropriate building size and the amount and arrangement
of functional space to be devoted to library purposes remained unsettled
before the Great War. Normally, the library proper did not occupy every
square foot of space. Additional rooms for museums, historical and scientific
societies, art schools, and auditoriums were common in Carnegie libraries
because a close relationship between the public library and other local cultural
agencies had existed during the previous era of Mechanics' Institutes and literary societies. Prior to 1914, separate stack rooms and reading rooms were
standard features in Ontario. The public usually was unable to browse the
shelves directly. Confronting them were large desks or wicket booths for
charging/discharging books - the barrier system. Even when admission to the
shelves became policy, most people did not understand the classification
scheme. The process of erecting Carnegie buildings taught many boards the
wisdom of integrating books and readers; simply enlarging closed stack rooms
or adding more reading rooms would not solve crowding or satisfy public
demand for direct access to literature.
A few generalizations can be made about the Carnegie libraries based on
information concerning more than thirty buildings erected between 1882 and
192
The Modern Public Library Emerges
1914 (Table 13: Functional Space in Selected Ontario Libraries). The census
population of a community divided by a library's dimensions gives the square
footage per capita. The average square footage per capita for the sample was
one half square foot, a figure library planners considered insufficient for communities under 10,000 population by the beginning of the 1940s. Only a
handful of small places - notably Burlington, a non-Carnegie structure exceeded the more suitable figure of one square foot per capita.97 This lack of
space contributed greatly to the reputation of Carnegie libraries as inefficient
and overcrowded buildings. The usual Carnegie building was rectangular; it
presented architects and planners with more possibilities than squares. One
notable exception was the "T-shape" (multi-tier stack room at the rear with
reading rooms forming wings at the front) adopted by Brantford and Ottawa.
A closer examination of Ontario's three largest libraries - Ottawa, Toronto,
and Hamilton - indicates the diversity of ideas and the evolution of design
that took place prior to 1914.
Construction on the $100,000 Ottawa library, designed by Edgar L.
Horwood, who later became a federal government architect, commenced in
1903.98 When the library opened in April 1906, after well-publicized delays
which the press gleefully caricatured (Illus. 35), it was a blend of old and new,
and not necessarily a prescription for the future. It was a two-and-a-half storey
"T" library with the stack room along the stem. This was a popular plan
introduced in the closing years of the nineteenth century, but it was too small
for the number of patrons and too large and too subdivided for the library
staff. The stack room was designed to hold three tiers and was heated with hot
air. The heating system was criticized from the outset. The basement was large
enough for a bindery, newspaper room, and auxiliary services. Located on the
main floor were a reading room, children's library, circulation area, cataloguing room, general reading room, reception room, and librarian's office. On the
second floor were the reference room, board room, and studies. A museum
completed arrangements. The exterior, finished in Indiana limestone, was
fashioned in a classical style.99
Lawrence Burpee, Ottawa's new librarian, assumed his duties in 1905 as
construction drew to a close, too late to make any substantive contribution to
its design. This man of modern methods held conceptions about library
design that were obviously different from the original building committee.
That committee, which included James Bain and Otto Klotz, had looked to
New York and Washington for guidance.100 In a 1904 paper concerning small
libraries, Burpee had stressed the need for a self-contained children's department: "If the plan of the library makes open access to all the books impracticable or inconvenient, a selection of standard works, with a few of the best
new books, may at least be placed upon shelves an alcove or other convenient
Carnegie Philanthropy
193
place ... "101 Not surprisingly, within a few years the Ottawa library took on a
new look. Burpee installed Snead Company stacks from New Jersey to double
the book capacity, added island shelving and a catalogue to the reference
room, installed a separate desk and catalogue in the children's department
(Illus. 36), and converted the ladies' reading room into a browsing collection
where patrons could charge out books without having to go to the central
delivery desk.102
Lawrence Burpee left the library board to take up a position as Canadian
secretary of the International Joint Commission in 1912. His successor,
William J. Sykes, realizing that space was restricted, tentatively approached
the Carnegie Corporation in 1913 to fund an extension to the central library.
The proposal would have cost the Corporation about $25,000. James
Bertrams reply was firm: no!103 Bertram disapproved of grants for additions
to central libraries, and Ottawa wisely embarked on building branches. One
branch, situated in the former municipality of Hintonberg, was sufficiently
large enough to warrant a Carnegie gift of $15,000 in 1917.104 The west end
branch had the distinction of being the last Carnegie library grant promised
in Ontario. It opened at the end of November 1918. Carnegie was invited to
attend, but he was unable to be present.
The largest Carnegie library built in Ontario, Toronto's central reference
library and circulating branch on the corner of College and St. George, was
opened in October 1909 (Illus. 37). It served a dual purpose and reflected the
emphasis placed on branch libraries by Carnegie, who spoke of the need for
an alternative to showy central edifices on his 1906 Toronto visit. On that
occasion, he remarked, "it is the mass of the people we should try to
reach."105 The building committee sponsored an architectural competition
which was won in 1906 by Alfred H. Chapman and the firm Wickson &
Gregg. The committee had issued a pamphlet which contained guidelines for
the competition; it drew heavily on James Bain's experience and contained
detailed specifications and heretofore unprecedented dimensions. For example, concerning the main floor, it stipulated the following:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Main Reference Library Reading Room, about
6,200 feet area, having a width of about 50 feet.
Patent Room (separated from Reading Room by rail
and columns, area about 1,800 feet).
Newspaper Room,
Area about 1,800 feet
Map Room[,]
Area about 900 feet
Art Room,
Area about 2,250 feet
Board Room,
Area about 440 feet
Librarian's Office, etc., Area about 440 feet
194
The Modern Public Library Emerges
8.
9.
10.
5 Study Rooms,
Area about 84 feet each
Cataloguing Room,
Area about 600 feet
The balance of the space to be allotted to entrance,
corridor, staircases, halls, sanitary accommodation,
etc."*
Upon completion, the reference and patent rooms took up 7,980 sq. ft. on
one side of the main floor (Illus. 38). People had direct access to selected volumes of the research collection, and they were allowed to work in an area
almost as large as the total area of the old central library on Church Street.107
Alfred Chapman was a young architect embarking on a prestigious career.
He did not follow exactly all the preconditions, but he did plan a L-shaped
library that placed the stacks and working areas in the centre, separated reference and circulating functions, and allowed for ample future expansion which
eventually took place under his supervision in 1928-29.108 It was a highly
functional library for its era. On the main floor, the circulation area linked
five tiers of Snead Company bookstacks (located directly to its rear) to the
reading room in the College Street wing; also on this level were administration, newspaper and art storage areas in the St. George Street wing. The Art
Museum of Toronto was on the upper level: Bains preference for a connection
between libraries and museums had finally materialized! On the ground floor,
below the reading room, a circulating library of 10,000 books was available
through a separate west end entrance on College Street. This convenient
arrangement had proved successful in three large British libraries in
Birmingham, Edinburgh (a Carnegie funded building), and Newcastle.109
The magnitude of the new library often left many users, as well as librarians, in awe. The reference library became a showcase for knowledge, and its
schedule of regular evening hours was a novelty. A Toronto Star reporter commented in a short piece about the new facility:
Entering the big roomy hall, after ascending the steps outside, you stand in an enormous room, with high ceilings, and
into which a flood of light pours from the immense windows
on the south. Looking west, parallel with College Street,
there extends reading table after table in a double line.
Shaded lamps are placed generously on each table to provide
for the evenings or for dull days. Along the south wall are
alcoves, containing books which are classified, as well as
human intelligence can classify them under various subjects.
Art or literature, history or philosophy, mechanics or architecture — these and more are the classifications. In these
Carnegie Philanthropy
195
alcoves are four thousand out of the seventy-five thousands
volumes. With these one is permitted to step up, pick out the
book one wishes, look at it, standing there, and return it or
take it to a table. If taken to the table the book must be left
there, so that the attendants can put them back in their proper places.110
The library offered new freedoms, a new spatial ordering of tasks and interactions, and new vistas of knowledge.
Toronto's central library was not the last word on library planning.
Hamilton completed the trilogy of large buildings erected during the
Carnegie era. It too served a double function: a central city reference library
and a lending library for its citizens. After receiving a $75,000 promise in
March 1909, Hamilton formed a building committee, issued a small pamphlet of instructions, and organized an architectural competition. Fortunately
for the committee and the librarian, Adam Hunter, ideas about interior
arrangements were now more consensual. A new British manual on library
architecture by Amian Champneys had appeared recently. The authorities in
Hamilton were wise to heed most of its recommendations.
The first necessity in connection with the disposition of the
various parts of a library is that it shall be adapted to the
work of the library according to the methods employed.
That is to say, that while both the human occupants and
the contents of the library must be afforded every protection
from unsuitable and harmful conditions, the convenience of
the public on the one hand, in their use of the library must
be studied: on the other, every facility must be given for the
easy and efficient performance of their duties by the staff
To these must be added another consideration, namely,
economy in cost, maintenance, and working, ... 111
Although Hunter and the Hamilton trustees were not very active in OLA,
they seemed no less knowledgeable about buildings than their contemporaries.
In their original specifications, they called for a "most modern system of open
shelves."112 And events would prove how fortunate they were to be with architects.
The Hamilton architectural competition was a convoluted and hotly contested process. In the end, Alfred W. Peene, a local man, was selected. Tenders
were called. Then, Edward L. Tilton, trusted advisor to James Bertram, was
contracted to supervise the final architectural drawings in April 1911.
196
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Bertram now was exercising control over plans before final approval by the
Carnegie Corporation. Tilton and Peene devised an open concept interior
with a restrained exterior.113 Tilton's outstanding architectural career was
launched at a time when his ideas about library design were considered
advanced. He published an article in Library Journal in 1912, which developed a formula for library size based on library income and suggested using
twelve foot modules as flexible units of space. He also espoused the "open
plan/' that is, free access on the main floor to a large collection of the most
popular books with infrequently used books relegated to storage. Tilton's
main public area would not be partitioned by permanent walls. Instead, divisions between departments would be created by columns, bookcases, small
counters, or tables.11^ As a result, Hamilton's free standing bookshelves and
the reference room were located on the main floor; the reading rooms, special
collections, and children's department were on the lower level.115
The Hamilton cornerstone was laid in late summer 1911 (Illus. 39). A
year and a half later, in May 1913, the Lieutenant Governor, Sir John M.
Gibson, officially declared the new library open. He was an old friend of the
library who had campaigned for a free library in the 1880s and travelled to
New York to acquire an extra $25,000 grant from Carnegie. Hamilton's modern design was immediately popular. A local paper trumpeted that the library
authorities were being more trustful with the circulating collection.
Under the new system, a reader will merely have to take the
book he or she wants from the shelf, take it to the desk and
have it registered, and walk away. Instead of a slip being filled
out, a permanent card is kept in the book, on which the
number of the reader's card is written and kept until the
book is returned.116
This was a progressive step indeed! The open concept, while not entirely original with Tilton, was best expressed by his library work until the Second World
War.
While Hamilton was under construction in 1911, the primary architectural document that would shape the future of Carnegie libraries was issued.
In the leaflet, Notes on the Erection of Library Bildings, James Bertram introduced the open library concept to every library board wishing to receive a
promise of funding. The Notes were intended for buildings in small communities or city branches. Simplicity was a primary concern. Rectangular, onestorey buildings, undivided rooms, low ceilings, few restrictions that separated
readers from books, and unpretentious exteriors were recommended. These
plans were an expression of the changing social logic of space, and were in
Carnegie Philanthropy
197
accord with the open access revolution, which stressed services to groups previously neglected, standardization of the decimal classification system, and
better circulation procedures.
Six outline plans accompanied by a brief text were developed for onestorey libraries in the Notes (Illus. 40-41).117 These open concept schemes
were rather austere, mixing talking and reading areas by screening off areas
with bookcases or ranges of shelving on the ground floor. Plans "A" and "B"
were simple "Carnegie rectangles" with central entrances on the long side, an
open interior, librarians working area to the rear and separate adult and children's areas to the sides. Plan "B" was intended for a larger community
because it contained a separate reference room. Plan "C," also for a larger
library, located the entrance on the short side, reference room and librarian's
area to the front, separate adult and children's libraries to the rear. The
right/left symmetry of these floor plans allowed some flexibility. Plan "D"
adapted the first three plans for a site at a street intersection with the entrance
on one corner. Plans "E" and "F" considered arrangements for small places the form was square or oblong with off-centre entrances, and the library was
one-room supervised from the side by the librarian's desk. All plans located
the lecture room, service facilities, and washrooms in the basement. Plans "A"
to "D" also located the staff room in the basement. Domes, fireplaces, or skylights were not recommended despite their popularity with architects and
trustees.
Bertram's Notes were firm about the open-plan concept, but his leaflet had
little to say about exteriors or ornamentation, save to put monumentalism in
disrepute. If Carnegie funds were to be used for building a library, then pomp
had to yield to restrained grace. Three branch libraries in Toronto built under
George Locke's careful scrutiny epitomized the new trend toward simplicity,
openness, and charm. Locke and the architectural firm, Eden Smith & Sons,
completely abandoned Beaux-Arts classicism by shifting to the open concept
in the design of the Beaches, Wychwood, and High Park branches. Eden
Smith, working during the Great War, adapted a seventeenth-century English
collegiate grammar school style to please users. He kept the interiors uncluttered by returning to perimeter shelving and comfortable by adding stone fireplaces and open timber trusses supporting the roof. As well, the landscape
architect, Alfred Hall, contributed imaginative arrangements of shrubs, flower
gardens, walks, and trees to beautify the approaches and to increase the
library's appeal to passers-by and regular patrons. The reformed style and
pleasant nature of these libraries received deserved attention from Ontario
library planners.118
The free access and open design concepts, as well as better children's
work, contained many ramifications for planners involving the liberalization
198 The Modern Public Library Emerges
of interior space. If readers and children were to be permitted to move freely
among collections and rooms, public space would have to be increased and
designed differently. Efficient, effective work space for library staff also was a
desideratum. Proper heating, lighting, and ventilation demanded more technical knowledge. Better thought needed to be given at the design stage to the
placement and selection of shelving, furniture, and collections. The practical
division of floor space and intelligent stationing of islands of stacks arranged
for easy supervision or browsing were absolutely necessary. High perimeter
shelves were inconvenient; lower bookshelves were becoming standard.
Circulation desks were to be carefully constructed for new bookcard methods
designed to speed up the process of charging out books. Charging and discharging operations could be located at entrances or in subject areas next to
stacks for control purposes. By these means, free access could be safeguarded,
and its critics assuaged.
Caution prevailed in Ontario library design because the new concepts of
service and open concept buildings did not immediately win the day. After all,
most of the early closed-stack Carnegie libraries were a vast improvement on
previous accommodations and were less than ten years old. Many librarians
genuinely feared for the safety of circulating and reference book collections.
Possibly the public might steal or misplace valuable items and wear out collections faster. The deportment of users, young and old, was another contentious
issue. How were librarians to handle disorder and disturbances in reading
rooms? Should separate ladies' reading rooms, now less popular even in Great
Britain, be abolished? Equipment and furnishings would have to be reconsidered and replaced in some cases. And the introduction of decimal classification, a task both labour intensive and expensive, was a questionable undertaking in view of the fact that many librarians were unacquainted with its intricacies.
The OLA, as usual, was instrumental in promoting new ideas, especially
better classification. It recommended Deweys system, because it had the great
virtue of allowing relative locations for books and providing superior access to
printed subjects. At the 1908 conference on classification delegates learned
that
It allows an almost unlimited intercalation of new books on
the shelves and makes very easy the introduction of new subclasses on the shelves without the use of shelf labels. If we
have a number of books in 517 (calculus) but only two or
three in 517.2 (differential calculus) which we wish to keep
together, we can label the books 517.2 without needing to
write a long shelf label.119
Carnegie Philanthropy
199
Modern methods prevailed with the help of OLA's library institutes and support from the education department. The advantages of allowing people direct
access to better classified circulating collections became more apparent over
time. Card-charging systems and card catalogues eliminated cumbersome
ledger systems, printed dictionary catalogues, and indicators. Librarians were
successful in developing popular programs for children. Their work was highlighted at the 1913 OLA conference on children's work led by Lillian Smith
(Toronto) and Clara Hunt (Brooklyn). Boards began to abolish separate women's reading rooms and agree with a British architect who commented, "The
truth is, that most of them do not care to be considered as creatures apart."120
Of course, planners welcomed fewer demands on space.
A summary of transitional features from available sources on buildings in
Ontario shows that the acceptance of new ideas was belated in some cases
(Table 14: Interior Features of Carnegie Libraries). In more than two dozen
Carnegie libraries opened between 1903 and 1913, the trends toward controlled open access, the abolition of age limits, separate children's quarters, the
elimination of reading rooms for women, and use of card catalogues proceeded gradually. Perhaps 1908/09 marks a new beginning. The OLA formally
adopted the DDC in 1908 and Ontario's revised library legislation went into
effect in 1909. The regulation of age limits and free access prompted the education department to begin working in earnest to formalize these landmark
changes. Patricia Spereman began giving instruction in the use of decimal
classification system, card cataloguing, children's department services, and the
installation of card charging.
Only about half the Carnegie libraries surveyed in Table 14 operated controlled open access to books beginning on the first day of operation. Sarnia,
where Patricia Spereman began her career, was among the first to embrace this
practice despite the fact that the building originally was designed for closed
stacks. One of its trustees, Norman Gurd, never hesitated to publicize the
open concept.121 Other reforms followed. The directors eliminated the age
limit, set up a children's room, and changed over to a card catalogue and decimal system. The general design and services were often cited by Inspector
Leavitt as an example for others to emulate (Illus. 42). Sarnia was rectangular
in form with the stack room at the rear, circulation control at the centre, and
its reading rooms to the left and right at the front of the building. Possessing a
dome, considered extravagant by some librarians, the library was somewhat
larger than most structures and was set in a park area which bestowed a graceful surrounding (Illus. 43). Many judged it almost ideal for library work, and
the contributions by Patricia Spereman and Norman Gurd enhanced its
reputation.
200
The Modem Public Library Emerges
For several years, Patricia Spereman's work took her to more than one
hundred cities, towns, villages, and hamlets across southern Ontario (Table
15: Libraries Organized by Patricia Spereman, 1908-16). Many places possessed a Carnegie building, but their library boards and staff were not as
knowledgeable about the full extent of change in children's work, cataloguing,
classifying, and circulation as the education department expected. In Ontario,
until the 1909 act, children's departments were the exception rather than the
rule. Age limits of twelve or fourteen years had been the norm for decades,
not because librarians or trustees were biased against children, but because
they were indifferent to modern librarianship devoted to giving up-to-date
service for residents of all ages. Inspector Nursey and Patricia Spereman set
out to refashion these ingrained attitudes.
Spereman's interesting reports sketch the struggle to redefine library service and to adjust interior space in the years before the First World War.
Brockville, a closed-access building completed in 1904, was typical. She wrote
in 1910 that
In this library there are about 13,000 volumes. I gave
instructions in the cataloguing and classified all the library, as
well as establishing a Children's Department. The Library
Board at that time were not very favourable to having the
children become members of the Library, and an age limit
existed of 14 years. Gave one "Story Hour," with an attendance of about 80 children. This Library is very fortunate in
having a good librarian, who is not afraid of work.122
Brockville obviously was not completely in tune with progressive change.
Windsor, a larger city, was another library where inertia and resistance to
children's work, modern cataloguing, and adequate staff training persisted.
Andrew Braid, the long-time board secretary, was unsuccessful in his attempt
to solicit Carnegie money in 1910 for a proposed extension which included
space for a children's department. 123 As a result, Spereman noted that
improvements were at a standstill.
Free access is allowed to all the shelves, but an age limit varying from 14 to 16 exists for the children. In a library as large
as this one is [19,500 books] I think a children's room should
be provided, and also more attention given to the children's
department. The library was in a very bad condition as
regards the classification and the card catalogue, so much so
that my visit had to be extended two weeks in order to give
Carnegie Philanthropy 201
the necessary instructions. A thoroughly competent head
librarian and also harmony of the working staff would soon
place this library where it rightly belongs - one of the first in
the province.124
Conditions at Windsor must have tried Spereman's patience, for this report
followed her second trip there.
Sometimes an older Carnegie library could be reorganized and space converted to better use. St. Mary's, built in 1905, was a good case in point.
Spereman wrote:
There are about 7,200 vols. in this library; some of the best
books were upstairs in an unused room, these were brought
down and classified and catalogued with the rest of the books
on the shelves. The stack-room was not at all suitable for free
access, so at my suggestion one of the large reading rooms
was made into a stack-room and free access is now allowed to
all the shelves. The old stack-room is to be used as a children's room, and I am sure when the alterations are completed it will be one of the best in the Province.125
Patricia Spereman was an unheralded catalyst in transforming service.
As Spereman's work proceeded and slowly produced desired results, there
was a consequent reduction in the number of client libraries requiring her talent. With the onset of war in Europe, departmental funding for her work
diminished and, by 1916, the new inspector, William Carson, decided to
reduce her duties in classification and children's work. Most of the major
libraries had abandoned the ledger system; they were using the decimal classification and were moving towards children's services. Many libraries had
gained experience in proper planning through participation in the Carnegie
building grant program. Carson decided that only libraries willing to purchase
supplies, take instruction, and continue the work locally would be considered
eligible for Spereman's time on site. This meant a drastic reduction in the
range of her work and the end of the education department's direct participation in this basic but vital era of library management.126
For adults and children the new, invigorated Carnegie library was a
refreshing experience.127 The modern library of circa 1918 was a quite different place than its immediate, less hospitable predecessor. The predictable neoclassical exteriors conveyed a fundamental Western intellectual tradition, one
seemingly appropriate to house book collections and to maintain public custody of a proud literary heritage. Inside there were new freedoms, new princi-
202
The Modern Public Library Emerges
pies, which were beginning to democratize services and liberalize space for
users. No longer would readers be separated from books by a barrier system,
no longer would age or gender restrict users' activities. For many communities, their Carnegie libraries were successful architectural edifices given what
had existed before.128 Writing in 1912, Edwin Hardy emphasized the need for
congenial features in smaller libraries: "... a library should be a one-roomed
building, as spacious as possible, with bookcases all around the walls and a
fireplace and cosy corner somewhere to give a touch of homelikeness, and
the."..librarians desk to give another touch of the same kind."129 This type of
thinking was a revelation compared to John Hallam's advice to Hamilton
trustees twenty years before that only standing room should be allowed in
newspaper rooms to keep the idle away.130
The Carnegie program of philanthropy, in conjunction with changes in
library design and advances in the philosophy of library service, heralded a
new era of self-improvement and community involvement. It also established
a powerful role for libraries in shaping reading tastes and assisting the cause of
continuing education. The library, with its new physical presence, was in step
with the pace of societal change. The opening of the Carnegie library at
Renfrew on 1 October 1921 typified the esteem in which many communities
held their library.
Shortly after 2 p.m. the civic parade started for the library
from the Dominion House corner. The Citizen's Band led
the way followed by automobiles containing the guest of the
day [Dr. Bruce Taylor, principal of Queen's University],
members of the Board, the Town Council, and the School
Boards. Then came the Girl Guides, the Boy Scouts' Band
and the two troops of Boy Scouts.131
Addresses by the mayor, the president of the board of trade, board members,
and Dr. Taylor stressed the importance of books and reading for individuals
and the promotion of good community spirit. These were qualities the public
library could dispense in abundance.
The Carnegie renewal, as a physical construct, announced a more active
community role for libraries. These libraries often included lecture rooms,
museums, art galleries and other municipal services - they were more than
just libraries. It also announced that, far from being an elitist institution that
only larger tax-supported communities could afford, libraries were now within
the reach of residents in the smaller towns and villages. To critics who complained that "overbuilding" by Carnegie might be an incubus to some communities, his defenders answered that they missed the whole point, for the
Carnegie Philanthropy
203
American millionaire had assisted those who were willing to help themselves.
Far from being an isolated community experience, a venture inimical to the
finances of local communities, the Carnegie program was conceived as a bold
collective stroke to strengthen the values of Anglo-American civic life and
demonstrate how taxes could work to the benefit of everyone. Free books for
all could make a difference in people s daily lives.
Most importantly, the Carnegie era established new physical structures,
ones which possessed a style and sensibility less rigid than before and conceptualized social relationships differently within an architectural setting.132
Bertram's Notes emphasized the principle that publicly funded libraries should
exhibit modest form and utilitarian functions. The Ontario library landscape
created by Andrew Carnegie was a creative modernist synthesis, an enduring
demonstration of the power of one mans imagination and the dedication of
hundreds of people and groups scattered across the province. Carnegie grants
were the axis upon which the public library movement turned, gaining a purposeful, opportune impetus. By the time the last Carnegie libraries opened in
Ontario during the first part of the 1920s in smaller communities such as
Renfrew, Glencoe, Norwood, and Gravenhurst, their benefactor had died
(1919) and the Carnegie Corporation had abandoned the original library program. The flurry of building had passed, but the public library would continue to prosper on main street because it had been strengthened immeasurably
by Carnegie's singular faith in its future.
Chapter 8
A PROVINCE TO BE SERVED
D
uring the upheaval of the Great War, profound changes affecting
men and women, young and old, rich and poor, swept Canadian
society. Governments promised freedom, better administration, and
precious victory, but simultaneously they tightened their grip on people and
intruded into economic, social, and cultural matters.1 A federal income tax,
conceived as a temporary measure, was imposed in 1917. Prohibition, a
provincial reform with many purposes, arrived in 1916 with passage of the
Ontario Temperance Act; the federal government rigorously enforced it under
the authority of the War Measures Act in 1918.2 In Ontario, women received
the vote in 1917, dramatically broadening the electorate; the Dominion franchise was extended to them the following year. Conscription took effect in
1917; this legislation was extremely divisive, but most Ontarians stoically
accepted the harsh law in order to make the world safe for democracy. In the
same year, as inflation steadily eroded the wages of disgruntled workers, the
Ontario legislature agreed to finance Adam Beck's gargantuan undertaking
(estimated at $20,000,000) for the world's largest hydroelectric generating
installation at Queenston-Chippawa, near Niagara.
By Armistice Day 1918, the old colonial, individualistic society of nineteenth-century Canada was giving way to a firmer national consciousness and
the gradual collective intervention of state action in the service of mass
democracy. The comfortable conventions of pre-1914 were not to be perpetuated. Prewar colonial status and imperial ties with Britain could no longer satisfy the country's national interests. When Germany signed the Treaty of
Versailles in June 1919, Prime Minister Robert Borden insisted that Canada
be a signatory, a condition which bestowed membership at the first meeting
of the League of Nations at Geneva. Later, in August, at the first convention
to select a national party leader in Canada, William Lyon Mackenzie King
became the federal Liberal leader. King was the author of Industry and
Humanity, a study advocating improved industrial relations and adequate
national social welfare programs. In December, the federal government took
steps to form the Canadian National Railways by the merger of unsuccessful
A Province to Be Served
205
private railway lines nationalized during the war. These events, coupled with
increased provincial reliance on federal subsidies, signalled the arrival of big
government.3 People sensed that the power and resources of the state had
superseded the credo of self-help when it came to improving society.
While public attitudes towards the role and functions of government were
unsettled, Ontario retained familiar links with its past, a half century after
Confederation. The 1921 Dominion census revealed that more than threequarters of the province's 2,933,662 residents had been born and raised within its borders. Although many immigrants came to Canada after 1900, seventy-eight percent of Ontarians claimed British ancestry; the only significant
groups from outside the British Isles were of French and German extraction.
Two-thirds of the populace worshipped in Methodist, Anglican, and
Presbyterian churches. These were solid demographic attributes that had given
"Empire Ontario" its character and strength to resist the encroachment of
American culture. There continued a rich, voluntary participation in smalltown life that even extended to some established neighbourhoods in larger
cities. But the census also indicated that change was in the offing. Although
the province continued to be the economic heartland of Canada, rural depopulation was a disquieting trend: in 1921 fifty-eight percent of the population
lived in an urban setting. Farm youth were being drawn ineluctably to the
city.
Improved transportation, electricity, and communications were beginning
to diminish distances and replace familiar regional economic patterns with
ones tightly linked to metropolitan centres. Planning for a system of paved
provincial highways from Ottawa to Windsor was underway. By the end of
the 1920s, concrete and asphalt highways would link major cities in the
southern counties, allowing ever increasing numbers of people to travel by
automobile, bus, and truck. Highways would displace rail service as the major
means of transporting people and goods. Adam Beck's ambitious plans for
electric transmission lines brought domestic conveniences to working families
in cities and also to the farm family. Local authorities were adding more users
annually to telephone exchanges. Radio sets were finding a place in most
homes, receiving news, advertisements, and broadcasts from Toronto or adjacent American border cities.4 Household radios and local town cinemas
instantaneously spread the culture of metropolitan centres at the expense of
traditional rural culture. Rising standards of living were altering the expectations of labourers and eroding farmers' isolation.
By the end of the war, both farmers and labourers were thoroughly disenchanted with party politics at Queen's Park. The Liberal party remained in
disarray after its progressive leader, Newton Rowell, decamped for federal politics in 1917. The provincial Conservative party, in power since 1905, now
206
The Modern Public Library Emerges
personified the status quo: it stood for conscription, patronage, and business
interests. The impetus for reform stirred by James P. Whitney had ebbed
under his political heir, William Hearst. New parties were canvassing for the
support of returning soldiers, women, farmers, and industrial workers. The
political influence of the United Farmers of Ontario (UFO), the successors to
the Patrons of Industry, and the recently formed Independent Labour Party
grew daily. When more than a million Ontarians went to the polls in October
1919 - twice the turnout of any previous election - William Hearst's
Conservatives were crushed: the United Farmers, supported by Independent
Labour, swept into power.5 After Adam Beck declined offers to lead the UFO,
Ernest C. Drury, who had not even stood for office, agreed to lead the coalition at the next Legislative session in spring 1920. Both the voters and the
Farmer-Labour politicians envisaged a new and better society.
Wartime Library Planning
Library conditions during wartime also mirrored the equivocal public mood
that rejected Victorian/Edwardian societal conventions and struggled to find
acceptable surrogates. Mary Joanna Louise Black of Fort William (Illus. 44),
the north's best known librarian, became the first woman president of OLA in
1917/18.6 She invoked the gender issue with some pride in her closing
remarks at the 1917 OLA annual meeting: "I realize, in the first place as the
first woman President of this Association, that the Association is making a
very great innovation — I would not like to say a step in advance — but a wonderful innovation that I think could only have been introduced in this great
democratic country of Ontario."7 Mary Black's ideas were fashioned by progressive library thought current on both sides of the Atlantic.8 Her motto was
"Service!" She was not satisfied with complacency.
I think that there is no question in the mind of almost every
one associated with the public library, but that the fundamental object of the institution, is to carry the right book to
the right reader at the least cost. Is there not, however, a very
general fallacy held by us, that in having defined our work,
we have accomplished it? This, in spite of the fact, that many
of us know perfectly well, that with the money expended in
Ontario in the aggregate, very much better service could be
given?9
The OLA President felt that improved training for library staff and librarians and larger, better-funded cooperative systems might advance the condition of free libraries more rapidly, especially in New Ontario, the area north
A Province to Be Served
207
of Lake Nipissing, where library development was still at a rudimentary
stage.10
Transition also was noticeable in the Department of Education. Walter
Nursey, saddened by the death of his wife and approaching seventy, left the
public libraries branch suddenly in early 1916 without an obvious successor
in place.11 Even though patronage continued to be common in civil service
appointments, now there were persons with library credentials who were qualified for the position of Inspector. Edwin Hardy wrote, "My great hope is that
they will appoint some one who will be in complete sympathy with the OLA,
and I believe that will be a factor/'12 His cautious prediction was confirmed
early in April when Dr. Pyne appointed William Carson inspector. He had
reasonable Conservative credentials as well as ten years of requisite library
experience at London.13 Later, in 1918, Dr. Pyne retired from politics. He
was replaced briefly by Canon Henry J. Cody before an Ottawa native,
Robert H. Grant, assumed charge for the UFO government. In 1919, Dr.
Seath died. His position as Superintendent was left vacant. Successive premiers and education ministers chose to wield more direct influence over the
department.14
The new inspector, although physically frail, was a persuasive man whose
personality and ideas provided a suitable touchstone for those who wished to
improve library services (Illus. 45). He was a vigorous promoter of the free
library. Carson introduced many reforms at London Public Library. He inaugurated free access, revamped reference service, replaced a ladies' reading room
with a separate children's room, and established in-service training. His paper
on the Canadian library as a social force, delivered at the 1915 OLA conference, amply demonstrated his views:
The future greatness of Canada depends upon the intelligence and virtue of its people. The Canadian public library
can perform a great service in making Canadians a better,
wiser and happier people. The public library is a social force
of the highest order for the reason that it gives nothing for
nothing; it provides literature which helps the reader to help
himself, and in helping himself he learns how to live this life
well.1*
Unlike some Canadians, notably the expatriate Gilbert Parker, who was working secretly with British intelligence to spread Allied propaganda in American
libraries during the war,16 Carson subscribed to high principles. For him the
library stood as a trustworthy nationalist force for the continuous dissemination of useful information.
208
The Modern Public Library Emerges
One of Carson's immediate concerns, which received support from all
quarters, was to organize more effective war camp libraries for Canadian soldiers-in-training before they departed to the battlefields of Europe.17 Toronto
Public Library had organized small libraries at the commencement of the war,
but permanent training camps for Canadian soldiers were not commonplace
until midway in the war. It was, therefore, difficult to establish effective
libraries. To stock the camps the inspector solicited books from libraries, utilized volunteers to prepare donations for circulation, and organized a simple
loan system for camp use. About ten thousand books were distributed by
mid-1918 to camp libraries at Niagara, Petawawa, Deseronto, Leaside, Fort
Henry, Camp Borden, Camp Mohawk, Camp Rathbun, London, Beamsville
School of Aerial Fighting, Armour Heights, and Brockville. After the
armistice, the books were redistributed to military hospitals.18
Carson spent the war years studying various library problems. He perceived that improved planning would result in efficient, better utilized services. Library finances, the need for better staff training and education, the
reorganization of library institutes, and amendments for postwar legislation all these were foremost on his mind. He reminded OLA delegates at the 1917
conference:
I do not think we should even contemplate assisting schools
or doing other kinds of extension work until we have got our
own houses in order. I think we should look after fundamentals first, and subsequently, when everything has been
brought up to date, we can take up other matters.19
No doubt he was aware of important changes taking place in Great Britain
and the United States, but he concentrated on issues relevant to the core of
local service. To his way of thinking, the quality of existing library work in
Ontario's cities, towns, and villages would have to be improved measurably
before the OLA ventured on fresh initiatives.
The war necessitated reassessments in all sectors of society. Libraries were
no exception. Although Andrew Carnegie's library benefactions had given the
library movement an enormous boost,20 in the United States and Great
Britain the utility and impact of Andrew Carnegie's program of grants were
coming under greater scrutiny. Carnegie had formed a Carnegie United
Kingdom Trust in 1913 with £2,000,000 which emphasized library improvement, not library building. Were bricks and mortar to be more effective over
time than better organizational systems? An Oxford professor, William G.S.
Adams, criticized "overbuilding" and recommended U.K. trust officials shift
their attention to rural county areas.21 As a result of the Adams study, British
A Province to Be Served
209
efforts were renewed to eliminate the penny rate clause and to empower county councils to form boards serving all (or parts) of rural counties. These fundamental reforms came into effect in England and Wales in 1919. In the
United States, a Cornell University economics professor, Alvin Johnson, submitted a report to the Carnegie Corporation in 1915 that favoured phasing
out building grants and establishing library education as a priority.22 When
building grants came to an end in 1917, it was not a complete surprise.
Library planners had already begun to concentrate on adequate local funding,
larger units of service, and library training and education.
William Carson was not alone in his desire to formulate a new agenda for
action, but, of course, he had to contend with different circumstances and rely
on native resources. A Carnegie corporation or trust to fund library planning
and stimulate experimentation did not exist in Canada. One of Carson s first
ideas was the Ontario Library Review and BookSelection Guide. Established in
autumn 1916, it served as an organ of communication and a selection aid for
libraries. This journal was immediately popular. The OLA's book selection
guide, commenced by James Bain in 1902 and printed sporadically over fifteen years as an annual or in parts, served as a model.25 Carson was determined to improve the quality of book selection across the province. His new
publication, financed and produced by the government, would ensure timely
reviews and would "enkindle responsive minds and hearts, and enlist them
into the glorious work."2"* In addition, the quarterly would keep abreast of
important issues bearing on libraries. It did this during the influenza outbreak
of!918-19.25
Carson also proposed an extension of the departmental library school program to two months, commencing in September 1917. Carson aimed to elevate the standards of librarianship: "The time has come when librarians of our
free libraries should possess qualifications and credentials. The usefulness of
public libraries is determined to a greater extent by the personal and professional qualification of the librarian than by any other factor," he wrote in
1916.26 Winifred G. Barnstead, from Toronto Public Library (TPL), took on
responsibility as the chief instructor; her students studied at Toronto's elegant
Dovercourt branch library.27 Barnstead was well qualified. She had prepared a
Canadian history section to supplement decimal classification in 1912 and
was on the verge of publishing filing rules for a dictionary catalogue with the
assistance of Carson s departmental branch.28
A third reform, the reduction in the number of library institutes and standardization of their programs, was not expected in some quarters, but it happened in 1917 in accordance with wartime austerity and Carson s own observations concerning their ineffectiveness.
210 The Modern Public Library Emerges
I am inclined to believe that the average library fails to put
into practice the ideas gained at the institutes. This is probably due to the fact that in at least two-thirds of the libraries
amateur management prevails, and that the whole library
board of a small library is not influenced sufficiently by the
one delegate who attends the institute.29
The inspector's agenda dictated that his efforts should be directed to longrange planning; the creation of better training programs for library staff; and
expansion of the departmental office for inspection, travelling libraries, and
book selection. He maintained this focus during the immediate postwar period. As a result, the institutes declined in relative importance.
The department of education under Carson began serious reconsideration
of the public library rate which had remained at one-half mill — "unappreciable" in Oliver Mowat s words - for almost four decades.30 The inspector analyzed variations in local assessments, the costs of modern library requirements,
the impact of Carnegie building grants, and the relationship between population served and income necessary to provide what he considered a reasonable
service. He was the first Canadian investigator to detect that deficiencies in
local assessment bases and the increased costs in maintenance for Carnegie
libraries often put many community libraries in an adverse situation. The
Ontario mill-rate restriction left smaller boards unable to generate the annual
revenue equal to their Carnegie pledge to provide ten percent of the original
grant. In one instance, Carson advised Tilbury's beleaguered town clerk that it
would be "better to take less and maintain the honour of the town than to get
more and not keep the pledge."31 As early as 1917, Carson began to advocate
a per capita municipal rate for libraries, an innovative, controversial, point of
view: "If a library's income is below thirty-five cents per capita, either the
patronage is below what it should be, or the quality of service is not good, or,
which is more probable, the demand and the service are below a reasonable
standard."32
The crux of the matter was the standard of service Carson expected to
establish. Simply put, modern library operations covered a wide range of
activities and required more income. In his 1919 report, Carson estimated
that only a third of the 425 public libraries in Ontario could be judged as
"first-class, good, fairly good." He was specific about what he judged to be
reasonable service arrangements.
Five kinds of service are usually given by the modern library:
(1) Reference service, from the answering of simple but not
unimportant questions to furnishing extensive information;
A Province to Be Served 211
(2) lending books for home study; (3) lending books for
recreative reading, from which there is a greater educational
value as a by-product than is generally supposed; (4) special
service to children, including the story-hour; (5) providing
reading rooms with periodicals and newspapers.33
Following Carson's analysis, temporary amendments were set in place during
the spring 1919 legislative session to increase the minimum public library rate
to one mill for places under 100,000 people (a half mill, exclusive of debt
charges, for Ottawa, Hamilton, and Toronto) and to allow boards to honour
Carnegie obligations (9 Geo. V, c. 25, s. 26-29). However, hesitation on the
part of William Hearst's government to sanction thoroughgoing reforms and
his party's preparation for an election delayed any meaningful changes. This
postponement made inevitable another round of discussion and revision.
The Modern Public Library
Carson's war time administrative initiatives helped create a proactive orientation for progressive librarians. Cooperation between the OLA and the library
branch had made possible many improvements under inspectors Leavitt and
Nursey and had heightened awareness of the library's potential. During the
war the number of free libraries increased, and the editor of the Catholic
Record noted that the public library "has a sphere all its own, in which it offers
equality of opportunity to every citizen capable and desirous of taking advantage of it."34 After the war Carson was poised to accelerate reform. To aid reference work in the province, the public libraries branch published Reference
Work and Reference Works, a list of three hundred useful reference books. As
Carson put it, "No phase of a public library's work is more important than
reference work."35 The various aspects of this service were described in detail.
This work was a valuable contribution to the then embryonic state of
Canadian library science. To assist smaller libraries with circulating collections, the branch encouraged a simple book-pocket loan card system adapted
from the Newark charging system.36 If libraries were to become active forces
within their communities, there was obviously much work to be done.
Perhaps the best perspective on the library's postwar mission was delivered
by Sir Robert Falconer, President of the University of Toronto, at the 1918
OLA convention.
When the war is over there are several questions that are
going to demand more and more from us. One is education
as a whole...
212 The Modern Public Library Emerges
There is another change coming which is linked up with
the industrial development of the country. Two points seem
to me to deserve our attention in this respect. The first is the
fact that labouring men of all kinds, of all classes, will probably have shorter hours, and shorter hours of labour means
longer hours for self improvement, ...
There is another point to which I desire to refer. If one
reads the situation aright there is going to be a demand more
and more after this war for the opportunity of each and every
one to realize himself and herself in a fuller liberty...
These three facts, then, seem to me to place the library of
the future in a far more influential position than it every held
before. Education from the childhood up, the longer hours
for self development and the newer sense of liberty in which
the individual is to realize himself intellectually and morally
as never before.37
Falconer's appeal for intellectual and moral regeneration, which was explained
at length in his publication Idealism in National Character, was a frame of reference shared by others in the library field.38
In early 1920, Carson recommended a course of action to strengthen service, a program that he was confident would shape future events. First on his
agenda stood a series of revisions to the act governing public libraries: an
improved library rate; an easier way to establish free libraries in rural areas;
regulations governing qualifications for librarians; more powers to the minister of education to promote the library movement; as well as several minor
changes. By using the full range of power and authority of the office of
inspector, Carson hoped to provide effective, ongoing leadership from within
the corridors of the provincial civil service. Second, a permanent training
school for librarianship would be necessary to instruct and encourage qualified librarians. Carson firmly believed that a library's success depended upon
the librarian. Finally, if expanded accommodation for the public libraries
branch could be secured, three additional matters - the expansion of the travelling library system, central assistance for small libraries to purchase books,
and more staff to carry on the provincial leadership role - could be managed
more readily by Carson.39
The London native's philosophy of service and his methods to achieve it
impelled the public library movement towards institutionalization, the process
by which modern library service would be sanctioned and maintained in societal structures. This was, of course, a fundamental goal that the movement's
organizers and adherents always had laboured to attain - that the public
A Province to Be Served
213
library might become an integral part of the ordinary citizen s world and that
its goals might be embodied in stable local organizations seeking to ameliorate
the conditions of life. The public library movement had not been an
unchanging entity. It was open to change and adaptation. As it developed
across Ontario it had freely borrowed ideas from an Anglo-American venue in
order to achieve its various reform objectives. Now the political and societal
setting that had nurtured the movement was ready to absorb it completely. In
all sectors of society the Farmer-Labour government under Ernest Drury was
attempting to satisfy rising expectations by undertaking an expansive range of
duties between 1919 and 1923.40 Farm credit legislation, a minimum wage
for women, the Mother's Allowance Act, a civil service pension plan, strict
enforcement of prohibition, and major highway construction exemplified the
UFO's progressive aspirations. Provincial expenditures spiralled steadily
upward until the Great Depression: in 1910 outlays were $12.6 million; in
1920, $82.8 million; in 1930, $212.8 million. Consequently, the public service, ministries, and government departments quickly expanded.41
By 1921, sixty-four percent of Ontario s residents lived within the area of
a library authority; they enjoyed the services of free or association libraries.
Ninety percent of those people who received library service resided in communities where ratepayers had approved free library bylaws or a local council
had acquired the assets of a library association (or Mechanics' Institute) and
assumed the minimum annual library rate. Since the Carnegie program had
transformed their physical persona, libraries generally put forth an attractive
modern face, featuring improved public access and a clearly defined administrative system. These facets contrasted favourably with conditions before
1900. Wartime patriotic committees, which based their activities in libraries
between 1914 and 1918, further strengthened the library's democratic appeal.
As a result the public library has become better known in the
community, and in its case to be better known is to be better
appreciated. Library grants were not cut by the municipal
councils except in some isolated communities handicapped
by poor library boards who had little or no influence in the
community.42
The war effort, initially a potential obstacle to library advancement, contributed measurably to its maturation.
Library users discovered that circulating collections were larger and normally directly accessible, and that the scope of available literature was more
universal. Educational publications continued to be a priority. As William
Sykes wrote, "I venture to say that every large library has its experiences of
214 The Modern Public Library Emerges
trained progressive men in every walk of life resorting to its shelves to find the
latest work on their particular vocation."43 And the day had passed when the
entire genre of the novel could be dismissed. Good fiction, a Brampton
trustee affirmed, was "the encyclopaedia of humanity," a source of stimulus to
the imagination, a solace during weary hours, a reader incorporating all phases
of life.44 The nationalistic magazine, Canadian Bookman, first published in
1919, and the Canadian Authors Association, established in 1921, also boosted the standing of Canadian writers, magazines, and publishers at every
opportunity. Single works of fiction might arouse the ire of moralists, but censorship in the library was now less overt.
The majority of citizens recognized libraries as legitimate public organizations designed to provide information or entertainment, including fiction. A
Toronto Mail and Empire editorial appraised the situation in the first part of
1919.
The modern library has an important place in community
education — more important, in many respects, than secondary schools. If the proper books are available, it becomes
a source of technical instruction to ambitious men and
women. Practical subjects are taken up as a means of promoting commercial success. The librarian can reach people
whom the churches and colleges never touch.4^
The Conservative education minister agreed. Before his party's electoral debacle in 1919, Canon Henry Cody was prepared to investigate and act on issues
that William Carson raised, an activist course that Dr. Pyne had avoided for
the most part. Given rising public expectations, the province was willing to
recognize the need for coordinated efforts and more forceful direction.
The Farmer-Labour coalition introduced a revamped library act in the
spring of 1920 (10 Geo. V, c. 69) .46 As usual, there were three parts to the
legislation - a section for free libraries, one for association libraries, and one
for general terms. Free libraries were now extended to local school sections
with the expectation that libraries would profit from the stronger public support enjoyed by school boards. No vote needed to be held in this case; a petition signed by a majority of school supporters would suffice. Provision for
union boards and contracts for service by two boards were introduced. The
process of creating and disestablishing rural boards in adjoining police villages
and townships was clarified. But for the most part, association public libraries
operating under section two of the new act predominated in rural areas. The
new legislation allowed their transfer to a municipality without the necessity
of submitting a bylaw to electors. The age stipulation for association library
A Province to Be Served 215
members was abolished. In terms of creating larger rural units of library service, a process being promoted in American counties and by the Carnegie
library trustees in the United Kingdom, Ontario legislation was uncreative
and uninspiring. Nevertheless, province-wide praise was immediately forthcoming. Mary Black was most enthusiastic. She wrote that the act "may well
be considered as the most progressive and practical Library Act that has ever
appeared in any statue book, the world over."47
The real genius of the 1920 legislation was the realization of Carson's per
capita public library rate, which was fixed at a minimum fifty cents. The originality of this arrangement attracted American and British interest. To a curious American audience Carson said, "We believe that our principle of taxation will stand the test of time," and he estimated that this rate might, on
average, permit a tax revenue increase of two-thirds for libraries.48 One
Michigan librarian familiar with Canadian and American conditions, Samuel
Ranke, using a survey of one hundred U.S. libraries, figured $1.00 per capita
would be more suitable, but there was no disputing Ontario's enterprise in the
matter. Ranke recommended that the ALA conduct a study to determine a
reasonable minimum per capita standard which would encourage growth. His
recommendation for a guideline was adopted in 1933.49 Editorial support for
the new measure flowed from many Ontario newspaper columns. The library
community regarded the minimum fifty cent rate as a panacea, particularly
after the Ontario Library Review published comparative rates for the old and
new systems.50 Some enthusiasts were so impressed they cautioned against
requesting the full rate from council!
Part three of the new act empowered the education minister and the
library branch to implement and modify regulations which would satisfy
changing requirements for conditional provincial grants. Flexible regulations
could be issued for travelling libraries, library institutes, library training,
librarians, and the administration of public libraries; government grants
would be withheld if boards failed to comply with the regulations. The new
grant regulations restricted the total sum payable for books, periodicals, and
newspapers to a maximum of $250 and effectively stiffened conditions for
opening reading rooms.51 Special sections on library training schools and a
bureau of home study also were included because courses for home study were
part of the developing field of adult education and the need for permanent
library schools was gaining greater credibility. Inspector Carson was determined to promote these priorities.
The 1920 library act, unlike the legislation of 1882, 1895, and 1909,
retained its essential structure for a prolonged period; in fact, it served as the
basis for public library service until 1966. Future library progress in Ontario
would depend on basic ideas and attitudes quite unlike the ones which char-
216
The Modern Public Library Emerges
acterized the public library movements heyday from 1880 to 1920. Voluntary
linkages and personal ties were replaced by more formal organizational connections that were defined by legislation, regulations, inspection, communication, and initiative supplied by Carsons public libraries branch. Library training would improve the proficiency of staff members in communities across
the province, building expertise and competence in library work, especially in
the crucial domain of book selection. Formal programs for librarianship
would establish professional norms at the administrative level. Librarians
would begin to displace lay leaders from the traditional leadership role they
had assumed by default for the past forty years.
Inspector Carson himself often reckoned that a librarian accounted for
the major part of the success of any library. On a transnational basis, the discipline of library science, bolstered by the establishment of American degree
granting schools in an academic setting, created and expanded consistent standards for undergraduate curricula and teaching that ultimately led to graduate
level programs. In the United States, the Carnegie Corporation was scrutinizing library education in the 1920s, demonstrating its concern with educational and administrative arrangements even before the release of Alvin Johnsons
seminal report.52 Canadian practice was to follow the same pattern. On a
provincial scale, Carsons long-range plans included standardized library education and departmental certification of every librarians qualifications. As a
result of his work and the program of the Ontario Library School, a reinvigorated leadership, espousing new ideas, would emerge in the 1920s.
Carson preferred to extend library training and education to three
months. Approval for his plan came in 1919. Students from smaller libraries
were given a one-month course. Those who desired more intensive study continued for an extra two months. The 1919 program was held at Toronto
Public Library; Gertrude Boyle, from TPL's cataloguing staff, was chief
instructor. TPL remained the home for the Training School for Librarians
(renamed the Ontario Library School in 1923) until 1927, with Dorothy
Thompson, from the public library branch, in charge from 1920 to 1927.
After 1921, an entrance examination in literature, history, current events and
general information was necessary for candidates who did not possess a university degree. No fees were charged, texts and supplies were provided, and, to
attract potential candidates, a large portion of students' travelling expenses
was reimbursed.53 Guest lectures and hands-on practice comprised the course
work.
The three-month Ontario Library School had three main purposes: to
improve librarianship, to provide training for currently employed but inexperienced assistants and librarians, and to serve students who filled junior positions in public libraries. Persons over thirty-five were advised not to apply.
A Province to Be Served 217
Forty percent of the time was devoted to lectures, sixty percent to practice.
The main course subjects were book selection, modern literature, reference
work, administration, classification and cataloguing, circulation and readers'
advisory work, children's work, Canadiana, and special subjects, e.g., library
history. By all accounts, the short course in training satisfied the limited need
for appointments in libraries during the 1920s. While this arrangement was
acceptable for most libraries, Carson believed a one-year course was the ultimate solution. It took the inspector many years to convince the department of
education of this wisdom.
In September 1928, the first students entered the one-year academic
library program at the Ontario College of Education in arrangement with the
University of Toronto. The Department of Education continued to finance
and supervise the schools operations. Winifred Barnstead became the school's
director with professorial rank at the University of Toronto. The university
granted diplomas to graduates; the education department issued certificates.
Field work was provided in conjunction with TPL.54 The replacement of
vocational training by a professional program meant that professional leaders
and personnel were recognized as crucial to the welfare of libraries. From the
standpoint of many full-time workers, libraries continued to be part of a larger social movement. However, the immediate local organization in which they
were employed demanded primary consideration and allegiance. The institutionalization of education, training, and employment was changing fundamental perceptions of the public library and the librarian's role therein.
Carson began to strengthen the administration of the public libraries
branch after the war with expanded quarters for his small staff. During the
1920s the departmental branch grew to seven people: Dorothy Thompson
was hired as a librarian to assist the inspector; Patricia Spereman remained as
library assistant; Samuel Herbert was senior clerk; and there were two other
clerks and a stenographer. The small number of persons obviously curbed the
branch's work. For the most part, it regulated and dispensed grants to public
libraries, rural school libraries, and other cultural agencies (e.g., the Ontario
College of Art, Boy Scouts and Girl Guides); organized library institutes;
superintended the library school; inspected libraries; and managed travelling
libraries. Concerning this last function, Carson admitted: "The Department's
best efforts are unlikely to be directed toward giving more than a limited service." He cited problems arising from sparsely populated districts and the
tremendous cost of serving rural communities.55
A mid-1920s library study by an Ontario Agricultural College undergraduate compared Ontario to the state of Wisconsin in terms of travelling
libraries. Ontario fared poorly beside Wisconsin, which was recognized for its
work in this field across North America.
218 The Modern Public Library Emerges
It is estimated by Mr. W.O. Carson, the Inspector of Public
Libraries, that to do Ontario as Dr. Locke does Toronto
would require an outlay of between $800,000 and $900,000
annually. A Wisconsin inspector estimates that if Mr. Carson
were to do Ontario as they do Wisconsin it would take him
fourteen years to get over the province once.56
At this time, there were 50,000 volumes circulating in about 425 cases which
cost the department $5,000 annually. The program was relatively successful,
but its application was uneven. A good deal of the branch's activity was centred on Women's Institutes, a strong organization with extensive roots
throughout rural Ontario.57 A travelling library bookcase loaned to an institute usually was the prelude to the formation of an association library and
then a free library.58
One particular reform was destined to fail. From the very beginning of his
appointment, Carson had advocated better book selection in public libraries.
In 1918, he proposed the establishment of a "Department of Education Book
Room" as a means to create a representative book stock of "recommended" or
"acceptable" titles. This way he hoped to encourage better book selection and
purchasing. Carson reasoned that small libraries could buy at low rates without paying duty on imports and could capitalize on publishers' remainder
sales. Publishers would have the advantage of selling in quantities, thus
increasing sales volume. He expected a startup cost of $40,000 and annual
sales of $100,000. Carson explained his proposal this way:
The nature of the business would hardly justify an estimate
for a 'turnover' of more than three times a year. First cost plus
twelve and a half per cent, [sic] would be a sufficient charge
for books to cover cost of books and of handling, etc. After
the establishment of a book-room it should pay its own way;
the only expense to the Government should be the invested
capital, and the furnishing of rent, light, and heat.59
Although Carson advanced credible arguments to justify the establishment of
a "book room" for smaller public libraries and school libraries, his solution
was unacceptable. Forty years prior to his administration, the education
department had abolished Egerton Ryerson's book depository. And the rationale for its abolition in 1881 prevailed over arguments for its resurrection in
1921.
Underlying the 1920 act, which enhanced library education and training
and increased departmental work, was an expanded library service mission
A Province to Be Served
219
catering to all segments of society. Ideally, libraries were to encompass all age
groups, and librarians were to offer users a greater variety of reference information, educational advice, and recreational programs. A new attitude ruled.
As Mary Black had asserted, the right book could be put into the hands of
every reader with a little forethought and effort regarding public need for
reading materials.
If this modern [librarian] were asked to enumerate the qualifications necessary for successful librarianship, he would surely put the spirit of service and knowledge of people even
before a knowledge of books and all three would precede an
acquaintance with library technique and business training.60
These were uplifting ideals that community librarians often failed to realize
immediately after the Great War. Nonetheless, these ideals retained their
power to motivate and sustain the profession in the days and years ahead.
The changing ethos of service spelled the end of Victorian moral didacticism and the library's custodial image. The trend in libraries was towards the
design and delivery of more public services and away from sculpting the
moral qualities of library users. The librarian might be a scholar, a custodian,
an administrator, a booklover, or a feeble failure, but the community's diverse
needs were more important than character building or social engineering.
Mary Saxe, the long-time Westmount librarian who was active in the affairs of
the Ottawa-based eastern Ontario institute, accentuated the new service role:
Librarians must make their minds elastic enough to cope
with any subject, no matter how distasteful. They must learn
to accept people's beliefs and religion, just as they accept peoples dispositions. Both are usually the result of inheritance. It
is not the librarian's duty to change a leopard's spots.61
To be sure, the librarian-as-custodian continued to perform an important educational role. Collection building and the arrangement and retention of information in a variety of media formats was a task which was becoming more
demanding each year.
Censorship issues still plagued the library, but librarians no longer felt
that one of their routine roles was to exclude literature at the selection stage,
although the long-standing Hicklin Rule of 1868 still pertained to works in
the category of James Joyce's Ulysses. Mary Ingraham> a Maritime librarian,
accented a fresh, impartial role to obscenity and distasteful literature that suited a democratic society.
220
The Modern Public Library Emerges
The true censor will not forbid the sex novel, but he will
have that novel of so high a class that it will not attract the
weak and salacious. Shakespeare is obscene, but so great is he
that his obscenity will never harm. Moreover, the librarian
shows small respect to the thinking public if he, for religious
scruples, denies to them the works of the great unbelievers.62
While censorship problems continued, chiefly in regards to a little used 1926
amendment to the library act (16 Geo. V, c. 56), the banning of books in
libraries was a subtle business in Ontario. In the United States, the ALA was
adopting a code of ethics, and liberals in the profession were beginning to
rally to the concept of freedom to read. This decade surely witnessed a "critical
shift" in the way trustees and librarians thought about censorship on the open
shelves of libraries.63
The general populace seemed to accept that publicly funded libraries,
which embodied shared democratic and educational values, were capable of
accomplishing certain societal functions which otherwise would be neglected.
Concerning the library of tomorrow, Mabel Dunham boldly predicted at the
1919 OLA conference:
Some day the general public will waken up to realize what it
has a right to require of its public library and of the librarian
in charge. It will demand the service and it will pay the price.
Then the day of promissory notes and overdrafts will have
passed, for each library board will have the privilege of stating as school boards do now, how much money will be needed annually for the maintenance of the institution they represent. Then the public library will be as ubiquitous and as farreaching in its influence as the little red school house.64
Although library governance would fall short of her elusive target, her words
were a fairly accurate forecast of the increased political and financial support
libraries were to enjoy.
A potent factor working in favour of urban libraries was organization.
Generally, after 1920, they developed in a more structured way, emulating the
successful Toronto library system, which was governed by a lay board of directors and managed by professional librarians. It was an exemplar forged by the
trustees of the TPL and George Locke, the chief librarian. The policy/administration dichotomy between trustees and senior administrators (usually chief
librarians) was gaining credence. The Ontario Library Review helped promote
this convention:
A Province to Be Served 221
The larger the library the more the trustee confines his
attention to policies and the larger administrative problems.
The smaller the library the more the trustee is obliged to
penetrate into detail. In the larger cities trustees have fairly
large problems to face and they have qualified librarians to
advise them and to develop the library's organization and
services.65
Board members received their authority from provincial law; they were representative of the social fabric of their communities; they were above the strife
of local politics; and they participated in a broader educational movement
serving society. This was an orthodox view of trusteeship and librarianship
conceived during the first quarter of the twentieth century.
In cities, where board members might justify their policy-making role by
referring to the detailed nature of their deliberations, the politics/administration canon suited urban reformers and progressives who were seeking to shield
the mechanisms of government from objectionable political interference.
Twentieth century bureaucratic practices were nourished by the theories of
scientific management or Taylorism (named after its founder, Frederick
Winslow Taylor) and later by the human relations school. These techniques
already were operating in large North American libraries, where pragmatic
directors were successfully introducing sound business methods.66 The tenets
of scientific management and the primacy of the urban professional combined
to embrace libraries as well. Efficiency, economy, and technical expertise were
the new bywords in the public library lexicon.
Public relations also had a role to play in the operations of libraries in
towns and villages remote from the its expanding base on Madison Avenue,
New York. One newspaperman, David Williams, a long-time Collingwood
trustee who served OLA in many capacities, dealt with the need for a good
relationship with the press in his 1917 presidential address. In a follow up
article in the Ontario Library Review, he wrote about the library's wise use of
publicity to contend with competing pleasures and distractions.
In this age, when the public library has so many competitors,
special efforts must be put forward to maintain it in its proper place with the public. The movies, comfortable and attractive, must be counteracted. The automobile, which in the
warmer months gives ease, comfort and pleasure to those fascinated with outdoor life, must be combated. The summer
camp with the accompanying merry making and 'loafing' is
another detracting force that may not be overlooked. These,
222
The Modern Public Library Emerges
and other forms of amusement, equally free from condemnation, must be given consideration by library workers.67
Traditionally, libraries had used regular columns in local newspapers to promote their recent acquisitions; now radio broadcasts could be used to encourage listeners to "Be a library fan as well as a radio fan."68
New educational outlooks spread across the provinces library landscape
during the prosperity of the 1920s. As the cause of technical education receded, the demand for adult education surged. William Carson wrote, "the
library seems to be one of the few if not the only educational institution that
deals with its patrons as individuals."69 The inspector played an important
role in this new movement when he became the Canadian representative on
the ALA's commission on adult education. Established at Saratoga Springs in
June 1924, it was a project financed by the Carnegie Corporation. The commissions 1926 report included a special chapter on Canadian library work:
Canadian people believe in public libraries as a means of promoting popular education and good citizenship. Several of
our libraries have gained a reputation outside the Dominion.
Speaking generally the principal libraries of Canada compare
favorably with those in municipalities of like size in the
United States and Great Britain.70
The scope of adult education — continuation classes, extension lectures, correspondence courses, study groups, institutes, summer classes, and programs
with clubs and organizations - gave the public library a potentially prominent
role to play after 1925. However, it had to rely on government and private
organizations for financial support, which withered rapidly after the October
1929 stock market crash.
Did library growth satisfy Ontario's public demand during William
Carsons inspectorate? Unadjusted annual statistics from his office, between
1916 and 1929, showed that within a brief time the free library system was
more secure, that it had become a network serving almost two-thirds of the
population. There were impressive percentage increases for free libraries during the 1920s: 81% for circulation, 44% for volumes held, 102% for book
expenditures, 68% for expenses, and 30% for population served (Table 16:
Ontario Public Library Growth Under Inspector Carson, 1915-1930).
Comparative figures for association libraries were less heartening, but there
was no denying minor improvements. Even retrospective figures show reason
for enthusiasm when expenditures, adjusted for population increases and the
changing economic fortunes of two decades, are recalculated (Table 17: Public
A Province to Be Served
223
Library Finances, 1920-40). In quantitative terms, progress was moderate but
sustained prior to the onset of the Great Depression.
The period commencing with the 1920 library act enacted by the shortlived Farmer-Labour alliance and ending with the stock market crash was a
comparatively buoyant interval for Ontario libraries, although there were
minor problems. Inflation eroded revenue gains, book circulation did not
increase every year, few new buildings were opened, and the unserved population remained too numerous. However, measured library progress was steady
in the exuberant twenties. During Carsons inspectorate, the departmental
library component expanded considerably; in fact, its size, duties, and budget
were not surpassed until after the Second World War.71 Across Ontario, institutional development was marked by the maturation of modern library service
in larger towns and cities. At the centre stood Toronto, a provincial resource,
surrounded by smaller libraries which were emerging in their own right under
the capable direction of a new generation of professionally oriented leaders.
One only had to consider the Toronto Public Library to appreciate what
could be accomplished with a deft administrative touch. Canadian librarianship in the 1920s was dominated by the brilliance of George Locke (Illus. 46),
who was developing a dynamic metropolitan branch system with the capable
assistance of his staff. He served as OLA president in 1918/19 and was an
active participant in Toronto's influential Arts and Letters Club and the
Canadian Authors Association. He was also the popular author of When
Canada was New France (1919). Locke had never taken formal library training, but his administrative ability, as the Toronto Globe noticed shortly before
the First World War, was formidable.
Conventionality is not a conspicuous characteristic in the
make-up of Toronto's Chief Librarian. Traditions were shattered when he was appointed, and customary usages have
gone by the board ever since. He has completely upset the
popular conception of what a librarian should be, and has,
for Canada at any rate, established a new idea of the duties of
the office. He stands to-day the impersonation of a vigorous,
up-to-date administration of a highly important public service.72
For the Beamsville native, the library was a business proposition to be run on
the general lines of efficiency, economy, and usefulness.
Locke's philosophy of libraries and librarianship depended on the utility
of the book. "A public library is the great world of books where only the
vicious and needlessly vulgar are excluded. The ordinary rubs shoulders with
224
The Modem Public Library Emerges
the 'high-brow' and one is sure in such a cosmopolitan crowd to find some of
his friends," he wrote after the war.73 At the 1930 convocation of the
University of the State of New York, he told his Albany audience that people
should be able to find reading material worth reading in any place or region,
that getting people to want to read books was a fundamental educational goal,
that education, learning, and reading were a lifelong process.74 The library
was a central organ in this evolutionary journey:
There is a large, and what ought to be an influential, division
of education known as the public library, an educational
institutional with no entrance requirements, no fees, no
instructors and no examinations. It has books and trained
persons whose duty it is to help people to help themselves.75
If there was an inherent weakness in Locke's philosophy, which he developed
prior to 1920, it was his stress on the informal, personal nature of library service. Locke seldom expressed interest in developing formal working relationships for libraries within government levels.
Under Locke's command Toronto became a major North American
library system in the 1920s, personified by imaginative, appealing, functional
buildings.76 Locke "got the evangelic idea of free books for all Toronto in the
greatest cycle of branch libraries (designed by sundry Club architects) ever
built anywhere in one decade," enthused Augustus Bridle in his 1945 recital
of accomplishments of past presidents of the Arts and Letters Club.77 Eight
major branches opened on Toronto's busy streets between 1921 and 1930:
Earlscourt on Dufferin (1921), Eastern on Main (1921), Boys' and Girls'
House on St. George (1922), Northern at Yonge and St. Clement's (1923),
Gerrard (1924), Downtown at Adelaide (1927), Danforth on Pape (1929)*
and Runnymede on Bloor (1930). The Danforth Street branch, surrounded
by retail stores and situated near a street-car intersection, was considered at
the time to be a "shopping centre" branch that suited the life of its neighbourhood and provided an innovative way to reach the public.78 The new
Downtown branch marked the end of an era - it meant the closing of the
original central library inherited from the Toronto Mechanics' Institute (Illus.
47), an event which left many of TPL's staff and clientele with a distinct sense
of loss.79 The Boys' and Girls' House adjoining the central library was a large
renovated private home. It had an upper apartment for exhibitions, library
room furnishings, and books suited to different age groups, ranging from
early elementary school to upper-level high school students (Illus. 49-50).
Under Lillian Smith's guidance, this department quickly received international
recognition and hosted visiting librarians eager to view its work firsthand.80
A Province to Be Served
225
Of course, Locke could not have built this system without the aid of reliable - perhaps remarkable - librarians. Frances Staton was an old hand from
the Bain era. As head of the reference division, she publicized TPL's prize collections in Books and Pamphlets Published in Canada up to the Year 1837
(1916); The Rebellion of 183738 (1924); and The Canadian North West
(1931). In 1924, she gave a paper to the Canadian Historical Association on
her absorbing bibliographic work and research.81 Her scholarship culminated
in TPL's Bibliography of Canadiana, a book she co-edited with Marie
Tremaine; this work served as a fundamental source of information on
Canadian publications prior to 1867, and supplemental editions continue to
be published. In the children's department Lillian Smith made important contributions to librarianship that were to percolate far beyond Toronto's central
library. From the very beginning of her career, Smith knew that she wanted to
"put into the hands of boys and girls, books that make for higher ideals, good
citizenship, and a love of the best in the world of books."82 Upon her retirement, she would distill her knowledge in The Unreluctant Years; A Critical
Approach to Children's Literature. Published in 1953, it remains a standard
work today. Another departmental mainstay, Winifred Barnstead, head of
technical services, was a creative and powerful force in the training of personnel throughout the Toronto system. She introduced many improvements in
cataloging and classification before she left to head the library school at the
University of Toronto in 1928.
"The Libraries are Progressing Rapidly"
After the war, Toronto was considered a nucleus around which other libraries
could build. There remained cities without free service, Kingston being the
most conspicuous, and there were still a few incumbent directors without
library credentials. However, by the early 1920s, William Sykes in Ottawa,
Mabel Dunham in Kitchener, Fred Landon in London, and Mary Black in Fort
William were well respected throughout Ontario. New appointments presented
opportunities to transform the character of local service in larger cities. The
challenge in Ontario was to move forward under better leaders and to promote
an active role for libraries succinctly described by Mary Black's phrase, "the
right book to the right reader at the least cost." Leaders could exercise great
influence. Across Canada the 1920s was marked by the exertion of small, elite
groups of intelligentsia who promoted various forms of cultural and national
progress through a network of formal organizations.83 Public library development in Ontario was a regional drama, played out on a smaller geographic
stage, with a remarkable cast that created a new image of public librarianship.
Naturally, Toronto's library was held in the highest esteem; in fact,
most librarians conceded that it would be impossible to duplicate Toronto's
226 The Modern Public Library Emerges
enterprise in their own communities even on a proportionate scale. However,
as the twenties unfolded, local library improvement was the order of the day.
As Carson optimistically reported in Library Journal'in 1925:
The libraries are progressing rapidly, their use having
increased by one hundred and twenty-five percent in the last
decade, the expenditure for library purposes by one hundred
per cent, and the number of trained librarians from a score to
three hundred and seventy-five - all in the same period.
Library leaders in the Province are keeping in constant touch
and are in active participation in the advances that are being
made in the study and application of adult education, standardized library training, library extension, work with boys
and girls, etc.8^
It was a road not travelled without its share of difficulties. A crucial trial for
Carson's version of library service - indeed his very ability to influence change
- arose in Hamilton just after passage of the 1920 legislation.
Adam Hunter, approaching seventy and one of the last of Ontario's bookmen-librarians, had been director in Hamilton for the past sixteen years.85 By
most criteria, Hamilton s female staff were underpaid. Hunter and the board
attempted to deal with this problem in the first part of 1920, but they were
not successful. As the year wore on, questions about the general management
of the library surfaced in the city press. Finally, the Hamilton board of control
and the city council took up the matter and asked the minister of education,
Robert Grant, to investigate. Grant answered their request by passing it along
to Carson, who wrote the library board shortly before the end of November,
telling them that the library was below desirable standards.
The Hamilton public library as an institution for serving the
people of the city is below the reasonable level of merit as
judged by modern standards. It is capable of giving its
patrons a fair amount of satisfaction, but it is only realizing a
small fraction of its possibilities. The weakness and defects of
the library are so manifest as to be obvious to anyone well
versed in librarianship.86
Carson suggested that he conduct a two-week examination of the library's
overall operations. His reasons for a thorough inspection were obvious:
Hamilton's personnel were not adequately trained, qualified, or compensated;
the library's financial management for many years had been lax; and its future
A Province to Be Served
227
depended on "complete reorganization/'
Publication of the inspectors criticism in the city press renewed interest in
the need for a full-scale, independent investigation. Robert Grant refused to
initiate this course of action in mid-December.87 After some procrastination,
Carson personally surveyed Hamilton in the early part of 1921. The inspector
interviewed staff and prepared a detailed report on the failings of the library
and its employees. It was not happy reading for the harried board of directors.
Carson did not spare the staff, the collection, or management.88 He concluded that most staff were poorly qualified, that the salary schedules should be
revised, and that new people should be hired to provide competent direction.
More money had to be expended on books; some subject areas in the collection were seriously deficient.89 The chief librarian, Carson contended, should
be responsible for book selection and ordering; the board members, even
respected collectors such as Henry Blois Witton, should be concerned with
outcomes, not administrative procedures. As well, the library's classification
and cataloguing required the services of a skilled head cataloguer so that
books would no longer be "dumped" into general class areas.
The Carson report meticulously dissected Hamilton's operations and
pointed to the rewarding potential that new directions posed. Surprisingly,
unrest among staff was not as contentious as originally suspected, perhaps
because Adam Hunter revealed to Carson that he wished to step down as chief
librarian; he was willing to take an assistant's salary and provide continuity
while a new director assumed charge. The inspector recommended several
remedial courses of action. He stated in his report that a qualified librarian
should replace Hunter, who could continue as the new director's assistant;
that specialists be engaged for the catalogue, circulation, and children's services departments; that assistants receive better training; that a revised salary
structure be adopted; and that two more branches be added within the next
five years.
The personnel and administration at Hamilton changed dramatically during the next three years as a result of the Carson report. Adam Hunter
received a leave of absence and an allowance for health reasons in the autumn;
he died in May 1922.90 Hunter's absence and the board's immediate quandary
apropos to staffing persuaded Carson to recruit professionally educated
American librarians. This was an unprecedented step in Ontario. William
N.C. Carlton, who had recently reorganized American war library collections
into a free public library in Paris, was temporarily available at the end of 1921
and the first part of 1922 to help reorganize Hamilton.91 Carlton quickly
established new management doctrines at Hamilton: the board was to make
policy decisions related to finance, books, and administration, and to select its
librarian; the librarian was to take charge of the details of management and
228
The Modem Public Library Emerges
administration.92 Another American, Earl Browning, succeeded Carlton in
early 1922; he had extensive public library experience. Browning completed
the application of major recommendations arising from the Carson report,
and, under his tutelage, Hamilton adopted the progressive mode of management and service which Carson was anxious to impose.93
Foremost in Carson's mind was the establishment of viable salary schedules that would attract (and retain) competently trained people to an identifiable professional career path. Using his knowledge of personnel grades in the
recently reformed Ontario civil service, Carson suggested entirely new ranks
and levels for salary schedules: an unstated, negotiable amount for a chief
librarian; a maximum $1,800 for department heads; $1,300-$ 1,500 for heads
in larger branches; $1,000-$ 1,300 for smaller branch heads; $1,100-$!,400
for senior assistants; $720-$ 1,250 for intermediate library assistants; and
$720-$ 1,000 for library clerks.9^ Carson realized that salaries had to keep
pace with economic realities if graduates from the Ontario Library School
were to remain within the province. He was not, however, expecting inexperienced graduates to advance at the expense of senior workers or other specialists. He retained the rank of senior assistant for these people and assured them
that there were places for those possessing "a broad cultural background with
training in some other fields than librarianship."95
Realizing that advancement in Ontario was unlikely, Browning left
Hamilton at the end of 1926. A search for his successor took an unusual turn.
The appointment of Lurene McDonald, the first woman to hold a position as
chief librarian in a major Ontario city, was announced in January 1926. This
was a milestone, but everyone realized that she was as qualified as any Ontario
director. A native of Tillsonburg, she was educated at the University of
Toronto and Columbia University Library School, and she had worked in the
New York Public Library system. Lurene McDonald was a careful administrator who preferred to stress the educational facets of librarianship, particularly
reference work.96 She was president of OLA for two consecutive terms in
1933/35, an unusual accomplishment.97 She also held the absolute confidence of the Hamilton trustees. After her marriage in 1928, she was permitted
to continue working, an unheard of arrangement that did not become standard in public libraries for another three decades. Her tenure at Hamilton,
from 1926 to 1940, was a period of steady advancement, despite the difficulties brought on by the Great Depression and poor health which finally forced
her to retire prematurely.
Compared to the startling adjustments taking place in Hamilton in the
1920s, other principal library centres were relatively stable. At Ottawa,
William Sykes was midway through a lengthy career which lasted from 1912
to 1936 (Illus. 48). A former high-school English master at Lisgar Collegiate,
A Province to Be Served
229
Sykes loved to speak and write about English literature and to publicize the
library's collection. Adult education was a particular interest to him.98 He
compiled a selection of good reading fiction in 1914 and edited a scholarly
anthology of Wilfred Campbell's poetry in 1923." Under his guidance,
Ottawa made systematic progress during the 1920s, although the library
board often protested that municipal levies were inadequate to meet the spirit
of the fifty cent per capita standard. In ten years, the bookstock increased
from 77,524 in 1921 to 115,324 in 1931; about twenty percent of the collection was French language publications. Circulation also kept stride with
acquisitions. In 1921, total circulation amounted to 287,446; in 1931, it was
378,123, an increase of thirty-one percent. Sykes proudly proclaimed that
adult fiction accounted for less than half his library's total circulation: "Any
library can make its circulation rise at will merely by providing unlimited fiction of a sentimental and mediocre type — oceans of Zane Grey and Ethel M.
Dell, of detective and mystery stories."100 English and French circulating collections also were loaned to city classrooms.
Sykes headed a small staff. Approximately twenty regular employees comprised the full-time complement; of these a quarter were university graduates.
After the west end branch (financed with Ontario's last Carnegie grant)
opened, funds for larger capital projects dwindled. Nevertheless, during the
1920s the central library interior walls were removed to make more space for
readers and study areas; a residence across the street was purchased and
remodelled as a Boys' and Girls' House (following Toronto's example); and
smaller quarters were rented for an east end ("Rideau") branch and a south
side branch. Since part-time assistants outnumbered the permanent employees, Sykes conducted an three-month program to train assistants every
autumn. He preferred in-service training for recruits on the British style. He
felt that potential library workers were not served very well by library schools;
they "should not fly so high that they lose touch with actual everyday library
work."101 However, the American style of library education, similar to other
influences from the United States, had won the day.102 By the time Sykes
retired in 1936, the University of Toronto was granting a Bachelor of Science
degree in library science and restricting its admissions to university graduates.
In London, two librarians attempted to incorporate modern methods, but
inadequate buildings hampered their efforts. Fred Landon was city librarian
from 1916 to 1923. He had been a journalist for ten years with the London
Free Press before he replaced William Carson.103 Under his leadership, the
public library system expanded: an eastern branch opened in 1916, a southern
branch (housed in Victoria Public School) in 1918, and a southeastern branch
in 1922.104 Landon strengthened the children's and reference departments
and emphasized local history and regional collections. The latter were subjects
230
The Modern Public Library Emerges
to which he devoted a lifetime.105 He helped secure John Davis Barnett's collection of English literature for the Lawson Library at the University of
Western Ontario.106 Shortly after the Great War, Landon began to campaign
publicly for a new main building. The old red-brick central library, built in
1895, was no longer adequate for the demands of modern service: "London's
needs in the matter of a public library consist of a fireproof building situated
in the most accessible location for London citizens, with accommodation for
100,000 books, reading rooms, several private study rooms and adequate
accommodation for the work of the library staff."107 Following his appointment as university librarian and professor of history at the University of
Western Ontario, Landon continued to promote library education and to be
active in OLA, serving as its president in 1926/27.
His successor, Richard E. Crouch, was another city native and the husband of Hazel Tanner, London's children's librarian. Although he lacked
library experience, he had worked for two important agencies in the field of
adult education, the Y.M.C.A. and the Workers' Educational Association. His
appointment depended on his youthful vigour, earnestness, and promise.
Crouch remained director for almost four decades.108 His foremost concern
was to erect a modern building, a desideratum for the continuance of good
service. To this end, Crouch and London trustees mounted a concerted campaign. They made their plight evident to the press and public: the old building was too small, too crowded; it was a potential fire hazard; and some
library departments, such as the binding section in the basement, were completely inadequate for efficient functioning. Keeping in mind Crouch's broader concerns for adult education, the board pressed for an ambitious combination library, museum, and art gallery.
Late in September 1926, the board initiated the lengthy debenture
process which would be subject to a vote.109 The cost in debentures, over
twenty years, was estimated to be $240,000. The municipal council was reluctant to act on a request of this magnitude. After a potential site on Queen's
Avenue was selected, the board was fairly confident that the bylaw would pass.
Inspector Carson even delivered an address to a Kiwanis Club meeting declaring his old library quarters inadequate.110 However, in spite of vigorous promotional advertising, a crushing defeat for the library proposal was delivered
in all four wards by a margin of 3630 votes (2929 yes, 6559 no) in December
1927.111 This summary verdict appeared to demolish hopes for a new building, but in his annual report Richard Crouch refused to acknowledge
defeat.112 He knew that the library's problems would not vanish so easily.
Perhaps additional effort with extra information might persuade the public of
the library system's dire needs.
Another bylaw was submitted in 1930, the first year of the depression and
A Province to Be Served 231
poor timing for any kind of local improvement. Richard Crouch and Fred
Landon adopted an optimistic stance. Landon wrote to one newspaper, "The
costs of building are not likely soon to be lower than at present and the
expenditure upon building will have its effect in relieving unemployment arid
in stimulating business conditions generally."113 The bylaw went down to a
second defeat: this time the library project was pronounced dead. Crouch,
soon to become president of OLA, was disappointed, but now he faced even
worse prospects as depression budget retrenchment forced the closing of
London's modest branch system. By 1933, all of London's branches were shut.
The London Free Press complained in an editorial that the library was being
"severely crippled" by budget cutbacks.114 Crouch and the library board ultimately prevailed; but a new London central library did not open until 1940,
two decades after the initial campaign for its construction began.
Aimee Kennedy, a graduate of the 1916 library school at Toronto, was
another librarian who began her career in cramped library accommodation.
Until her appointment, the Kingston library had lagged behind other major
Ontario cities. When Kennedy started working at the association library atop
a drug store, her first priority was to convert it to free status. It was a strenuous process, and she faced many years of frustration. It was not until 25
March 1920, after the registrar of Queens University, George Chown, a longtime library supporter, offered $20,000 to purchase and renovate a building at
the corner of Brock and Bagot Streets, that city ratepayers approved a free
library. The vote was 827 to 217.115 This bylaw marked the end of an era: it
was the last free library bylaw passed in a major Ontario city. Eligible voters
were attracted, in part, by advertisements in newspapers depicting plans for a
new library:
... a general reading, reference and stack room on the main
floor. In the basement the Children's room, and the newspaper room where the men may read and smoke, and in the top
flat a lecture hall seating about 300 with platform and two
small rooms, either side of platform, where committee meetings of all kinds may be held.116
When the issue of municipal ownership of the property and additional costs
for renovations threatened this scheme, Aimee Kennedy helped organize a
money bylaw for $35,000 in December 1924. It too passed. Finally, after
more than five years, Kingston's two-storey library opened in December 1925.
At the opening ceremony the mayor formally acknowledged Kennedys leading role when he remarked that "a good deal of the credit for the new building
belonged to her."117
232
The Modern Public Library Emerges
The gray limestone Kingston library exhibited many features that had
become conventional with the passage of two decades. The adult section on
the main floor was one large, unpartitioned room with an attractive dark oak
circulation desk in the centre, steel bookstacks on one side and reading tables,
reference, magazines and papers on the opposite side (Illus. 51). The upstairs
children's department had a big fireplace and its own separate entrance.118
Kingston's collection reflected Kennedy's insistence that readers of all ages
have access to a wide range of published works, including controversial matter. Normally, she opposed the practice of censoring books at the selection
stage and refused to condemn disagreeable works if they passed serious scrutiny. Kennedy advised her colleagues:
If a book is immoral, place it aside, but first be sure it isn't
deemed so merely by prejudice. Unless you can enter into the
feeling and experiences of people of other lands and manners, why should you say their point of view is bad? Youth,
and I mean the present generation looks upon many things
from a viewpoint different from ours. Are they wrong, or are
we only inflexible?119
After the formal Kingston opening, Kennedy was free to become more active
in OLA. She served for a number of years as councillor on the association's
executive and later as president in 1930/31. She did not retire until 1949.120
In Fort William the industrious Mary Black served as a model chief librarian for a smaller city: she "belongs to no unions and does not work an eight
hour day. Her day is a twenty-four one."121 She was renowned for putting
people at ease and making the port-city library a hospitable place. A journalist
friend marvelled at Black's attachment to Fort William and her passion for
public service.
I believe it is because her heart is here, and that it is on
account of this very thing she has made such a success. The
library to her is not just a place where she spends so many
hours per month to receive therefor a certain number of dollars. She could retain her position and receive her salary with
the expenditure of half the effort. It is to her an expression of
her personality — in the truest sense of the word a 'lifework.'1^
This was genuine praise shared by others who knew her service philosophy.
Mary Black believed that librarians should possess a love of people. In her
A Province to Be Served
233
opinion, the ideal librarian realized "that books without readers are of no avail;
that catalogues and call numbers are only means to an end; and that the most
perfect charging system in the world becomes a curse if it makes membership
numbers more important than people, and circulation records more essential
than happy and satisfied readers."123
Mary Black was undoubtedly the Ontario summer library school's most
famous and successful graduate. Her broad education was self-driven; she
never attended university, although her father was a professor. From 1909
until her retirement in 1937, the Fort William library prospered in her capable hands. Her administrative ability was unquestioned — her Carnegie library,
opened in 1912, was known as a marvellously efficient public institution easily surpassing its predecessors, the Canadian Pacific Railroad library and an
association membership public library.124 To accommodate Fort William's
heterogeneous population, she established multilingual collections. In 1919,
she opened a small branch in rented quarters for the convenience of residents
in the western part of the city. She was a member of the Carnegie
Corporation enquiry on Canadian library conditions. The commission's
report, issued in 1933, was one of the most important studies of Canadian
libraries ever made. Black was the first woman president of OLA; she was also
active in the ALA's extension work program. From time to time, she was mentioned as a possible Liberal candidate for parliament, but she gracefully
declined on each occasion. Shortly before her death in 1939, a branch library
bearing her name opened in the western part of her favourite city; it was a fitting memorial.12^
Mabel Dunham was another outstanding librarian. She began her career
at Berlin (renamed Kitchener in 1916) in 1908 and remained there until
retirement in 1944. She was among the first in Ontario to be trained at the
McGill summer school administered by Charles Gould. From the outset,
Dunham seemed to possess the instinctive qualities necessary for librarianship. Shortly after graduation from Victoria College, she made an insightful
(and playful) contribution to the college magazine about her easy transition to
librarianship.126 During her stewardship, the Kitchener library received two
Carnegie grants. The first doubled the capacity of its stack room in 1909, and
the second built a south wing in 1915. Her priority, though, was services,
notably for children and youths. In 1912, she began a children's story hour in
the upstairs hall of the Carnegie library; in 1923, she organized an adolescent
section. Contributions to librarianship and libraries came early in Dunham's
career. She was the chief instructor of the Ontario summer library school on
three occasions (1911, 1912, and 1914), and she was the second woman president of OLA, in 1920/21. Her presidential speech, characteristically forthright, dealt with some problems library work posed to women.
234
The Modern Public Library Emerges
... although there are good positions in library work in
Canada, there are few openings and advancement in the profession is slow and uncertain. There are too many instances
of University women who have taken library courses but who
have failed to get a footing in the library world. When vacancies occur, preference is usually given to local applicants
without any special regard for educational or professional
qualifications... This fact cannot be gainsaid, the majority of
women engaged in library work in Canada began in their
own home town and have not departed from it.127
Dunham recognized that there were limited opportunities for librarians in
Ontario and that some women (and men) failed to provide the type of leadership necessary for the survival of the relatively young profession.
Mabel Dunham also found time for writing, an avocation she enjoyed for
many years. Like many Canadian writers during this period, she was attracted
to the genre of historical fiction. According to Dunham, it had the potential
to make history "an animated, pulsating, enthralling story of humanity."128
The Trail of the Conestoga, her first novel published by Macmillan in 1924,
told the story of Pennsylvania Dutch settlement in Waterloo County and the
hardship and satisfaction of pioneer life in the first part of the nineteenth century. Another novel, Kristli's Trees, was completed in retirement and published
by McClelland &: Stewart in 1948. It won a Book-of-the-Year award for children's literature, which was presented by the newly formed Canadian
Association of Children's Librarians.129 Altogether, she authored four novels
and a history of the Grand River. Her contribution to Canadian literature
clearly belongs to the tradition of regional writing. Of course, Mabel Dunham
and her hardworking staff epitomized devoted community work too: the
1933 Carnegie Commission of Enquiry wondered if Kitchener, with its fine
German collection, might serve as a valuable regional centre.130
Fred DelaFosse, another early graduate of Inspector Nursey's summer
school, also was disposed toward the calling of libraries and writing. Born in
India during the British Raj, he arrived in Peterborough from England at the
turn of the century and was appointed chief librarian in 1911 for the new
Carnegie library then nearing completion. DelaFosse stayed until 1946.131 In
some respects, he was a throwback to the nineteenth century. In his mind,
Samuel Smiles' popular mid-Victorian manual, SelfHelp, epitomized the best
type of reading for young people. Imbued with the qualities of a Victorian
gentleman, he contended that public libraries should provide children (and
adults) with "competent and willing mentors," who could dispense advice and
direction on a suitable course of reading.132 It was a point of view he main-
A Province to Be Served
235
rained staunchly for the duration of his professional and administrative career.
Using the pseudonym, Roger Vardon, DelaFosse wrote English Bloods, a
Englishman's dramatic account of an ill-fated farming settlement in the
Muskokas at the turn of the century, when the Canadian government actively
encouraged immigration from European countries. This novel appeared in
1930; it was followed by a book of poetry, Verses Grave and Gay, in 1937.
Neither work made DelaFosse wealthy or gained him prominence in
Canadian literature. His true forte, as he wrote later, was dedicated service to
the community.
I have been in library work for many years, and can lay claim
to a sincere regard for service, and Service with a big "S."
Library work is so important and so vital to a community's
welfare that it calls for sacrifice of time and energy and above
all for a sincere desire to help ones fellow-man.133
DelaFosse put in long hours and never lost his yearning to oblige
Peterborough's library users; his work ranked Peterborough among the finest
of the small city libraries of the province.
Agnes Lancefield, the daughter of Richard Lancefield (who had prematurely left Hamilton in 1901 under suspicion of fraud), was one chief librarian who had to endure a strained relationship with members of her board.
George Locke hired her in 1909 for the Toronto system, and she progressed
quickly through the ranks, rising to librarian-in-charge of the Riverdale
branch by 1913. She came to Windsor in 1919, where she faced the formidable Andrew Braid. A long-time trustee who had originally handled the successful Carnegie application, Baird was reluctant to yield any management
functions, particularly book selection. His selection knowledge was grounded
in the older concept of literature s higher character; he was no friend of the
"popularizers."134 Lancefield, who had attended the departmental library
school in 1917, took charge of day-to-day operations and preferred a popular
touch. She clashed with Braid on many occasions; eventually, in 1923, Braid
resigned, but not before he widely publicized his difficulties with the new
librarian.135 It was a trying time for Lancefield, but she continued as chief
librarian until her marriage in 1929 led to resignation. During her short term
of office Windsor progressed rapidly.13^ She opened two branches, reorganized the main Windsor library, and founded the Canadian Periodical Index,
the first issues of which she printed in mimeographed form. In "retirement"
her library career was far from finished. She was influential in trustee circles
and participated for many years in the Canadian Library Association after its
foundation in 1946.137
236
The Modem Public Library Emerges
In nearby Walkerville, a town of 8,500, another librarian was beginning
to establish credentials that would ultimately gain her the presidency of the
OLA (1940-41) and of the Canadian Library Association (1954-55). Anne I.
Hume received a B.A. from Queens University in 1914 and was an Ontario
library school student in the class of 1919. She directed the Walkerville library
between 1920 and 1936 at a time when it was the envy of many smaller (and
larger!) communities. The library was the former home of E. Chandler
Walker and the gift of his estate. An elaborate and luxurious mansion, it was
built in the Elizabethan style on sixteen acres of parkland called Willistead.
Walkerville was an exemplar for smaller centres across North America, and
Anne Hume served as its progressive librarian: "Miss Hume is conducting the
library according to the best standards of modern librarianship and is serving
well as guide, philosopher and friend to the patrons of the library."138 After
the Border Cities (Windsor, Walkerville, East Windsor, and Sandwich) amalgamated in 1935, the libraries were consolidated into one system. Hume
became Windsor s chief librarian and its secretary-treasurer in 1937.139 The
service ethic was Hume's strongest point. Toward the end of her career she
wrote, "a great responsibility falls on the librarian to see that they [the public]
have all the services they need."140
Dorothy Carlisle, who had worked briefly at London and Saulte Ste.
Marie, arrived in Sarnia in 1924 to take up the position of chief librarian. Her
motto was "I have always maintained that to have a successful library, it is
necessary to promote the library as much in off-duty hours as in regular office
hours." Her record was impressive: thirty years as chief librarian at Sarnia and
a guiding spirit of county library systems (Lambton County was the first
county library association formed in Ontario); president of OLA in 1936/37;
and a chief promoter of interprovincial library association cooperation resulting in the joint Quebec-Ontario library conference at Ottawa in 1937.141 Of
all these accomplishments, she was best known for her advocacy of county
libraries. Cooperation and sharing were central to her thoughts. Carlisle vigorously encouraged the coordination of centralized book purchasing and rotation of collections among the smaller libraries in Lambton through her own
library in Sarnia.142 She breathed life into this system as early as 1931, five
years before the province passed legislation permitting formal county library
associations (1 Edw. VIII, c. 55, s. 19). Due to her determination, for the first
time in Ontario, plans for regional-based library service received serious consideration.
Amidst this array of talent, Angus Mowat, the grand-nephew of Oliver
Mowat, was the most popular and admired librarian of his generation in
Ontario.143 A veteran wounded at Vimy Ridge, Mowat became chief librarian
at Trenton, which had rejoined the ranks of free libraries by 1922. People
A Province to Be Served
237
took notice of his congenial manner and administrative dexterity when he
spoke on reading and libraries at the 1923 OLA annual meeting. Mowat
reminded his audience that a sense of humour was a great asset. He recounted
his adventure with an older man he thought was browsing for a meditative
book but who was really looking for "a nice little love story."144 While at
Trenton, Mowat attended the three-month library school in Toronto before
moving to Belleville (1928) and then to Windsor (1930) to replace Agnes
Lancefield. He often spoke about the ways to improve service to adults, and
the need to devote more attention to reference and personalized service.145
After a stint in Saskatoon, he returned to Ontario where he was appointed
Inspector in 1937, a position he held until retirement in 1960.
Mowat, and the cadre of chief librarians in centres outside Toronto, realized that they could not always live up to the high expectations held by many
in their emerging profession. Nevertheless, the progress they made in the
1920s toward better service created new benchmarks for their successors.
With Toronto acting as their beacon, urban libraries, which served the majority of Ontarians, achieved a substantial degree of uniformity in the delivery of
services. While it was true that rural residents did not benefit to the same
degree from the application of new standards, the overall quality of work in
modern public libraries was superior to service offered in 1900. It was grounded on open access, the Dewey Decimal classification, the card catalogue, the
book-pocket charging system and reader's card, reference work, and public
programs. Reader services had become a crucial ingredient: emphasis now was
placed on lists of recent additions, books of topical interest, and best sellers.
Normally, the development of management skills in local libraries coincided with the development of modern techniques. After the war, chief librarians were able to introduce new library procedures and equipment. Internal
office procedures were modernized step by step: unnecessary registration and
accessioning schemes were eliminated, and a variety of more sophisticated
equipment was used, such as typewriters, adding machines, and telephones.
Although the public perception of libraries often hinged on external features,
regular clients no doubt were impressed by many innovative improvements to
the interior of their favourite library. The fact that by 1930 libraries occupied
a variety of buildings, large and small, old and new, converted and purposebuilt, which permitted modern methods and services to function more
smoothly, had powerful ramifications. The functional legacy of Notes on the
Erection of Library Bildings was significant. The trend was towards simpler,
more functional routines, which allowed staff and patrons to interact more
effectively.
238
The Modern Public Library Emerges
Reprise: The Pioneer Spirit
Much of the library growth that took place at the municipal level proceeded
methodically in contrast to the rapid change and social flux of the twenties.
The exterior grandeur of Carnegie buildings conveyed a classical image of
libraries that recollected an era overwhelmed on the battlefields of Europe.
But, by 1925, only a shadow of the library's Victorian splendour remained; it
was struggling to keep abreast of contemporary changes (Illus. 52). As the
postwar depression gave way to economic prosperity by mid-decade,
Canadian culture and the public mood were shifting perceptibly. Canadians
were rethinking their cultural identity in tangible political expressions, supplanting traditional narrow ethnic, religious, and class definitions of culture
which had predominated prior to 1914. A new nationalist wave was eclipsing
conservative Victorian colonialism. Upstart Canadian publications, such as
the Canadian Magazine, Macleans, and Chatelaine, competed against the mass
circulation, Amejican-based Saturday Evening Post and Atlantic Monthly for a
popular audience that had emerged in recent years. Novelists were encountering this same phenomenon.
Celebration of the Diamond Jubilee of Confederation in Ottawa and the
provincial capitals, in the summer of 1927, aroused a wholehearted national
sentiment. That same year, Mazo de la Roche's Jalna, which romanticized the
colonial-imperialist era, won the prestigious $10,000 Atlantic Monthly prize,
touching off an outpouring of nationalist literary pride. During the twenties,
the Canadian cultural milieu was enriched by the Group of Seven. The
Group's exhibitions depicted Canada's rugged northern landscape with an
original perspective unfettered by European tradition. But clouds were gathering on the horizon of this new landscape: Canadian popular culture was
beginning to encounter the formidable and ubiquitous American presence in
popular radio programs, Hollywood films, literary publishing, and the mass
periodical industry.146
The immediate postwar political outburst of class, region, feminism, and
prohibition had been superseded by the search for normalcy. In Ontario, the
brief Farmer-Labour partnership was demolished in the 1923 summer election by George Howard Ferguson, the hectoring Conservative boss and an
acknowledged master at brokerage politics. His support lay not with the
forces of reform but with the vested interests of the marketplace. Ferguson
recorded three impressive election victories by wrestling successfully with formidable social issues and by moulding a strong provincial Conservative apparatus. He effectively harnessed the impulse towards dramatic change that people had craved. By 1927, prohibition in Ontario was no more; in its place the
Liquor Control Act provided government controlled retail stores, as well as
local option for bars, hotels and restaurants, and it generated welcome revenue
A Province to Be Served
239
for provincial coffers. In 1929, the Supreme Court had blunted the federal
government s challenge to the development of hydroelectric power along the
St. Lawrence and Ottawa rivers by negating Ottawa's long held claim to the
ownership of streams and rivers. Fergusons support of provincial rights played
a pivotal role in the creation of a potentially enormous provincial water-power
utility. By the end of the twenties a modern province had emerged. Northern
Ontario forests and mines were being exploited on an unprecedented scale,
and southern farmland was linked to cities by a 2,500 mile network of paved
provincial highways stretching from Quebec to Michigan.
The application of business methods and the advancement of industry
were Fergusons concerns. He catered to the publics desire for prosperity by
promoting private enterprise and permitting cautious government intervention.147 Only reluctantly, on the verge of the 1929 provincial election, did the
province join the new federal scheme for old age pensions; this adroit move
helped elect ninety-two Conservatives and keep the opposition to twenty
members. As for education, the Premier held the cabinet portfolio himself,
implementing few reforms between 1923 and 1930. He was not a minister to
encourage initiatives, although he promoted the goal of equality of educational opportunity. He personally favoured the formation of rural township school
boards as replacements for weaker school sections, but he let the matter rest
because it stirred fierce local opposition. Similar thoughts about rural library
systems were not contemplated. Supported by Arthur Colquhoun as deputy
minister and Dr. Frederick Merchant as chief director of education, Ferguson
skillfully circumvented the lingering odium of Regulation 17 and made provision for French instruction in those schools where it was considered necessary.
By 1927, the contentious language issue which had beset Ontario schools for
fifteen years was resolved for the most part. But, aside from this major challenge, the department made few forays into the sphere of education policy.
No major library legislation was forthcoming under the Ferguson administration. One curious 1926 amendment to the Public Libraries Act, which
required proprietors of private circulating libraries to obtain a permit from the
education department, reflected Fergusons private moral code and tendency
to use autocratic procedures. He wrote to one owner about the need for higher standards in commercial circulating collections:
Under this method, where it is found that an objectionable
book is being circulated, the attention of the proprietor will
be drawn to it, and I think in ninety-nine per cent of the
cases the book will be withdrawn and that will be the end of
it. On the other hand, if a man persists, his permit can be
withdrawn from him and he will be subject to penalty on
summary conviction.148
240
The Modern Public Library Emerges
When his legislation appeared, it specified penalties of $10 to $100 for every
day (or part day) private owners were in non-compliance with the statute (16
Geo. V, c. 56). This amendment was short-lived. After Ferguson left office, his
remedy was repealed in 1931 (21 Geo. V., c. 71, s. 17). This limited intervention, unopposed by the public library sector, seemed to be the extent of
Ferguson's library concerns while he was minister.
Efforts to curtail censorship were not yet a primary resolve of librarianship. Librarians had not developed a coherent and consistent strategy on the
subject. Expressions about the folly of censorship might appear in the pages of
the radical Canadian Forum, but these occasions were rare.149 As moral standards were gradually liberalized, however, ingrained habits concerning book
censorship slowly crumbled. No less an authority than George Locke spoke
defensively about the need for censorship by librarians. He argued that the
librarian was duty bound to select "quality" books from publishers; readers
could purchase what they pleased, subject to legal strictures. For Locke,
respectable community tastes rather than broader societal moral values dictated the content of library book collections and the librarians role in book censorship.150
The Premier thought that the library system was working well under
William Carson's able jurisdiction. Ferguson directed his attention to small
railway-car schools (and their library bookcases) which travelled the CNR and
CPR tracks north of Sudbury after 1926.151 When William Carson died in
1929, the government did not replace him immediately.152 The proficiency of
one man had dominated provincial planning, and the changes he brought to
the provincial library office overshadowed even the many accomplishments of
the OLA. During the 1920s, the OLA gradually refashioned its role and influence through a skein of events. No longer was its presidency dominated exclusively by trustees; after 1926, it became customary for librarians to preside
over annual OLA meetings. There was some initial interest in pursuing the
ALA's "enlarged program" immediately after the war. The complimentary
ideas of broadening the base of library support vishviszx\ integrated program
aimed at the community, and of improving library education, training, and
public relations techniques were appealing, but the failure of the enlarged program in the United States doomed an Ontario effort before it could begin.153
Edwin Hardy also tried to revive interest in county libraries, making an argument analogous to the provincial highway project, but to no avail. Projects on
this scale depended on provincial endorsement and financing, requirements
beyond the OLA's power to influence to any great degree in the 1920s.
The arrival of Canadian Book Week in 1921 offered a fine opportunity to
publicize Canadian authors and to allow the OLA to reformulate its own
image and agenda.154 Its annual meetings began to assume a different charac-
A Province to Be Served
241
ter. Every effort was made to feature themes of broad appeal. As a result, more
emphasis was placed on literature, adult education, rural extension, reading,
and international library development. In 1924, Jesse E. Middleton, William
S. Wallace, and Robert J.C. Stead spoke on different aspects of Canadian literature; in 1926, Augustus Bridle, the Toronto Star art and music critic,
talked about his successful novel, Hansen: A Novel of Canadianization; in
1928, Alice Chown recounted her work for the League of Nations Society.155
In 1925 and 1926, Lieut.-Col. J.M. Mitchell, secretary to the Carnegie Trust,
and Charles ED. Belden, ALA's president, lectured on library promotion in
the United Kingdom and the United States respectively.156 Liaison with other
organizations, however, remained sporadic because the size and influence of
the OLA did not change substantially in the 1920s.
Never again would the OLA be a partner in government policy making to
the extent it had been when Inspectors Leavitt and Nursey were at the Public
Libraries Branch. In fact, the Conservative government suspended publication
of OLAs proceedings after 1918 and, in 1924, it decided to eliminate the
government's annual grant as part of a cost-cutting exercise.157 When Edwin
Hardy stepped down as secretary of OLA, after a quarter century of helping
to organize libraries, its annual budget was set at $635 and its executive
remained few in number (Illus. 53). The year 1925/26 saw Hardy's last major
commitment: he served as president and produced The Ontario Library
Association; An Historical Sketch 19001925 to mark the OLAs twenty-fifth
anniversary. Hardy's presidential address observed that the OLA had indeed
accomplished many goals between 1900 and 1925, and that the public library
had become an essential element in the education of individuals.158
However, as Hardy was lavishing praise on OLA, there was a growing
interest in forming a Canadian library association. At the Seattle meeting of
ALA in July 1925, Canadian librarians had held three meetings ("national
round tables, so to speak") presided over by William Carson.15^ Canadians
wanted more tangible recognition from their American peers; they no longer
were content to be seated with foreign delegates as they were in 1926 at the
New York ALA conference, when George Locke was chosen as the incoming
president for 1926/27 (Illus. 54). Locke was keen on bringing the Americans
to Toronto in June 1927. It was Canada's sixtieth year of nationhood, and
Locke's motivation stemmed from the same civic pride which had prompted
John Hallam and James Bain to court ALA in 1883. An unprecedented
opportunity was at hand to celebrate Canada's heritage and rejuvenate library
service.
Friday of the American Library Association week will be a
big day. It is Canadian day. In the morning there will be a
242
The Modern Public Library Emerges
meeting of Canadian librarians. In the afternoon the Mayor
and Corporation of the city are giving a garden party in
University College Quadrangle, and in the evening in
Convocation Hall, Principal W.L. Grant will speak on
Canada, and Mr. Charles Marchand and his quartette - the
Bytown Troubadours - will sing the chansons of the
voyageur, the habitant and the coureur-de-bois of early days,
the lumbermen of the north country. It will be a great sendoff for the convention.160
The chance to organize a national library fellowship had never looked more
promising.
A number of Ontario's librarians presided over meetings at the ALA's
1927 Toronto convention. More than four hundred Canadian delegates, the
majority of whom were from Ontario, pondered the merits of a Canadian
association. At a preliminary session on library extension work in Canada,
chaired by Mary J. L. Black, the delegates learned of the growing need for
library service in many parts of Canada.161 Concrete action was taken at a second gathering, on 24 June, chaired by Fred Landon, OLA president for
1926/27. At this session, one hundred and fifty Canadian delegates decided to
establish a Canadian Library Association. However, a further step — independence - was not seriously contemplated. Delegates, cautious to a fault, decided that Canadian sessions would be held in conjunction with ALA's annual
convention.162
It was made very clear by the speakers that there was no
intention of organizing a rival for the American Library
Association... The Canadian libraries have received very
great assistance from the organization of the A.L.A. and will,
it is hoped, continue to retain their present connection by
membership in the A.L.A. and participation in the varied
work of its committees.163
A provisional committee was struck, with Fred Landon as chair, to report on
the prospects for such an association. John Ridington, Librarian of the
University of British Columbia, was appointed president, but no formal body
was ever instituted. Instead, the members solicited money from the Carnegie
Corporation to investigate in greater detail the state of library service in the
nine provinces. The commissions survey results appeared in 1933.
The June 1927 ALA conference offered an important rostrum for George
Locke, now at the zenith of his career. Locke spoke eloquently about the
A Province to Be Served
243
library's educational role, a subject dear to his heart, but his comments were
tinged with concern for "excessive standardization," which he foresaw as an
impediment to growth and development. He cautioned his audience. The
ALA had become "formidable in numbers and dangerous in possibilities of
power." It was a sobering remark.
I am not anxious to be connected with only an efficient institution - one logically complete - but I want always to be a
part of an institution that is effective — where there is not
only a sustaining power but a stimulating influence which
urges experiment and rewards individual development, which
buries failures even with the turf and invites all to celebrate
the victories of one another. What every institution needs is
the pioneer spirit. We can't be pioneers in action in the sense
that our fathers were - times have greatly changed - but we
can be pioneers in spirit and transfer the impulse of conquest
from the physical to the social and educational life.164
Locke was delivering a belated message to more informed ALA delegates from
larger urban centres: Los Angeles, Chicago, Boston, and New York. Many
Americans already understood that the standardization inherent in bureaucratic organizations and government threatened individual initiative and personal
autonomy. But Locke's address marked an important milestone. It publicly
recognized that the individualism and enterprise that had sustained the library
movement — its pioneer vigour — had been replaced by a permanent library
infrastructure. Municipal public libraries had grown steadily, as Macleans
Magazine noted in the same month, to the point where they were part of "the
very bone and sinew of a nation's development."165
EPILOGUE: OTHER DAYS
M
y study of the public library movement has focused on the identity
of the many people who helped frame its ideology, the assessment
of its social significance, and the general course of its progress to
1930. It is to be expected that any history of the movement will reveal some
troublesome baggage. The movement's successful thrusts ultimately had some
disquieting effects on library development. The public library system that
emerged in the 1920s was not completely unified. Free public library service
had succeeded in reaching almost two-thirds of the population by the third
decade of the century (Map 4: Free and Association Public Libraries by
County or Census District in 1931), but its immediate prospects for extension
were not promising. Libraries had developed unevenly across Ontario. Many
small subscription public libraries continued to exist in rural areas; they were a
residue from a previous era and outside the mainstream of library theory and
practice. Leadership resided mostly in urban libraries where lay managers and
librarians worked at implementing economy and efficiency. Moreover, library
governance by special purpose bodies was somewhat removed from the core of
Ontario's political and educational polity.
The typical free library in a rural setting was small and encircled by feepaying non-residents. It relied on municipal tax revenue and it was governed
by a "depoliticized" special purpose board that had to reckon with the reality
of "hard services" (sewers, roads, lighting, etc.). The rule of economy dominated municipal politics and underscored the fact that local tax bases were
consistently perceived to be inadequate when library budgets were presented
to council. The legacy of optional, local-based service was encouraged by
small conditional provincial grants, which dated from the earliest days of the
Mechanics' Institutes. Too frequently there was a dearth of energetic leadership on library boards because the demand for local lay talent often outstripped the supply in many areas of the province. In the 1920s, trained
librarians from the Ontario Library School assumed leadership roles and promoted the principles of managerial efficiency and professional expertise. The
emphasis on internal management in librarianship at the expense of external
policy matters assured a subordinate "political" status for libraries at a time
when the growing apparatus of provincial and federal government programs
was beginning to eclipse municipal authorities.1 These were potentially seri-
Epilogue
245
ous impediments to future growth.
Only belatedly were Canadian library leaders reaching out beyond the
local municipal jurisdiction for additional assistance. In Ontario, the free
library movement had spent its energy positively. According to the 1931 census information and statistics from the library inspector's office, there were
only a handful of incorporated towns in excess of 2,500 persons which had
not achieved free library status. More than half of these places were already
association libraries:
Association Libraries
Blind River, 2,805
Bowmanville, 4,080
Burlington, 3,046
Cobalt, 3,885
Cobourg, 5,834
Cochrane, 3,963
Copper Cliff, 3,173
Dunnville, 3,405
Haileybury, 2,813
Huntsville, 2,817
Long Branch, 3,962
Napanee, 3,497
Sandwich, 10,715
No library service
Bridgeburg, 3,521
Eastview, 6,686
East Windsor, 14,251
Forest Hill, 5,207
Hawkesbury, 5,177
Kapuskasing, 3,819
Petrolia, 2,596
Portsmouth, 2,741
Riverside, 4,432
Sturgeon Falls, 4,234
Association library status was not unusual — there were five hundred such
smaller communities. But it was unlikely any significant changes in library
status would occur even if economic conditions improved. Only county or
regional library systems seemed to offer any hope for providing adequate rural
library service, given three decades of American practice and the recommendations of the Mitchell and Kenyon reports for the United Kingdom in the
1920s.2
Across Ontario and Canada, there was less rhetoric concerning the efficacy of local self-help, the mobilization of public opinion for free library bylaws,
and the potency of the "library movement." There was more enquiry and
concern for organizational improvements; legislation that would allow larger
units of service; better education for librarians; improved administrative ideas
and practices; and the introduction of new service programs already in place
in the United States and Britain for many years.3 Now the time had come for
Ontario to keep pace. When the Carnegie Commission of Enquiry toured the
country in 1930, its commissioners -John Ridington, Mary J.L. Black, and
George Locke — spouted modern library thought. In their final report,
246
Epilogue
Libraries in Canada, they wrote a new prescription for Ontario's main problem: "That remedy is co-operation - the pooling of the resources, in funds, in
books and in personnel, of these little libraries into a unified regional library
system, soundly financed, ably led, competently staffed, and efficiently
administered."4 Could the Banner Province reorient its thinking and face the
complexities of this challenge?
There were difficult internal incongruities to overcome, ones that prevented extension of free library service to rural areas and blocked expansion on a
national stage, where a network of interests and personal relationships could
interact and offer new directions for growth. The subscription library continued to persist in the countryside despite all efforts to transform it. The 1909
and 1920 legislation officially recognized the survival of these libraries by designating them association libraries, an acceptable legal terminology that
remained in use until 1966. From a public administration viewpoint, the universal model for public library service was distressingly dependent upon an
urban phenomenon - a central library and its branches funded by one jurisdiction. In a youthful profession that claimed to emphasize service to individuals, library management theory and practice too often revolved around economy and efficiency. These were spartan principles which had the effect of limiting service options and consolidating decision making in a few hands.
Most opportunities to gather information, discuss ideas, and share plans
about libraries remained confined within provincial borders. Despite preliminary steps in the mid-1920s towards the formation of a national library association, an interprovincial organization remained an elusive goal. Ontario
formed the kernel of library strength in Canada, but at this time it was not
strong enough to bring to fruition a national library infrastructure. As a substitute, the ALA provided a benign security and focus for the professional
activities of librarians in the province's larger urban centres. Consequently,
they failed to establish firmer relationships with kindred voluntary associations and cultural organizations that sprang up across the country in the
1920s. For example, libraries were considered auxiliaries, not partners, in the
vital field of public education. The public library's ambition to serve adult
educational needs, as defined by the Canadian branch of the Workers'
Educational Association and university extension departments, generally was
ignored by schools, universities, and the department of education. Even wellplaced provincial officials, such as OLA President Frederick Gavin, principal
of the Ontario School for Technical Education, did not have much influence
in expanding the educational role of libraries.5
Closer library connections were initiated with some organizations in art
and literature. From 1921 on, libraries cooperated with the Canadian Authors
Association (CAA) in organizing Canadian Book Week. It was a joint venture
Epilogue
247
undertaken in the promotion of national literature, a natural alliance for
libraries. During the twenties the annual book week became a major promotional event for authors and readers alike. But it is difficult to judge the effect
of these episodic, localized efforts, or their relation to the fact that total book
circulation in Ontario exceeded twelve million in 1930 and would continue
to increase during the first part of the Great Depression. At any rate, in the
1920s the official membership rolls of the CAA and OLA were relatively
small.6 Librarians and trustees directed their energies towards organizing local
groups in drama, music, and art. Notable in this regard was the work of TPL's
Marjorie Jarvis, who spent much of her career promoting community theatre
and plays through TPL's branch system.7 Yet activities at the cultural grassroots did not generate many accolades. Not surprisingly, libraries have
received scant attention in cultural histories of this period.8
Gender relationships within libraries also were far from satisfactory. The
feminization of librarianship gave women more opportunities to enter the
library labour force, but moderate wages, low status, and limited autonomy
assured their marginalization in professional and management work: "Library
work offers fascinating possibilities to the woman whose first consideration is
not remuneration."9 Of course, orthodox social mores determined that married women should resign their positions, thus inhibiting genuine long-term
career opportunities. Talented women, such as Mary Black and Mabel
Dunham, contributed to librarianship within a social and political framework
bounded by municipal concerns. This framework was essentially restrictive.
Locally, the work of library boards was normally conducted within a
board/chief librarian structure dominated by male trustees who had few interests or contacts in the library field outside OLA. On a provincial or national
scale, opportunities for developing services or participating in organizations
were limited to voluntary associations.
The high visibility of females in libraries was therefore somewhat deceptive,
for their independence was restricted by the parameters of prevailing social
structures and social conventions, male paternalism, and gender-biased employment practices.10 In fact, the enormous impact of the Carnegie building program and the concomitant increase in library activities burdened the advancement of women, who had pioneered the transformation of libraries from a
nineteenth-century master-client relationship to one in which different groups
of users determined the types of information to be dispensed. There was a
widespread (but mistaken) perception that the local library had come a long
way and that the range of its services was virtually complete. All these obstacles
and misconceptions made it difficult for Ontario's mostly female library leaders
to recast service in a different character, to say what it was and what it should
become. They had few opportunities to effect real change for the future.
248
Epilogue
On balance, after decades of development there were many library accomplishments deserving recognition. Edwin Hardy might reveal a dream about a
better future in his 1926 presidential address, but Norman Gurd, another
articulate library promoter from the Carnegie era, preferred to accentuate the
past achievements. As he harked back to "other days," Gurd was sanguine
about the striking transformation that had taken place.
In contrasting the average town library in Ontario of say,
thirty years ago with the same library as it exists to-day, the
changes that have taken place may be summarized in the
statement that the library now had an atmosphere of freedom
and hospitality instead of restriction and red tape ...
Those days happily have passed away. The library of today has so enlarged the scope of its service that it has become
in a real sense a true community centre, eager to extend its
hospitality to every good work in the community. Librarians
are so keen to increase the service of the library to the community that it is difficult to suggest any new work for the
library.11
Gurds enthusiasm and confidence are understandable; he had personally participated in implementing reforms. He was a lawyer in a small city, a pragmatist who saw the public library's agenda in terms of interaction with local cultural groups and reform on a municipal scale.
There were frequent reminders about public library history in the late
twenties and early thirties. A few of the "old time" library board members
were still active. Charles A. Haehnel, a Waterloo trustee, was one of them. He
had served continuously for three decades and could recall the slow transformation of the local Mechanics' Institute library into a free library.12 A selfconsciousness had evolved to the point where librarians were interested in
their collective past and willing to recognize the deeds of builders and the history of their buildings. Contributors to the Ontario Library Review wrote
about old techniques and furnishings, marked the anniversaries of the founding of libraries in Mechanics' Institutes, and recorded the life and work of
trustees upon their retirement or death. On one occasion, the small quarterly
explained in detail the workings of an old charging board preserved intact at
Carleton Place and a handmade facsimile at Cobalt (likened to a telephone
exchange switchboard!). The obscure "relic" was actually an indicator. Aged
devices like these were regarded by the editor as vestiges from "bygone days,"
and the article concluded, "Needless to add, neither has functioned for many
years."13 In the depression era, a critique of past customs and equipment
Epilogue
249
could elicit some comfort among library staff. They had firsthand knowledge
of contemporary public library theory and practice and the mechanical
improvements that had eliminated the drudgery inherent in obsolete daily
routines.
During the thirties the public library movement's memory and methods —
the problems it had confronted, the state of mind (or ideology) it represented,
and the type of society it purported to create - had become valuable historical
points of reference. Despite the economic gloom of the depression years, it
was possible to rekindle a spirit akin to the early days. Ottawa's chief librarian,
William Sykes, submitted a confident analysis of the current status of
Ontario's public libraries to an ALA publication dedicated to public libraries
throughout the world.
It would appear that the public library situation in Ontario
today might be called by the familiar name of 'depression.'
Some years ago Ontario was well abreast of the current
library movement, but it has not kept pace with the times.
There are serious obstacles to be overcome and much hard
work ahead; but there are hopeful signs of unrest and aspiration among librarians and in the provincial department concerned.1^
It was a traditional formula for recovery and advancement, one that had
served the province well for eighty years but now required sustained institutional support and stimulus.
The public library had drawn upon a vast reservoir of attitudes, beliefs, and
values, concentrating its efforts in local communities, as it made its own contribution to an evolving Canadian identity. No single, decisive historical event
marked the disappearance of the public library movement in Ontario.15 As
long as the campaign for the formation of more free public libraries and associated services proceeded apace, it had the force and character of a movement.
However, it was no longer necessary to espouse the rhetoric of "movement" in
the face of multiple nodes of modernized and municipally supported free
library service, a strengthened library bureau in the department of education,
and the OLA's active promotion of libraries. Indeed, libraries, librarians, and
trustees had become entrenched features of municipal life within a national,
bureaucratic society. After 1930, the year of the Carnegie survey of Canadian
libraries, institutional tasks and self-sufficiency, not social reform, comprised
the major goals set by most library leaders, activists, and organizations.
Increasing reliance on state aid and assimilation into formal organizations had
produced a common structural pattern headed by like-minded people.
250
Epilogue
The redefinition of library roles and relationships within a receptive societal framework - a consumer society based on mass-produced goods, pluralism, and personal satisfaction - was the modus vivendi of public library leaders. No longer did they seek to change peoples beliefs or behaviour. Libraries
were service points for persons seeking information and recreational works. In
the "golden age" of the detective novel, when writers of the stature of Agatha
Christie, John Buchan, and S.S. Van Dine were entertaining their readers, the
Victorian rationale for library service remained serviceable, but its societal
goals seemed more dated with each passing year. Decisions about what knowledge should be disseminated or how it should be used were left to individual
learners. On this basis, slogans such as "freedom to read" easily replaced
didactic nineteenth-century conventions/The ramifications of Modernism,
the passionate revolt against irksome Victorian cultural dictates, were evident
in librarianship by 1930.
The public library movement had succeeded in attaining most of its goals
in Ontario by the beginning of the fourth decade of the twentieth century.
The movement's sense of permanence was grounded on a more precise conception of public libraries and more informed knowledge about their general
character, functions, and potential. Receptive public attitudes to libraries indicated the magnitude of the cultural shift which had occurred since the movement took up its work in the days of Egerton Ryerson. Homogeneity had
replaced the diversity and embryonic quality of public library service associated with the latter part of the nineteenth century. As urban communities had
matured in strength, population, and purpose, the public's attachment to the
concept of free public library service also matured. People came to rely on
their local library and its promotion of educational uplift, conservation of
ideas, and accessibility of culture. However, the universal social objectives set
for libraries by Victorian advocates had proved to be more difficult to attain.
Free libraries were the norm in urban centres, but in rural areas the outcome
was more problematic because equivalent social, economic, and political
opportunities did not apply. Different appeals and strategies beyond local initiative had to be developed to plan cultural and structural library changes in
Ontario. A new agenda for library action was necessary, one that governments
at different levels would have to sponsor.
APPENDIX A
Table 1
Public Libraries in 1850 by County
County
Brant
Carleton
Dundas
Durham
Essex
Frontenac
Glengarry
Halton
Hastings
Huron
Kent
Lambton
Lanark
Leeds
Lennox-Addington
Lincoln
Middlesex
Norfolk
Northumberland
Oxford
Perth
Peterborough
Prince Edward
Renfrew
Russell
Simcoe
Stormont
Waterloo
Welland
Wentworth
York
Total
Common School Libraries
Number
Vols.
3
0
0
3
3
2
1
1
1
6
1
0
8
3
0
9
0
4
0
0
0
1
3
5
2
5
4
0
490
45
88
0
0
0
177
155
180
60
70
20
440
100
0
555
300
0
373
0
503
0
0
0
250
129
111
140
406
160
70
4,752
0
2
1
2
Public Libraries
Number
Vols.
1
0
0
2
0
1
0
4
2
2
1
0
7
1
0
2
14
1
800
0
0
455
0
1,200
0
933
125
50
100
0
2,707
350
0
900
2,574
4
1
9
400
230
300
210
0
1,075
280
102
100
0
2,130
770
50
1,910
77
17,751
2
4
2
0
3
2
1
1
0
10
Source: Upper Canada, Superintendent of Education, Annual Report.
252
Appendix A: Tables
Table 2
Books Sent Out from the Depository, 1853-75
Year
Library
Books
Teachers'
Library
1853
1854
1855
1856
1857
1858
1859
1860
1861
1862
1863
1864
1865
1866
1867
1868
1869
1870
1871
1872
1873
1874
1875
21,922
66,711
28,659
13,669
29,833
7,587
9,308
9,072
6,488
5,599
6,274
3,361
3,882
6,856
5,426
6,573
6,428
5,024
4,825
6,015
5,367
7,167
7,744
208
578
432
258
244
84
172
142
117
112
112
57
58
148
66
52
60
52
37
323
351
471
631
2,557
8,045
12,089
20,194
26,931
29,760
32,890
33,381
44,601
58,871
64,103
54,715
54,657
60,655
60,420
63,721
71,557
67,498
72,810
21,922
66,711
28,659
13,669
32,390
15,632
21,397
29,266
33,41.9
35,359
39,164
36,742
48,483
65,727
69,529
61,288
61,085
65,679
65,245
69,736
76,924
74,665
80,554
Totals
273,790
4,765
839,455
1,113,245
Sent to Mechanics' Institutes and Sunday Schools:
Grand total library and prize books despatched:
Prize
Books
22,885
1,136,130
Source: Ontario. Superintendent of Education, Annual Report.
Total
Appendix A: Tables
253
Table 3
Public Libraries in Urban Centres, 1862
Place
Amherstburg
Arnprior
Ashburnham
Barrie
Bath
Belleville
Berlin
Bowmanville
Bradford
Brampton
Brantford
Brighton
Brockville
Caledonia
Cayuga
Chatham
Chippewa
Clifton
Clinton
Cobourg
Colborne
Collingwood
Cornwall
Dundas
Dunnville
Elora
Embro
Fergus
Fort Erie
Gait
Goderich
Guelph
Hamilton
Hawkesbury
Hespeler
Holland Landing
Ingersoll
Iroquois
186061
Pop.
2,360
670
.
2,154
Common
School
Libs.
Vols.
Vols.
.
.
.
.
3
496
260
1
1
325
438
1
1
413
42
1
154
1
„
1
2
1
1
1
1
2
2
1
1
1
1
1
2
3
1
1
800
120
360
1,150
703
850
120
1,000
1,000
500
808
400
1,400
200
848
1
1
1
2,000
1,100
100
1
1
1
1
1
750
87
.
6,277
1,956
2,721
961
1,627
6,251
1,182
4,112
1,081
.
4,466
1,095
1,292
1,000
4,975
806
1,408
1,915
2,852
1,268
1,043
551
1,117
706
3,069
3,227
5,076
19,096
1,259
604
741
2,577
618
Other
Public
Libs.
.
2
1
.
120
.
285
3
1,183
2
1
1
862
403
129
2
921
2
179
1
2
1
1
280
582
94
2,725
1
.
696
4
1
.
.
1
900
1,720
953
900
1,560
6,129
329
604
254 Appendix A: Tables
(Table 3 continued)
Place
Kemptville
Kincardine
Kingston
Lanark
Lindsay
London
Merrickville
Milton
Mitchell
Morrisburgh
Napanee
New Hamburg
Newburgh
Newcastle
Newmarket
Niagara
Oakville
Oshawa
Ottawa
Owen Sound
Paris
Pembroke
Perth
Peterborough
Picton
Port Hope
Portsmouth
Prescott
Preston
Renfrew
Sandwich
Sarnia
Simcoe
Smith's Falls
Southhampton
Stirling
Straford
Strathroy
186061
Pop.
1,068
981
13,743
.
1,907
11,555
908
905
1,216
855
1,773
868
Common
School
Libs.
1
1
2
„
.
2
.
.
.
..
.
.
Vok
246
86
2,382
1,427
.
.
.
.
Other
Public
Libs.
Vols.
1
600
2
2,800
1
2
1
1
1
106
2,500
300
800
500
1
.
1
800
.
366
2
1
2
1
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
762
1,000
962
650
1,600
700
1,000
50
700
1,000
1,000
600
1,029
.
2,070
1,450
2,009
14,669
2,216
2,373
637
2,465
3,979
2,067
4,162
892
2,591
1,538
700
988
2,091
1,858
1,137
609
753
2,809
751
2
2
224
762
1
296
1
1
1
335
43
550
.
.
1
392
1
2
1
93
819
643
.
.
.
.
i
.
.
72
3
.
1
1
1
1
2
1
3
1
.
1
1
100
400
500
500
350
260
1,800
200
.
1,000
100
Appendix A: Tables
255
(Table 3 continued)
Place
Streetsville
St. Catharines
St. Mary's
St. Thomas
Thorold
Toronto
Trenton
Vienna
Waterloo
Welland
Wellington
Whitby
Windsor
Woodstock
Yorkville
Totals
186061
Pop.
730
6,284
2,778
1,631
1,616
44,821
1,398
908
1,273
731
Common
School
Libs.
Vols.
.
1
4
59
6,336
.
.
2,697
2,501
3,353
1,570
2
414
1
82
214,826
56
25,588
Other
Public
Libs.
Vols.
1
2
1
1
1
9
1
1
.
1
400
1,408
750
900
400
41,421
300
486
1
1
1
1
850
350
1,500
650
101
101,472
400
Sources: Upper Canada. Superintendent of Education, Annual Report; Census of
Canadas 186061.
256
Appendix A: Tables
Table 4
Public Libraries in Canada West, 1864
Libraries
Number
Vols.
%of
Total
1
Univ. of Toronto and University College
1
Victoria College, Cobourg
1
"
Queens College, Kingston
1
Trinity College, Toronto
1
Regiopolis College, Kingston
1
Knox's College, Toronto
1
St. Josephs College, Ottawa
1
St. Michael's College, Toronto
1
Upper Canada College, Toronto
1
Congregational College, Toronto
1
Osgoode Hall, Toronto
1
Canadian Institute, Toronto
1
Educational Department, U.C.
1
Board of Arts & Manufactures
1
Mechanics' Institute, Toronto
1
"
Kingston
1
Hamilton & Gore Mechanics' Institute
481
Public School Libraries
Sunday School Libraries
1,875
Jail and Asylum Libraries
22
15,500
1,00.0
3,000
3,500
2,500
4,000
2,000
1,500
500
2,260
8,000
2,600
2,000
1,050
5,400
2,300
2,740
193,258
288,664
3,218
2.8
0.2
0.6
0.6
0.5
0.7
0.4
0.3
0.1
0.4
1.5
0.5
0.4
0.2
1.0
0.4
0.5
35.5
53.0
0.6
Totals
544,990
100
2,395
Source: Hind, Eighty Years'Progress in British North America.
Appendix A: Tables
257
Table 5
Library Volumes Held, Circulation, and Fiction, 1879-80
Institutes
Vols.
Fiction
Ailsa Craig
Alexandria
Alliston
Arkona
Arthur
Aylmer
Ayr
Barrie
Belleville
Berlin
Blyth
Bolton
Bowmanville
Bradford
Brantford
Brighton
Brussels
Chatham
Clarksburg
Claude
Clinton
Collingwood
Dundas
Durham
Elora
Ennotville
Exeter
Fenelon Falls
Fergus
Forest
Gait
Garden Island
Georgetown
Goderich
Grimsby
Guelph
Hamilton
Harriston
Hespeler
804
203
150
0
139
67
150
154
492
346
443
345
102
0
191
102
1,043
148
34
114
66
83
149
217
626
362
787
49
350
160
285
59
401
115
43
42
223
691
340
387
557
1,052
1,852
1,011
1,053
1,915
607
289
1,361
788
3,542
794
572
628
221
495
470
2,708
4,100
1,201
4,643
569
590
569
2,439
156
2,895
1,690
380
542
1,710
2,710
7,140
1,139
1,095
2,484
340
175
Total
Circ.
Fiction %Vols. Vols.:
Fie.
Circ.
Circ.
1,770
618
m
.
^
800
2,320
2,371
960
8,418
2,153
845
868
599
6,302
659
224
0
3,278
g
1,536
6,816
685
3,811
102
739
271
543
526
215
222
1,172
947
1,087
1,337
.
3,734
1,750
2,316
5,362
200
2,340
2,402
3,012
55
6,563
2,492
m
1,444
589
34
2,679
687
1,965
27,277
2,092
3,064
18,398
1,318
432
19
0
41
17
27
15
27
34
42
18
17
0
14
13
29
19
6
18
30
17
32
8
15
30
17
9
59
28
12
38
14
7
11
8
13
25
35
30
16
1:2.2
1:0.0
1:0.0
1:0.0
1:4.2
1:2.3
1:0.0
1:9.5
1:8.0
1:1,1
1:1.4
1:3.0
1:2.4
1:1.9
1:1.9
1:8.6
1:0.0
1:1.2
1:0.0
1:1.1
1:1.1
1:1.4
1:4.3
1:1.9
1:1.2
1:3.5
1:4.0
1:4.2
1:1.2
1:3.5
1:2.3
1:1.5
1:0.0
1:0.0
1:1.1
1:0.0
1:3.8
1:1.8
1:2.8
% Circ.
Fie.
35
.
34
0
62
75
31
27
0
0
0
56
15
37
40
42
31
54
47
25
0
0
60
20
62
41
28
0
67
63
14
258 Appendix A: Tables
(Table 5 continued)
Institutes
Kemptville
Kingston
Lindsay
Listowel
London
Lucan
Markham
Meaford
Milton
Mitchell
Mount Forest
Napanee
Newmarket
Niagara
Niagara Falls
Norwood
Oakville
Orangeville
Orillia
Paris
Parkhill
Penetanguishene
Peterborough
Picton
Point Edward
Port Colborne
Port Elgin
Port Hope
Prescott
Preston
Richmond Hill
Ridgetown
Sarnia
Scarborough
Seaforth
Simcoe
Smith's Falls
StoufrVille
Stratford
Vols.
705
1,723
399
541
2,081
143
686
750
2,413
1,625
660
429
802
2,644
697
639
597
593
205
2,930
932
209
3,292
200
43
610
1,442
874
688
2,676
1,239
192
1,163
1,200
1,564
1,242
2,357
254
2,630
Fiction
411
466
171
139
479
51
145
125
172
264
84
97
225
402
237
130
22
271
382
240
68
447
17
8
247
125
384
348
148
137
100
364
240
389
275
36
921
Total
Circ.
Fiction
Circ.
568
518
220
383
2,862
1,726
.
.
1,539
930
943
200
2,859
2,252
996
.
1,870
898
833
672
1,665
1,085
2,597
1,850
3,006
1,380
1,315
50
12
2,226
508
2,082
507
986
1,813
1,204
468
300
1,518
297
394
146
553
993
630
6,039
1,600
1,963
754
3,743
58
27
43
26
23
36
21
17
7
16
13
23
28
15
34
20
4
1,257
635
1,144
% Vols. Vols.:
Circ.
Fie.
280
1,281
46
0
13
26
33
14
9
19
40
9
44
51
6
11
52
31
20
25
0
12
14
35
1:0.0
1:3.3
1:1.3
1:0.0
1:1.4
1:0.0
1:2.2
1:1.2
1:1.2
1:1.4
1:0.0
1:4.4
:1.1
:0.0
:2.4
:0.0
:2.1
:4.4
:0.0
1:1.0
1:1.4
1:2.4
1:0.0
1:0.0
1:0.0
1:1.0
1:7.9
1:2.5
1:7.4
1:7.8
1:4.1
1:5.1
1:1.6
1:1.0
1:3.9
1:1.3
1:8.3
1:3.0
1:1.4
% Circ.
Fie.
39
74
60
61
22
0
44
.
45
75
65
0
71
46
0
24
74
26
68
58
19
29
56
55
52
0
0
0
37
34
Appendix A: Tables 259
(Table 5 continued)
Institutes
Strathroy
Streetsville
St. Catharines
St. George
St. Mary's
Thorold
Toronto
Uxbridge
Wardsville
Waterdown
Waterloo
Watford
Welland
Whitby
Wingham
Woodbridge
Woodstock
Wroxeter
Totals
Vols.
1,623
1,425
3,524
357
3,103
3016
10,053
2,323
1,090
1,304
1,644
153
890
1,387
743
319
2,679
792
Fiction
Total
Circ.
Fiction %Vok
Circ.
Fie,
435
376
958
146
580
664
3,456
570
69
65
318
51
238
458
95
3,056
3,827
5,042
558
4,469
6,588
32,986
10,579
1,026
26,596
3,867
156
2,894
86
695
3,394
1,123
1,256
50
200
2,132
519
978
76
19,610
490
7,764
155
27
26
27
41
19
22
34
25
6
5
19
33
27
33
13
0
37
10
244,265 114,365
22
135,711 30,027
.
Source: Special Report of the Minister of Education.
1,659
3,362
1,481
2,110
Vols.:
Circ.
% Circ.
1:1.9
1:2.7
1:1.4
1:1.6
1:1.4
1:2.2
1:3.3
1:4.6
1:9.4
1:0.0
1:1.8
1:5.6
1:7.8
1:2.4
1:1.5
1:0.0
1:7.3
1:6.2
54
88
29
0
1:1.8
Fie.
47
0
81
37
15
43
58
29
63
46
40
32
47
260 Appendix A: Tables
Table 6
Free Public Library Bylaws, 1883-95
Date
1883
1883
1884
1884
1884
1884
1884
1885
1888
1888
1888
1889
1890
1890
1893
1894
Place
Guelph
Toronto
London
Simcoe
Berlin
St. Thomas
Brantford
Hamilton
London3
Waterloo
St. Catharines
Hamilton
Ingersoll
Chatham
London
Windsor
Population1
10,190
94,755
25,792
3,000
4,473
10,811
11,783
41,280
26,960
2,664
10,080
44,653
5,200
8,730
33,427
11,468
Rate
payers2
2,486
27,981
6,713
na
na
2,433
2,165
10,640
8,356
na
3,452
11,774
na
1,835
8,400
2,748
Votes
For
Votes
Against Majority
646
137
2,862
942
47
167
na
275
1,547
245
na
na
2,030
232
500
1,279
254
5,405
1,583
328
376
na
1,086
1,358
838
na
na
3,697
486
540
3,522
919
509
2,543
641
281
209
na
811
-189
593
na
na
1,667
254
40
2,243
665
Total
783
8,267
2,525
375
543
1,361
2,905
1,083
727
718
1,040
4,801
1,173
1 Population given is provincially assessed
2 Ratepayers excludes tenants and other qualified electors
3 The 1888 London bylaw repealed 1884 bylaw
Sources: Ontario. Bureau of Industries. Annual Report; Newspapers, local reports,
bylaw results.
Appendix A: Tables 261
Table 7
Grants for Mechanics' Institutes Libraries, 1882-96
•Year
1882/83
1883/84
1884/85
1885/86
1886/871
1887/88
1888/89
1889/90
1890/91
1891/92
1892/93
1893/94
1894/95
1895/96
Institutes
Receiving
Grants
Legislative
Aid
$
Average
Grant
Index
1900=
100
Grant Adjusted
to 1885/86=101
$
79
81
97
100
116
123
154
161
177
192
195
21,447
22,058
25,170
22,904
20,079
21,884
27,186
28,466
31,711
35,448
37,178
271
272
259
229
173
178
177
177
179
185
191
2632
-
120.3
114.4
110.5
101.0
97.3
102.5
105.8
104.7
103.4
104.7
96.5
99.2
92.1
88.3
323
308
283
229
167
181
185
183
183
191
182
149
292
207
35,200
$
-
170
1 Grant regulations revised
2 Total number of institutes reporting
Sources: Ontario. Dept. of Education, Report of the Minister of Education; Curtis,
Taylor & Michell, Statistical Contributions to Canadian Economic History.
TableS
Comparative Statistics of Ontario Cities, 1901
City
Belleville
Brantford
Chatham
Guelph
Hamilton
Kingston
London
Ottawa
St. Catharines
St. Thomas
Stratford
Toronto
Windsor
Woodstock
1902
Pop.
9,300
17,143
8,867
11,347
54,035
18,463
39,265
61,151
10,604
11,810
10,741
211,727
12,642
9,357
Mill
Rate
1902
23.3
23.5
30
23
19.9
20.5
24.5
22.2
22.6
26.3
26.1
23.5
28.5
23.1
Street
Lighting
$
4,893
8,919
4,689
5,850
34,415
7,914
24,621
28,258
8,030
7,893
5,621
119,076
8,290
7,866
Water
6 Fire
$
18,122
37,212
14,289
16,060
121,112
19,854
55,811
99,769
19,524
21,995
8,711
403,519
21,758
17,398
Expenditures for 1901
Board of
Poor &
Health
Charities
Schools
$
3>
0>
177
2,387
1,133
823
14,323
797
4,877
29,873
1,509
685
883
45,150
2,305
399
1,856
7,403
2,097
4,253
46,720
3,500
25,943
3,599
970
5,818
1,961
81,224
2,452
855
16,589
34,219
19,382
25,630
113,715
37,563
124,096
174,593
28,769
26,400
24,250
626,526
32,698
16,552
Library
$
100
2,200
947
1,714
9,057
na
9,051
na
1,649
650
800
28,882
2,410
na
Total
Expenses
$
429,369
403,780
229,924
248,479
1,157,131
377,015
1,416,625
1,793,211
277,651
415,170
220,972
7,247,340
403,968
228,660
(Table 8 continued)
Pop.
Mill
Rate
$
Street
Lighting
$
Water
6 Fire
$
Board of
Health
$
486,452
479,460
467,960
448,876
440,889
430,940
420,934
416,215
23.2
22.5
22.9
21.8
21.6
21.8
21.4
21.1
na
276,235
255,806
239,666
251,379
245,456
254,797
282,986
na
875,134
839,166
736,012
828,061
720,294
716,095
727,622
na
105,402
71,332
72,770
67,205
68,145
63,648
59,416
City
Totals
Totals 1902:
Totals 1901:
Totals 1900:
Totals 1899:
Totals 1898:
Totals 1897:
Totals 1896:
Totals 1895:
Expenditures
Poor dr
Charities
18951901
$
Schools
$
Library
Total
Expenses
$
na
188,651
199,077
183,319
175,233
175,327
157,318
147,994
na
1,300,982
1,430,853
1,130,466
1,258,986
1,068,928
1,141,815
1,134,140
na
57,469
57,025
56,576
55,775
57,666
57,047
51,631
na
14,849,295
13,440,598
14,754,108
13,966,046
13,301,342
12,432,208
12,250,357
$
Source: Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, Annual Report of *the Bureau of Industries 1902. Part III Municipal Statistics, (56-69.
264
Appendix A: Tables
Table 9
Public Library (Not Free) Revenue and Expenses, 1895-1910
Year
Bds.
Member
Fees
$
1895
1896
1897
1898
1899
1900
1901
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
292
245
244
247
253
263
283
306
288
264
242
233
221
234
230
224
19,177
na
na
na
na
na
17,344
17,852
15,868
14,071
12,853
13,021
12,301
11,555
10,902
9,717
Prov.
Grant
$
35,200
na
na
na
na
na
26,930
29,959
26,580
12,646
8,354
8,406
8,069
8,649
9,387
9,471
Local
Revenue
$
8,140
na
na
na
na
na
10,929
9,755
10,602
10,251
11,538
11,307
10,597
12,207
13,830
12,003
Total
Exp.
$
Liabilities
ft
0
Average
Exp.
$
85,706
72,209
71,219
69,906
59,037
79,151
83,512
85,150
70,179
51,251
47,174
47,153
42,842
41,592
40,573
37,588
11,850
13,603
12,560
16,021
17,845
20,492
25,677
28,458
16,339
9,180
6,641
7,799
6,271
3,617
3,299
2,713
294
295
292
283
233
301
295
278
244
194
195
202
194
178
176
168
Source: Ontario. Dept. of Education, Report of the Minister of Education
Appendix A: Tables 265
Table 10
Provincial Expenditures for Libraries, 1902-14
Year
Public Library
Grants
$
Travelling
Libraries*
$
1902
1903
1904
1905
1906
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
1912
1913
1914
50,344
49,039
26,591
20,521
21,382
21,888
29,042
33,743
37,764
38,483
37,168
38,644
38,008
475
662
856
1,170
1,084
5,514
1,839
1,843
2,515
2,789
2,810
2,257
1,543
no grants
2,904
3,656
5,273
4,343
4,870
no report
6,060
5,847
8,060
8,241
7,962
8,294
50,819
49,701
27,447
21,691
22,466
27,402
30,881
35,586
40,279
41,272
39,978
40,901
39,551
Total
442,617
25,357
65,510
467,974
Rural School
Library Grants
$
* Includes grants to Canadian Reading Camp Association, 1902-07
Source: Ontario. Provincial Auditor, Public Accounts.
Total Library
Grants
$
266 Appendix A: Tables
Table 11
Libraries Represented at OLA and Library Institutes, 1907-14
1907
1908
1909
1910
1911
21
17
7
5
22
16
9
23
18
19
17
26
16
10*
25
20
25
20
30
8
29
25
18
32
19
16
22
20
21
18
26
18
11
5
Institutes Total 21
OLA Total
34
29
37
70
49
District
Brantford
Chatham
Niagara
Eastern
Belleville
Georgian
Guelph
Lindsay
London
Orangeville
Stratford
York
Northern
Western
Toronto
234
55
280
62
1912
1913
1914
25
25
15
24
18*
16
21*
21*
18*
19*
30*
13
7
5
25
25
19
30
16
16
21
24
22
18
33
13
10
5
1
23
28
12
33
15
10
28
27
21
17
33
12
8
6
1
276
64
274
69
257
60
*Higher number from one of the two institutes held this year.
Sources: Report of the Minister of Education; Proceedings of the Ontario Library
Association.
Table 12
Public Library Service in Ontario, 1910/11
1. Population Served
Municipalities
Status
Assessed
Population
All Libraries
Pop.
Served
% ofOnt.
Population
% of Pop.
Served
Pop.
Unserved
% ofOnt.
Population
% of Pop.
Unserved
_
_
92.6
7.4
49,527
33,964
na
552,418
377,170
83,491
929,588
2.2
1.5
na
24.1
16.4
3.6
40.5
4.9
3.4
na
54.5
37.2
8.2
91.8
100.0
1,013,079
44.1
100.0
Cities
Towns
Villages
Police Villages
Twps 'with' libs
Twps with none
Urban total
Rural total
752,280
397,364
121,343
na
647,990
377,170
1,270,987
1,025,160
752,280
347,837
87,379
27,356
68,216
32.8
15.1
3.8
1.2
3.0
58.6
27.1
6.8
2.1
5.3
1,187,496
95,572
51.7
4.2
Ontario total
2,296,147
1,283,068
55.9
(Table 12 continued)
2. Population Served by Library Type
Status
Pop.
Served
Free Libraries
%ofOnt.
Population
% of Pop.
Served
Pop.
Served
Association Libraries
% of Pop.
% ofOnt.
Population
Served
79.5
0.1
35,837
87,523
44,433
26,356
68,216
167,793
94,572
1.6
3.8
1.9
1.1
3.0
7.3
4.1
2.8
6.8
3.5
2.1
5.3
13.1
7.4
79.6
262,365
11.4
20.4
Cities
Towns
Villages
Police Villages
Twps 'with' libs1
Urban total
Rural total
716,443
260,314
42,946
1,000
1,019,703
1,000
31.2
11.3
1.9
0.0
55.8
20.3
3.3
0.0
44.4
0.0
Ontario total
1,020,703
44.5
1 Townships served by police village free libraries also had larger association libraries.
Sources: Report of the Minister of Education; Bureau of Industries; Canadian Almanac and Directory.
Appendix A: Tables
269
Table 13
Functional Space in Selected Ontario Libraries
Place
Date
Opened
Belleville
Berlin
Bracebridge
Brantford
Brockville
Burlington
Chatham
Collingwood
Cornwall
Elora
Ft. William*
Gait
Guelph
Hamilton*
Hamilton*
Harriston
Lindsay
London
Napanee
Niagara Falls*
Paris
Peterborough*
Picton
St. Catharines
St. Mary's
Sarnia
Smith's Falls
Stratford
Toronto*
Uxbridge*
Waterloo
Windsor
1908
1904
1907
1904
1904
1907
1903
1904
1904
1909
1912
1905
1905
1890
1913
1910
1904
1895
1900
1910
1904
1911
1907
1905
1905
1903
1904
1903
1884
1887
1905
1903
Shape
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
"T
Sq.
S
%*
Sq.**
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
Irr.
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
S
***
Sq.**
Rec.
Sq.
Sq.
Rec.
Sq.
Rec.
Rec.
Sq.
Rec.
Sq.
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
Rec.
Size
Sq. Ft.
Popu
lation
3,840
3,600
1,800
9,392
3,965
1,935
3,600
3,280
1,728
1,728
6,960
3,196
4,200
5,529
22,579
2,500
2,587
5,984
9,117
9,747
2,479
16,619
8,940
1,119
9,068
5,755
6,704
1,187
16,499
7,866
11,496
47,245
81,969
1,637
7,003
37,976
3,143
9,248
3,229
18,360
3,698
9,946
3,384
8,176
5,155
9,959
86,415
2,023
3,537
12,153
900
2,500
2,280
5,325
2,492
3,649
2,500
5,200
2,907
3,286
8,414
1,512
2,376
5,868
Per Capita
Sq. Ft.
.42
.37
.73
.57
.44
1.73
.40
.57
.26
1.46
.42
.41
.37
.12
.28
1.53
.37
.16
.29
.27
.71
.29
.67
.37
.74
.64
.56
.33
.09
.75
.67
.48
* Census populations for Hamilton are 1891 and 1911; Uxbridge is 1891; Toronto is
1881; Fort William, Niagara Falls and Peterborough are 1911; all other populations are
1901.
** Rear stack room was semi-circular.
Notes: Dimensions are approximate.
The average per capita floor space is .54 sq. ft.
Italics indicate non-Carnegie buildings.
Sources: Report of the Minister of Education; newspapers and articles.
270
Appendix A: Tables
Table 14
Interior Features of Carnegie Libraries
Library
Date
Opened
Berlin
1904
Bracebridge
Brantford
Brockville
Chatham
Collingwood
1907
1904
1904
1903
1904
Cornwall
Elora
Fort William
Gait
Goderich
Guelph
Hamilton
Harriston
Lindsay
Orillia
Ottawa
Paris
Picton
St. Catharines
St. Mary's
St. Thomas
1904
1909
1912
1905
1905
1905
1913
1909
1904
1912
1906
1904
1907
1905
1905
1906
Sarnia
Smith's Falls
Stratford
1903
1904
1903
Toronto (main)
Waterloo
Windsor
Woodstock
1909
1905
1903
1909
Stack
Access
F-closed
NF-open
open
closed
closed
open
aft-open
eve-closed
closed
open
open
closed
closed
open
open
open
open
open
closed
open
open
closed
closed
F-closed
NF-open
open
closed
F-closed
NF-open
closed
closed
open
open
Separate
Children's
Area
Age
Limit
Ladies'
Reading
Room
yes
14
no
card
no
no
no
no
no
12
14
14
no
yes
no
yes
yes
card
indicator
card
book
none
12
Catalogue
Type
no
no
yes
no
no*
no
yes
yes
yes
no
yes
no
yes
yes
yes
no
12
10
none
12
none
none
none
14
none
none
14
12
no
no
yes
no
no*
yes
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
no
yes
yes
no
no
yes
no
yes
none
none
12
no
yes
no
_
book
card
card
none
card
card
manuscript
card
card
book
book&
card
card
book
no
yes
no
no
12
no
no
no
no
card
card
14
10
16
none
* At Goderich the women's and children's areas was combined in one room.
Note: Some age limits were discretionary.
Sources: Report of the Minister of Education; Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association;
various articles and reports.
Appendix A: Tables 271
Table 15
Libraries Organized by Patricia Spereman, 1908-16
1908
Brampton
Brantford
Gait
Goderich
Gorrie
Ingersoll
Markdale
Niagara Falls
Orangeville
Simcoe
Streetsville
Wallaceburg
Wiarton
Wingham
1913
Amherstburg
Blenheim
Campbellford
Fonthill
Grand Valley
Kingsville
Lindsay
Meaford
Milton
Mount Albert
Port Hope
St. Mary's
Welland
1909
Brockville
Cobourg
Gananoque
Millbrook
Norwood
Oshawa
Palmerston
Richmond Hill
Smith's Falls
St. Catharines
Woodstock
1914
Aurora
Beeton
Deseronto
Georgetown
Grimsby
Harriston
Melbourne
Mount Forest
Newbury
Victoria Harbour
Wardsville
Whitby
1910
Brockville
Collingwood
Drayton
Dundas
Dunnville
Elora
Fergus
Kingston
Millbrook
Milverton
Morrisburg
North Toronto
Orillia
Owen Sound
Penetanguishene
Pickering
Uxbridge
Weston
1915
Acton
Ayr
Beamsville
Burlington
Caledon
Cargill
Dresden
Durham
Gait
Iroquois
Markdale
Mimico
Prescott
Stirling
Tillsonburg
Walkerton
Note: Italics indicates Carnegie funded communities
Source: Report of the Minister of Education.
1911
Belleville
Brampton
Embro
Midland
North Bay
Peterborough
Port Arthur
Scarborough
Windsor
1916
Aylmer
Beachville
Exeter
Hanover
Mitchell
New Hamburg
Parkhill
Ridgetown
Wallaceburg
Seaforth
Zephyr
1912
Bracebridge
Don
Essex
Ingersoll
Kincardine
Leamington
Mt. Brydges
New Liskeard
Orangeville
Orillia
Renfrew
Runnymede
Simcoe
Windsor
272
Appendix A: Tables
Table 16
Ontario Public Library Growth under Inspector Carson, 1915-30
A. Free Public Library Boards
No. of Provincial
Grant
Year
Boards
1895
1905
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
54
134
166
175
179
183
186
186
193
195
202
208
212
214
214
215
219
222
Total
Expenses
Book
Expenditure
$7,541
$11,693
$22,129
$23,290
$24,006
$24,913
$24,510
$27,686
$28,817
$31,200
$32,083
$33,360
$34,320
$35,492
$36,546
$37,307
$38,240
$39,079
$97,983
$151,504
$521,125
$624,887
$557,045
$578,866
$580,052
$738,010
$834,590
$873,686
$980,381
$933,443
$1,037,392
$1,032,795
$1,035,196
$1,104,185
$1,155,026
$1,239,798
$57,182
$100,093
$120,131
$141,821
$149,453
$162,137
$165,221
$179,004
$191,522
$187,111
$205,516
$225,645
$243,145
Change 1920-30 : 41.2%
68.0%
102.4%
$22,201
.
Volumes
Circulation
Population
Served
254,091 1,216,407
684,539 1,807,122
,215,525 4,436,995
,262,765 4,626,323
,309,928 5,074,571
,407,666 4,759,049
,470,288 5,628,417
,537,517 6,316,340
,654,424 7,511,391
,731,827 7,791,492
,811,219 7,920,215
,887,434 8,500,973
,930,841 9,421,208
,991,782 9,498,898
2,055,858 9,232,887
2,113,412 9,682,283
2,082,757 10,261,357
2,214,245 11,433,208
1,356,078
1,377,544
1,440,091
1,479,052
1,523,873
1,548,511
1,582,851
1,606,754
1,643,475
1,663,867
1,702,128
1,712,163
1,792,491
1,847,493
1,976,678
81.0%
29.7%
44.0%
Appendix A: Tables
273
(Table 16 continued)
B. Association Library Boards
Year
No. of Provincial
Boards
Grant
292
242
229
226
229
242
250
264
267
271
273
288
293
296
296
301
287
300
Total
Expenses
Book
Expenditure
$35,200
$8,354
$8,223
$7,944
$8,282
$7,623
$8,292
$9,963
$11,182
$11,511
$12,484
$12,185
$11,782
$12,394
$13,471
$13,455
$13,976
$12,651
$85,706
$47,174
$32,790
$34,232
$32,628
$40,561
$39,851
$52,599
$56,272
$52,604
$56,208
$53,911
$57,563
$57,674
$61,672
$62,627
$64,600
$64,828
$27,317
.
Change 1920-30: 27.0%
23.2%
1895
1905
1915
1916
1917
1918
1919
1920
1921
1922
1923
1924
1925
1926
1927
1928
1929
1930
Volumes
Circulation
Population
Served
$12,721
$16,922
$20,637
$22,182
$22,148
$22,288
$21,535
$22,513
$24,601
$25,208
$26,293
$25,029
$36,021
404,605
473,160
427,113
447,081
438,569
445,090
436,654
473,950
475,292
476,930
479,457
501,289
502,142
531,821
554,810
584,601
593,236
604,323
700,958
673,958
510,287
505,607
515,794
535,367
552,288
635,307
728,500
742,019
707,095
735,168
758,166
800,553
819,574
881,080
890,480
892,700
174,460
153,315
161,894
150,949
166,368
170,415
164,082
155,520
166,498
170,332
186,083
187,691
205,337
215,663
211,712
74.5%
27.5%
40.5%
27.3%
.
Source: Ontario. Dept. of Education, Report of the Minister of Education.
,
274 Appendix A: Tables
Table 17
Public Library Finances, 1920—40
A. Free Public Libraries
Year1
Population
Served
$
Provincial
Grant
1919/20
1,479,052
27,686
580,052
.39
150.4
.26
1924/25
1,643,475
34,320
933,443
.57
120.4
.47
1927/28
1,712,163
37,307
1,035,196
.60
120.2
.50
1929/30
1,847,493
39,079
1,555,026
.84
120.8
.70
1932/33
1,914,250
26,279
1,253,177
.65
94.3
.69
1934/35
1,992,862
26,545
1,078,892
.56
96.2
.58
1937/38
2,012,041
28,292
1,215,932
.60
102.2
.59
1939/40
2,057,359
29,474
1,283,526
.62
105.6
.59
1
2
Total
$
Expenditure
Per Capita
Deflator^ Deflated
(100 = Per Capita
193539) Expenditure
Statistics provided for legislative grant are for latest year, all others for previous
year.
Cost of living index; deflator for government expenditure not available prior to
1926.
Appendix A: Tables
275
(Table 17 continued)
B. Association Libraries
Year1
Population
Provincial
Total
Expenditure^
Served*
$
Grant
$
Per Capita
Deflator*
Deflated
(100 = Per Capita
193539) Expenditure
1919/20
150,949
9,963
39,851
.26
150.4
.17
1924/25
166,498
11,782
53,911
.32
120.4
.27
1927/28
187,691
13,455
61,672
.33
120.2
.27
1929/30
215,663
12,651
64,600
.30
120.8
.25
1932/33
213,214
9,945
55,957
.26
94.3
.28
1934/35
-
8,795
48,834
-
96.2
-
1937/38
190,044
9,487
47,952
.25
102.2
.25
1939/40
212,476
11,752
53,573
,25
105.6
.24
1
2
3
4
Statistics provided for legislative grant are for latest year, all other figures for
previous year.
Only statistics for borrowers available in 1934.
Includes county library associations after 1930.
Cost of living index; deflator for government expenditure not available prior
to 1926.
Sources: Ontario Dept. of Education, Report of the Ministry of Education; Ontario
Library Review; Dominion Bureau of Statistics, National Accountsy Income and
Expenditure, 19261950.
APPENDIX B
GRAPH 1: TOTAL GRANTS FOR MECHANICS' INSTITUTES
LIBRARIES, 1868 TO 1880
Year
D
Grant Total
GRAPH 2: TOTAL BOOKS IN MECHANICS' INSTITUTES
LIBRARIES. 1868 TO 1880
Appendix B: Graphs 277
GRAPH 3: LIBRARY CIRCULATION FROM
MECHANICS' INSTITUTES, 1875-1880
GRAPH 4: FREE LIBRARY BOARDS IN ONTARIO
1882 TO 1918
278
Appendix B: Graphs
GRAPH 5: LOCAL PUBLIC LIBRARY REVENUE
1882 to 1914
GRAPH 6: FREE LIBRARY VOLUMES AND CIRCULATION
1882 TO 1918
APPENDIX C
MAPI
280
Appendix C: Maps
MAP2
Appendix C: Maps
MAP3
281
282
Appendix C: Maps
MAP4
NOTES
Abbreviations
AO
ARCA
Archives of Ontario
Ont. Dept. of Agriculture, Annual Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture
[title varies]
ARUC
E. Ryerson, Annual Report of Normal, Model Grammar and Common
Schools in Upper Canada [title varies]
CLC
Carnegie Library Correspondence
CMW
H. Morgan, Canadian Men and Women of the Time [two editions, 1898
and 1912]
Cyclopaedia G.M. Rose, Cyclopaedia of Canadian Biography
DALE
Dictionary of American Library Biography
DCS
Dictionary of Canadian Biography
DHE
J.G. Hodgins, Documentary History of Education
JBAMUC
Journal of the Board of Arts and Manufactures of Upper Canada
MTRL
Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library
NAC
National Archives of Canada
Ont. Lib. Rev. Ontario Library Review
Proc. of OLA Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association Annual Meeting [title varies]
RME
Ont. Dept. of Education, Report of the Minister of Education
Introduction: A Dream for Ontario
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
John Hallam, Address to the Board of Management of the Toronto Free Library
(Toronto: n.p., 1883).
Eugene Rouillard, Les Bibliotheques Populaires (Quebec: L.-J. Demers & Frere,
1890), 45-46.
James Bain, Jr., "The Library Movement in Ontario," Public Libraries 6 (1901):
349. Another condensed version of his speech appears in Library Journal 26
(1901): 269-270; and a longer, but incomplete version in the Archives of Ontario
[hereafter AO], Ontario Library Association, MU 2239.
For Ontario, see Eric C Bow, "The Public Library Movement in NineteenthCentury Ontario," Ontario Library Review 66 (1982): 1-16.
For a basic text, see Paul Wilkinson, Social Movement (New York: Praeger
Publishers, 1971).
Lome Bruce, "Public Libraries in Ontario, 1882-1920," Ontario History 77
(1985): 124-49.
Heartsill Young and Terry Belanger, eds., The ALA Glossary of Library and
Information Science (Chicago: American Library Association, 1983), 181.
Young, ALA Glossary, 181.
284
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
127
28
29
30
31
Notes to pages ix to xviii
William J. Rhees, Manual of Public Libraries, Institutions, and Societies, in the
United States and British Provinces of North America (Philadelphia: J.B. Lippincott,
1859), 652-65.
Great Britain. Parliament, Report from the Select Committee on Public Libraries
(London: House of Commons, 1849), xii.
The best exponent is Sidney Ditzion, Arsenals of a Democratic Culture; A Social
History of the American Public Library Movement in New England and the Middle
States from 1850 to 1900 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1947), 51-76.
Joseph L. Harrison, "The Public Library Movement in the United States," New
England Magazine n.s., 10 (1894): 721.
Adam Crooks, Reform Government in Ontario; Eight Years Review (Toronto:
Hunter, Rose & Co., 1879), 33.
Edwin A. Hardy, "The Ontario Library Field," Public Libraries 9 (1904): 201.
See John A. Mayer, "Notes Towards a Working Definition of Social Control in
Historical Analysis," in Stanley Cohen and Andrew Scull, eds., Social Control and
the State; Historical and Comparative Essays (Oxford: Martin Robertson, 1983), 1738.
Ann Robson, "The Intellectual Background of the Public Library Movement in
Britain," Journal of Library History 11 (1976): 187.
For the salient points, see Jean K. Allen, "The History of Libraries in Ontario," in
Canadian Libraries in their Changing Environment* eds. Loraine Spencer Garry and
Carl Garry (Toronto: York University, 1977), 47-65.
See Bruce Curtis, '"Littery Merrit', 'Useful Knowledge', and the Organization of
Township Libraries in Canada West, 1840-1860," Ontario History 78 (1986):
285-311.
For an outline of Ontario's progress, see James Bain, Jr., "The Libraries of
Canada," The Library 7 (1895): 245-48.
Thomas D'Arcy McGee, The Mental Outfit of the New Dominion (Montreal: n.p.,
c.1867), 5.
For an example, see Rouillard, Bibliotheques Populaires, 3-4.
Ontario. Education Department, Educational System of the Province of Ontario;
Dominion of Canada (Toronto: printed for the Dept., 1886), 93.
Margaret Beckman, Stephen Langmead, and John Black, The Best Gift; a Record of
the Carnegie Libraries in Ontario (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1984).
Lawrence J. Burpee, "The Library Outlook in Canada," Public Libraries 9 (1904):
195.
J.W. Cummings Purves, "A Paper on Library Ideals: Work and Legislation in
Canada," Library Association Record 14 (1912): 439.
E.A. Hardy, The Pubic Library; its Place in our Educational System (Toronto:
William Briggs, 1912), 55-71.
"The New Publication," Ontario Library Review 1 (June 1916): 1.
National Council of Women of Canada, Women of Canada; Their Life and Work
(n.p.: n.p., c. 1900), 173.
George Locke, "Recruiting for Librarianship in Canada," Ontario Library Review 7
(1922): 4-7.
See Bertha Bassam, The Faculty of Library Science, University of Toronto and its
Predecessors, 19221972 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Faculty of Library Science,
1978), 8-22.
Hugh H. Langton, "Canada and Public Libraries," Library Journal 2% (1903): 45.
Notes to pages xix to 8
32
33
285
E.A. Hardy, "A Half Century of Retrospect and Prospect/' Ontario Library Review
11 (1926/27): 44.
Coincidentally, library development in the United States and British Isles began to
be studied as a social phenomenon. See Arnold Borden, "The Sociological
Beginnings of the Library Movement in America," Library Quarterly 1 (1931):
278-82; and John Minto, A History of the Public Library Movement in Great
Britain and Ireland (London: G. Allen & Unwin Ltd., 1932).
Chapter 1: Common School and Mechanics' Institutes Libraries
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
See Chung S. Kim, "The Development of the First Library in Ontario, 18001900" (Master's thesis, University of Toronto, c.1985). For Addison's collection,
see William J. Cameron, George McKnight, and Michaele-Sue Goldblatt, comps.,
Robert Addison's Library; a Short Title Catalogue of Books Brought to Upper Canada
in 1792 (Hamilton: McMaster University, 1967).
Charles B. Sissons, Egerton Ryerson, his Life and Letters, 2 vols. (Toronto: Clarke,
Irwin, 1937-47). This remains the standard biography.
Canada (Province). Secretary of the Board of Registration and Statistics, Census of
the Canadas; 185152 (Quebec: John Lovell, 1853), vol. 1., xvii-xxi.
Egerton Ryerson, Report on a System of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper
Canada (Montreal: Lovell and Gibson, 1847), 188-89.
Upper Canada. Dept. of Public Instruction, Annual Report of the Normal, Model,
Grammar, and Common Schools in Upper Canada for the Year 1 &f7 (Montreal:
Lovell and Gibson, 1849) [title varies, hereafter ARUQ.
Robert Bell, "Township School Libraries — Means of Establishing Them," Journal
of Education for Upper Canada 3 (18 5 0): 81.
Letter quoted from Bruce Curtis, "'Littery Merrit', 'Useful Knowledge', and the
Organization of Township Libraries in Canada West, 1840-1860," Ontario History
78 (1986): 287. See also, Frank C. Pitkin, "Dexter D'Everardo," Welland County
Historical Society Papers and Records?) (1927): 86-103.
Notice in the Journal of Education 2 (1849): 150-51; and "British and Continental
Libraries," 3 (1850): 161-64.
Charles C. Jewett, Notices of Public Libraries in the United States of America
(Washington: House of Representatives, 1851), 4.
See Robert Blackburn, Evolution of the Heart; a History of the University of Toronto
Library up to 1981 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1989), 30-35.
Foster Vernon, "The Development of Adult Education in Ontario 1790-1900"
(Ed.D. diss., University of Toronto, 1969), 259-61.
William J. Rhees, Manual of Public Libraries, 653-59. This is an important area for
further research.
Ryerson to Governor General Elgin, 16 July 1849, reprinted in Canada
(Province). Dept. of Public Instruction for Upper Canada, Special Report of the
Separate School Provisions of the School Law of Upper Canada (Toronto: John
Lovell, 1858), 33.
Ryerson to Lord Elgin, 16 July 1849, reprinted in Special Report of the Separate
School Provisions, 34.
Bruce Curtis, "'Littery Merrit'," 299-305.
John George Hodgins, ed., Documentary History of Education in Upper Canada
from 1791 to 1876(Toronto: Warwick Bros. & Rutter, 1894-1910), vol. 3, 284
[hereafter Hodgins, DHE\.
286
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
Notes to pages 8 to 14
The proposed legislation is reprinted in Hodgins, DHE, vol. 10, 171.
Reprinted in Hodgins, DUE, vol. 11, 178.
May's early career is detailed in George Maclean Rose, A Cyclopaedia of Canadian
Biography: Being Chiefly Men of the Time (Toronto: Rose Publishing, 1886), 65456 [hereafter Rose, Cyclopaedia].
For this period see J.M.S. Careless, The PreConfederation Premiers: Ontario
Government Leaders, 18411867 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1980).
ARUC for 1854.
Canada (Province). Dept. of Public Instruction for Upper Canada, General
Catalogue of Books in Every Department of Literature, for Public School Libraries in
Upper Canada (Toronto: Lovell & Gibson, 1858), 242.
General Catalogue of Books, 243.
John G. Hodgins, The School House; Its Architecture, External and Internal
Arrangements (Toronto: Lovell and Gibson, 1857), 10-55. For Barnard's library
contribution, see Robert B. Downs, Henry Barnard (Boston: Twayne Publishers,
1977), 95-101.
J.M. Bruyere, Controversy between Dr. Ryerson...andRev. J.M. Bruyere...on the
Appropriation of the Clergy Reserves Funds: Free Schools vs. State Schools; Public
Libraries and Common Schools Attacked and Defended (Toronto: Leader and
Patriot, 1857), 17.
The depository issue was played out against the backdrop of the larger issue of separate schools. See Franklin A. Walker, Catholic Education and Politics in Ontario; A
Documentary History (Don Mills, Ont.: Thomas Nelson, 1955-86), vol. 1, 209-12.
Egerton Ryerson, Dr. Ryerson *s Letters in Reply to the Attacks of Foreign Ecclesiastics
Against the Schools and Municipalities of Upper Canada (Toronto: Lovell & Gibson,
1857), 35-92.
The petition is reprinted in Special Report of the Separate School Provisions* 72.
This dispute, as well as several others, are recounted by George L. Parker, The
Beginnings of the Book Trade in Canada (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1985),
124-30.
ARUCfor 1860.
See Winifred Hughes, The Maniac in the Cellar: Sensational Novels of the 1860s
(Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1980).
Hodgins, DHE, vol. 20, 93-95. For Britain, see Colin Manchester, "Lord
Campbell's Act: England's First Obscenity Statute," Journal of Legal History 9
(1988): 223-41.
Canada (Province). Legislative Assembly, Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the
Province of Canada, 28 April 1862.
James Fraser, Report... on the Common School System of the United States and of the
Provinces of Upper and Lower Canada (London: Eyre and Spottiswoode, 1866),
273-77.
"The Free Public Library of Boston - Speeches at the Dedication," Journal of
Education l\ (1858): 50-52.
Henry Y. Hind, ed., Eighty Years' Progress of British North America; Showing the
Wonderful Development of its Natural Resources.... (Toronto: L. Stebbins, 1864),
475.
For favourable comments, see Edward Edwards, Free Town Libraries, their
Formation, Management, and History (New York: John Wiley & Son., 1869), 34456.
Notes to pages 15 to 20
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
287
Egerton Ryerson, The School Book Question; Letters in Reply to the BrownCampbell
Crusade against the Educational Department for Upper Canada (Montreal: John
Lovell, 1866). This contains Ryerson's letters of refutation. See also, Linda Wilson
Cormon, "James Campbell and the Ontario Education Department 1858-1884,"
Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 14 (1975): 46-52.
Walter Eales, Lecture on the Benefits to be Derived from Mechanics' Institutes
(Toronto: James Stephens, 1851), 1-2.
Eales, Lecture, 12.
For this conclusion, see Foster Vernon, "Adult Education," 309-21. In Britain,
social control was also an objective, but it was difficult to achieve. See Steven
Shapin and Barry Barnes, "Science, Nature and Control: Interpreting Mechanics'
Institutes," Social Studies of Science! (1977): 31-74.
Henry Morgan, ed., Canadian Parliamentary Guide, 3d ed., (Quebec: Desbrats &
Derbyshire, 1864), 52.
National Archives of Canada [hereafter NAC], Carleton Place Library Association
and Mechanics' Institute, MG 9, D8-4, annual meetings on 9 March 1850 and 8
March 1851.
Douglas A. Stevenson, A History of the Fonthill Public Library Prepared in
Celebration of the One Hundredth Anniversary of its Opening on 2 February, 1853
(Fonthill: Library Board, 1953), 4-6.
Waldon, Freda F. "Early Provision for Libraries in Hamilton," Wentworth Bygones
4 (1963): 322-35.
Rose, Cyclopaedia, 654.
"Toronto Mechanics' Institute," Journal of the Board of Arts and Manufactures for
Upper Canada 1 (1861): 232-33 [hereafter JBAMUQ.
See Vernon, "Adult Education," 407-8, 420-24.
Canada (Province). Bureau of Agriculture, Reports of the Minister of Agriculture,
and the Chief Emigrant Agent, for Canada, for the Year 1857 (Toronto: John Lovell,
1858). Title varies, hereafter Canada, Dept. of Agriculture, Report.
Newspaper hansard in Canada (Province). Parliament, Canadian Parliamentary
Debates — Scrap book Debates 1846, 1854/1862 (Ottawa: Canadian Library
Association, n.d.).
Newspaper hansard in Toronto Globe, 30 March 1859.
See James A. Eadie, "The Napanee Mechanics' Institutes: the Nineteenth Century
Ontario Mechanics' Institute Movement in Microcosm," Ontario History 68
(1976): 213-15.
AO, Niagara Mechanics' Institute Records 1848-1898, MU 2022, vol. 1,
Minutebook, 15 Feb. 1860 and 4 Nov. 1862. See also, Janet Carnochan, History of
Niagara (In Part) (Toronto: William Briggs, 1914), 215.
Canada. Dept. of Agriculture, Report for 1862, xxx.
Canada. Dept. of Agriculture, Report for 1864, 6.
For the agriculture department between 1857 to 1864, see J.E. Hodgetts, Pioneer
Public Service; an Administrative History of the United Canadas, 18411867
(Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1955), 228-38.
For Edwards, see Henry Morgan, ed., Canadian Men and Women of the Time
(Toronto: William Briggs, 1898), 305 [hereafter Morgan, CMW(1898)].
"Classified Catalogue of the Free Library of Reference," JBAMUC1 (1861): 234-39.
"Correspondence," JBAMUC2 (1862): 370-71; and "Circulating Library," JBA
MUC4 (1864): 133-34.
288
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
Notes to pages 20 to 27
"Draft of a Memorial/' JBAMUC2 (1862): 105. Also AO, Board of Arts and
Manufactures for Upper Canada, MU 279, Minutebook, 14 Jan. 1862.
Adam Crooks, "On the Characteristics of the Canadian Community," Proceedings
of the Royal Colonial Institute 1 (1869): 162-69.
For patrons and clients in this era, see Sidney J.R. Noel, Patrons, Clients, Brokers:
Ontario Society and Politics, 17911896 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1990),
275-93.
Egerton Ryerson, Rev. Dr. Ryersons Defence against the Attacks of the Hon. George
Brown...Relative to the Ontario System of Public Instruction and its Administration
(Toronto: Copp, Clark & Co., 1872), 94-95.
ARUCfor 1872, Appendix C, 148.
ARUCfor 1872, Appendix C, 156.
For example, Attack on the People's Depository for Ontario and The Educational
Depository and its Assailants m AO, Dept. of Education, RG 2, Series N, box 1,
envelope 6. See also, Ontario. Education Office, Case and Correspondence
Respecting the Prices of Books for School Libraries and Prizes, 1874 (Toronto:
Hunter, Rose & Co., 1874).
AO, RG 2, Series N, box 1, envelope 8.
For his role in the Depository's demise, see Dianna Cameron, "John George
Hodgins and Ontario Education, 1844-1912" (Master's thesis, University of
Guelph, 1976), 150-57.
"Report of the Association of Mechanics' Institutes," in Ontario. Dept. of
Agriculture, Report of the Commissioner of Agriculture and Arts of the Province of
Ontario for the Year 1868 (Toronto: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1869), 157 [hereafter
Ontario, Dept. of Agriculture, ARCA\.
William Edwards, "The Best Method of Classification of Books in the Catalogues,
and on the Shelves of Mechanics' Institutes Libraries," in Ontario. Dept. of
Agriculture, ARCAfor 1872, 225.
Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, ARCAfor 1875, 206.
Thomas Davison, "Mechanics' Institutes and the Best Means of Improving
Them," Canadian Monthly (Sept. 1876): 220-23.
Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, ARCAfor 1877, xi.
For Crooks, see George Brown and Marcel Trudel et al., eds., Dictionary of
Canadian Biography (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1966-), vol. 11, 220-23
[hereafter DCB}.
Ontario. Education Dept., Special Report on the Operations of the Depository Branch
of the Education Department, Ontario; from 1850 to 1875, Inclusive (Toronto:
Hunter, Rose & Co., 1877). Ontario. Education Dept., Papers and Correspondence
with Respect to the Depository Branch of the Education Department (Toronto:
Hunter, Rose & Co., 1877); this publication reviews the controversy of 1876-77.
Hodgins subsequently issued another review: Ontario. Education Dept., Special
Report upon the Operations of the Depository Branch of the Education Department for
the Years 1876and 1877 (Toronto: Provincial Secretary's Office, 1879).
"Memorandum on Village Libraries," printed in Papers and Correspondence, 36-37.
"Memorandum to Dr. Hodgins...on 'Village Libraries'," in Papers and
Correspondence, 42.
"Memorandum to the Honourable Minister of Education...by Dr. Hodgins,
Deputy Minister of Education," in Papers and Correspondence, 51.
ForScoble, see Morgan, CMW(IS98), 916.
Notes to pages 28 to 35
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
289
Figures taken from Ontario. Education Dept., Return to an Order of the Legislative
Assembly, Dated 15th March, 1888... Respecting the Question of Aid in Purchasing
Libraries Since the Withdrawal of Such Aid (Toronto: Provincial Secretary's Office,
1888), 7-9.
United States. Bureau of Education, Public Libraries in the United States of
America; their History, Condition, and Management (Washington: Government
Printing Office), 1876), xxx, 39-44, and 57.
Robert D. Gidney and Winnifred P. J. Millar, Inventing Secondary Education: the
Rise of the High School in NineteenthCentury Ontario (Montreal: McGill-Queen's
Univ. Press, 1990), 214-30.
Adam Crooks, Educational Statement of the Hon. Adam Crooks, Minister of
Education on Moving the Estimates for 1880 (Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson,
1880), 12-13.
Ontario. Education Dept., Report of the Minister of Education of the Province of
Ontario for 188081 (Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson, 1881), 156-59 [title varies,
hereafter RME\.
Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, ARCAfor 1879, xvii.
AO, Board of Arts and Manufactures, MU 280, Secretary's Letterbook 18671880, Edwards to James Young, 5 Dec. 1879.
Chapter 2: British and American Influences
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
Jewett, Notices of Public Libraries, 4.
Reprinted in Wilkie Collins, My Miscellanies, new ed., (London: Chatto and
Windus, n.d.), vol. 13, 249-64.
Guinevere Griest, Mudie's Circulating Library and the Victorian Novel
(Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1970).
Joan Magee, "The Wright and McKenny Circulating Library, Amherstburg; a
Pioneer Library in Canada West," Expression 3, 3 (1981): 11-14.
See Gordon Stubbs, The Role ofEgerton Ryerson in the Development of Public
Library Service in Ontario (Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1966), 26-28.
Mann's library work is outlined by Robert B. Downs, Horace Mann; Champion of
Public Schools (New York: Twayne Publishers, 1974), 58-68.
Public Libraries in the United States of America, 39-41. See also, Sidney Ditzion,
"The District School Library," Library Quarterly 10 (1940): 575-77.
Ian Inkster, "The Social Context of an Educational Movement: a Revisionist
Approach to the English Mechanics' Institutes, 1820-1850," Oxford Review of
Education 2 (1976): 277-307; and Edward Royle, "Mechanics' Institutes and the
Working Classes, 1840-1860," Historical Journal U (1971): 305-21.
Great Britain. Parliament. House of Commons, Report from the Select Committee
on Public Libraries (1849; facsimile reprint, Shannon, Ireland: Irish Univ. Press,
1968), 1.
For a brief summary of nineteenth-century British legislation prior to 1892, see
H.W. Fovargue and J.J. Ogle, Public Library Legislation (London: Library
Association, 1893), 88-96.
Thomas Greenwood, Edward Edwards; The Chief Pioneer of Municipal Public
Libraries (London: Scott, Greenwood & Co., 1902), 126-41.
"Free Libraries and Museums in England," Journal of Education 11 (1858): 86-87.
"Libraries for the People," Meliora; A Quarterly Review of Social Science in its
Ethical, Economical, Political and Ameliorative Aspects 2 (1860): 305.
290
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
Notes to pages 35 to 43
John J. Ogle, The Free Library; Its History and Present Condition (London: George
Allen, 1897), 281-84.
Michael H. Harris, ed., The Age ofjewett: Charles Coffin Jewett and American
Librarianship, 18411868 (Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 1975), 20-43.
Michael Harris, The Role of the Public Library in American Life; A Speculative Essay
(Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Graduate School of Library Science, 1975).
Harris emphasizes that motives are identified with social control.
Charles FJ. Whebell, "Robert Baldwin and Decentralization, 1841-9," in Aspects
of NineteenthCentury Ontario; Essays Presented to James J. Talman, ed. Frederick
H. Armstrong (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto, 1974), 48-64.
Canada (Province). Legislature, Debates of the Legislative Assembly of United
Canada, 18411867 (Montreal: Presses de 1'Ecole des hautes etudes commerciales,
1970-), vol. 11, pt. 1, 606, 20 Sept. 1852. Hodgins notes that no text was available in 1902: see Hodgins, DUE, vol. 10, 102.
For Boulton, see DCB, vol. 10,80-81.
For Morris, see DCB, vol. 11, 608-15.
Hodgins, DUE, vol. 14, 207-210.
"Public Free Libraries," Meliora 10 (1867): 235-246.
William A. Munford, Edward Edwards 18121866: Portrait of a Librarian
(London: Library Association, 1963), 149-206.
Edward Edwards, Free Town Libraries, 29-30.
See Gwladys Spencer, The Chicago Public Library; Origins and Backgrounds
(Chicago: Univ. of Chicago, 1943), 230-48.
See Henry A. Homes, "Library Legislation," Library Journal4 (1879): 300-2; and
5 (1880): 79, 109-11.
William F. Poole, "The Organization and Management of Public Libraries,"
Public Libraries in the United States, 477. Poole became ALA president in 1886.
See William L. Williamson, William Frederick Poole and the Modern Library
Movement (New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 1963), 129-37.
See Sidney Ditzion, "The Anglo-American Library Scene: a Contribution to the
Social History of the Library Movement," Library Quarterly 16 (1946): 281-301.
Samuel S. Green, The Public Library Movement in the United States 18531893
(Boston: Boston Book Co., 1893), 24. For Green, see Bohdan S. Wynar, George
S. Bobinski, Jesse H. Shera, eds., Dictionary of American Library Biography
(Littleton, Colorado: Libraries Unlimited, 1978), 212-16 [hereafter DALE].
William A. Munford, A History of the Library Association 18771977 (London:
Library Association, 1976), 18-32.
"Librarians in Council," Toronto Globe, 25 Oct. 1877.
John G. Hodgins, Special Report...on the Ontario Educational Exhibit and the
Educational Features of the International Exhibition at Philadelphia, 1876 (Toronto:
Hunter, Rose & Co., 1877), 95-96.
Hodgins, Special Report... on the Educational Exhibit, 34.
Tamara Grad, "The Development of Public Libraries in Ontario, 1851-1951"
(Master's thesis, Drexel Institute of Technology, School of Library Science, 1951),
25: "The libraries of Ontario from now on entered a new stage of development."
For example, "Novels and Mechanics' Institutes," Toronto Globe, 18 Feb. 1879.
Ontario. Education Dept., Special Report of the Minister of Education on the
Mechanics' Institutes (Ontario) (Toronto: C. Blackett Robinson, 1881), 66-72, 7375 [hereafter May, Special Report.
Notes to pages 43 to 52
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
291
Ian Inkster, "The Public Lecture as an Instrument for Science Education for
Adults - the Case of Great Britain, c. 1750-1850," Paedagogica Historica2§
(1980): 80-107.
Alpheus Todd, "On the Establishment of Free Public Libraries in Canada,"
Proceedings and Transactions of the Royal Society of Canada Series 1,1, Sec. 2
(1882-83): 14.
George Ross, newspaper hansard record, Toronto World, 16 March 1888.
"A Dufferin Public Library," Toronto Mail, 1 Oct. 1878.
W.R.G. Mellen, "Wealth and its Uses," RoseBelford's Canadian Monthly and
National Review 2 (1879): 349.
AO, Dept. of Education, RG 2, D-6, Box 1, file 1878.
Anon [An Old Headmaster], "The Arraignment of the Minister of Education,"
Canada Educational Monthly 2 (1880): 336.
Toronto Globe, 8 March 1882.
"Mechanics' Institute," Hamilton Spectator, 12 June 1880; and "Mechanics'
Institutes," London Advertiser 14 June 1880.
Otto Klotz, A Review of the Special Report of the Minister of Education on the
Mechanics'Institutes Ontario (Toronto: Willing & Williamson, 1881), 17-18.
May, Special Report, 128.
"A Public Library," London Advertiser, 12 Oct. 1881.
William W. Judd, ed., Minutes of the London Mechanics'Institute (18411895);
Edited and with Appendices (London: London Public Libraries, Galleries,
Museums, 1976), 38-45.
"The Mechanics' Institute," Hamilton Spectator, 17 March 1882.
One rural stone library was built as early as the 1850s: see Mary Broadfoot, "The
Ennotville Library," Ontario Library Review 13 (1928/29): 143-45.
May, Special Report, 161.
Ibid., 43 with Table D.
Ibid., 97.
Ibid., 105.
Ibid., 75. See also, Allison Prentice and Susan Houston, Schooling and Scholars in
Nineteenthcentury Ontario (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1988), 179-186.
May, Special Report, 65-66.
For this report, see Canadian Farmer and Grange Record^, 32 (12 April 1882):
511.
"Mechanics' Institute Libraries," Canada Educational Monthly3 (1881): 189-190.
Chapter 3: The Caliban of the Nineteenth Century
1
2
3
"The Free Library Scheme," Guelph Daily Mercury, 27 Nov. 1882. For Innes, see
Rose, Cyclopedia, 373.
See William L. Morton, "Victorian Canada," in The Shield of Achilles; Aspects of
Canada in the Victorian Age, ed. W.L. Morton (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart,
1968), 311-34; and Peter B. Wake, "Sir Oliver Mowat's Canada: Reflections on
an Un-Victorian Society," in Oliver Mowat's Ontario, ed. Donald Swainson
(Toronto: Macmillan, 1972), 12-32.
Paul Rutherford, A Victorian Authority: The Daily Press in Late NineteenthCentury
Canada (Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1982), 156-89 gives an analysis of
newspaper coverage.
292
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
Notes to pages 52 to 57
For a typical treatise, see Alexander Scott, Who May Vote? A Compilation of the
Statute Law Relating to the Electoral Franchise in Ontario (Brampton: n.p, 1885),
78-86.
John G. Bourinot, The Intellectual Development of the Canadian People; An
Historical Review (Toronto: Hunter, Rose & Co., 1881), 119-121 and 128.
J.G. Bourinot, Intellectual Development, 122-23.
William Kingsford, The Early Bibliography of the Province of Ontario, Dominion of
Canada, with Other Information (Toronto: Rowsell & Hutchison, 1892), 128-29.
Rosebery's views were reprinted in "A Public Library," Belleville Daily Intelligencer,
5 Jan. 1901. By this time Rosebery had withdrawn from politics and was writing
historical biographies.
"Studies in Sociology," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 24 Feb. 1893.
"A Dufferin Public Library," Toronto Mail, 1 Oct. 1878.
"A Free Library," Brantford Daily Expositor, 30 Nov. 1883.
John Millar, Books: A Guide to Good Reading (Toronto: William Briggs, 1897), 64.
See Carl Berger, Science, God, and Nature in Victorian Canada (Toronto:
University of Toronto Press, 1982), 10-27. See also, Bertrum H. MacDonald,
'"Public Knowledge': the Dissemination of Scientific Literature in Victorian
Canada as Illustrated from the Geological and Agricultural Sciences," (Ph.D. diss.,
Univ. of Western Ontario, School of Library and Information Science, 1990).
MacDonald discusses the availability of international scientific literature in
Canada.
William H. Withrow, "Public Libraries," Canada Educational Monthly6 (1884):
193.
Marie Klotz, "A Public Library," Ottawa Evening Journal, 13 April 1895. See also,
Anita Rush, "The Establishment of Ottawa's Public Library, 1895-1906" (Ottawa:
n.p., 1981), 3.
John Taylor, Toronto's Free Library; Facts for the Citizens (Toronto: n.p., 1881).
See Alexander B. McKillop, A Disciplined Intelligence: Critical Inquiry and
Canadian Thought in the Victorian Era (Montreal: McGill-Queen's Univ. Press,
1979), 129-32.
"The Free Library," Palladium of Labor, 25 April 1885.
George lies, "The Library in Education," The Week! (21 March 1890): 251.
George lies, "The Appraisal of Literature," The Week 13 (18 Sept. 1896): 1026.
Graeme M. Adam, "About Books," Toronto Globe, 10 May 1890.
"For a Public Library," Hamilton Evening Times, 2 May 1885. Hallam served as
the Toronto library's first chairman.
"To be or not to be," London Advertiser, 9 June 1888. For Essery, see Morgan,
CMW(1898),314.
The education minister for one showed no alarm at the likelihood of lagging
behind. See George Ross, The Schools of England and Germany (Toronto?: n.p.,
1894); this work summarizes his personal travels and observations.
Regulations issued August 1889 reprinted in RMEfor 1889, 225-27.
"Proposed Mechanics' Institute," Palladium of Labor, 20 Nov. 1886.
Newspaper hansard account, Toronto Globe, 24 Feb. 1882.
Ontario. Education Dept., Report of the Minister of Education on the Subject of
Technical Education (Toronto: Warwick & Sons, 1889), 167.
Ontario. Education Dept., Supplement to the Report on the Minister of Education,
1892; University Extension (Toronto: Warwick &: Sons, 1892), 12.
Notes to pages 57 to 63
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
293
Anti-Humbug, "Art Instruction in Ontario," Canadian Architect and Builder 2
(1889): 79.
Editorial observation in Ingersoll Weekly Chronicle and Canadian Dairyman, 26
Dec. 1889.
William D. Grampp, The Manchester School of Economics (Stanford: Stanford
Univ. Press, 1960). Grampp stresses that the School's members held divergent
views on many social issues.
"Principle versus Fraud," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 26 Dec. 1888.
Alpheus Todd, "Free Public Libraries," Royal Society of Canada (1882-83): 16.
"The Proposed Free Library," Toronto Globe, 18 Dec. 1882.
"Wanted a Public Library and Reading Room," Toronto Globe, 27 Jan. 1881.
For a short account see John Dinwiddy, Bentham (Oxford: Oxford Univ. Press,
1989), 90-122.
"A Public Meeting in Favor of the Free Library," Hamilton Evening Times, 9 May
1885; "The Public Library Question," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 7 May 1885.
Ottawa Free Press, 3 Jan. 1896.
"Dedicated to the Citizens," London Free Press, 27 November 1895. For Reid, see
Rose, Cyclopedia, 342-43. J.S. Mill, "Chapters on Socialism" in Essays on Economics
and Society, ed. John M. Robson (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1967), vol. 2,
703-53.
"Booming the By-Law," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 20 Dec. 1888. For Freed's role,
see Gregory S. Kealey, ed., Canada Investigates Industrialism (Toronto: Univ. of
Toronto Press, 1973), xv-xix.
"Citizens of the Municipality of the Town of Chatham," Chatham TriWeekly
Planet, 27 Dec. 1889.
Harvey Graff, The Labyrinths of Literacy: Reflections on Literacy Past and Present
(London: Palmer Press, 1987), 162-86. He finds this argument wanting in
Ontario's case.
See "Mr. Witton," Journal and Proceedings of the Hamilton Association 30
(1919/20-1921/22): 4-14.
However, compared to most unions, the London Trades and Labor Council was
unusually active. See Eugene Forsey, Trade Unions in Canada 18121902
(Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1982), 416-17.
W. Stanley Jevons, "The Rationale of Free Public Libraries," Contemporary Review
39 (1881): 385-402.
John Hallam, Notes by the Way on Free Libraries and Books with a Plea for the
Establishment of RateSupported Libraries in the Province of Ontario (Toronto:
Globe Printing Co., 1882), 31-32.
John A. Cooper, "Canada's Progress in the Victorian Era," Canadian Magazine of
Politics, Science, Art and Literature 9 (1897/98): 161.
Todd, "Free Public Libraries,": 13.
"The Free Library; Some Reasons Therefor," Lindsay Canadian Post, 2 Dec. 1898.
"The Library Opened," Windsor Evening Record, 5 Dec. 1894. Curry's speech is
reprinted in Gladys Shepley, "60 Years of Service - Windsor Public Library 18941954," Ontario Library Review 38 (1954): 231-32.
Carnegie Library Correspondence, Windsor, reel no. 34, letter of Andrew Braid
and R.F. Sutherland to Andrew Carnegie, 25 Jan. 1900.
"Rough on Mossbacks," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 27 Dec. 1888; editorial on 8
Jan. 1889.
294
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
Notes to pages 63 to 67
Alpheus Todd, "Is Canadian Loyalty a Sentiment or a Principle?" Canadian
Monthly! (Nov. 1881): 523-30.
Ramsay Cook, The Regenerators: Social Criticism in Late Victorian English Canada
(Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1985). However, the more active liberal
Protestant social reformers were not active in the public library movement.
W.R.G. Mellen, "Wealth and its Uses," Canadian Monthly 2 (March 1879): 349.
"The Free Library By-Law; Letter from Dr. Cochrane," Brantford Daily Expositor,
5 Jan. 1884. Cochrane continued on the library board for many years and died in
1898. See Rose, Cyclopedia, 257-58; Robert N. Grant, Life of Rev. William
Cochrane, D.D. (Toronto: William Briggs, 1899).
See William Westfall, Two Worlds; The Protestant Culture of NineteenthCentury
Ontario (Montreal: McGill-Queen's University Press, 1989).
T.K. Henderson in Free Public Libraries for Canada; Workingmen *s Prize Essays
(Toronto: "The Citizen," 1882), 3 [hereafter Workingmen's Prize Essays].
"Mr. Boville's Census," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 29 Dec. 1888.
"Free Library," Brampton Conservator, 5 Sept. 1895.
For an example, see Toronto Public Library, List of Books, Pamphlets and Magazine
Articles on the Subject of Temperance, Total Abstinence, Prohibition, Gothenburg and
Other Licensing Systems of the Liquor Traffic, in the Toronto Public Library
(Toronto, n.p., 1902).
"Education, Crime and Free Libraries," Ottawa Evening Journal, 30 Dec. 1895;
and Thomas Greenwood, Public Libraries: A History of the Movement and a
Manual for the Organization and Management of RateSupported Libraries, 4th ed.
(London: Cassell & Co., 1894), 30.
The editorials are identical: "Vote for the Free Library," Toronto Globe, 30 Dec.
1882 and "The Vote for the Free Library on Monday," Guelph Daily Mercury, 30
Dec. 1882.
"The Free Library," Lindsay Canadian Post, 2 Dec. 1898.
John Wiseman, "Temples of Democracy: a History of Public Library
Development in Ontario, 1880-1920" (Ph.D. diss., Loughborough University of
Technology, Library and Information Studies, 1989), especially 306-308.
Wiseman emphasizes the democratic role of the public library.
Workingmen's Prize'Essays, 4.
H. M. Evans in Workingmen's Prize Essays, 14.
"A Free Library," Stratford Evening Beacon, 5 Nov. 1895.
"The Free Library By-Law," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 27 Dec. 1888.
"London's Library," London Advertiser, 27 Nov. 1895.
AO, Ontario Library Association, MU 2239, John Davis Barnett, "The Value of
Public Libraries to the Community," 3.
For building styles and local support, see Marc de Caraffe, et. al., Town Halls of
Canada; A Collection of Essays on Pre1930 Town Hall Buildings (Ottawa: Dept. of
Environment, Parks Canada, 1987).
For an example at Ottawa, see "Getting a Move On," Ottawa Evening Journal, 23
Dec. 1895.
See Allan McGillivray, Uxbridge Library 18591987 (Uxbridge: Uxbridge Public
Library, 1987), 1-10.
"Free Library Question," Uxbridge Journal, 20 Jan. 1898.
"The Public Library," Napanee Express, 1 Nov. 1901. But on this occasion a free
library was not created.
Notes to pages 68 to 80
78
79
80
81
82
295
"Will the Library be Free?" Clinton News Record, 7 Dec. 1899 and "Municipal
Elections" on 5 Jan. 1900.
"The Library Building," Clinton New Era, 19 Jan. 1900.
Mary E. Manning, A Village Library Grows, 2d ed., (Streetsville: Library Board,
1973), 19-20.
"Just the Place," Ottawa Evening Journal, 4 Jan. 1896.
John G. Bourinot, "Notes in My Library," The Week 12 (5 April 1895): 445.
Chapter 4: The Days of Advance
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
"The City Council," Toronto Globe, 18 Jan. 1881.
See "Free Public Library," Toronto Globe, 24 Nov. 1881; "Free Library Question,"
Toronto Globe, 13 Dec. 1881; and "Free Public Library," Toronto Mail, 13 Dec.
1881.
For Hallam, see Rose, Cyclopaedia, 82.
John Hallam, The Days of Advance; British Civilization as Shown in Some
Institutions. Free Libraries and Water Supply Systems; Interesting Facts Gleaned by
Alderman Hallam While Across the Sea (Toronto: n.p., c.1881).
John Hallam, Notes by the Way on Free Libraries, preface.
See Margaret A. Evans, "The Mowat Era, 1872-1896: Stability and Progress," in
Profiles of a Province; Studies in the History of Ontario (Toronto: Ontario Historical
Society, 1967), 97-106.
"The House and Educational Questions," Canada Educational Monthly 5 (1882):
48.
Ontario. Education Dept., Catalogue of Works Recommended for Libraries in High
Schools, Collegiate Institutes and Other Institutes Receiving Legislative Aid (Toronto:
"Grip" Printing & Publishing, 1884); Catalogue of General and Educational Books,
Specially Recommended for the Libraries in Collegiate Institutes, High Schools and
Mechanics' Institutes, by the Education Department, Ontario (Toronto: Longmans,
Green, 1885).
For the original bill and its emendations, see AO, Legislative Assembly, RG 49,
Series 1-7-14, Bill 104, 28 Feb. 1882.
For his comment, see Toronto Evening Telegram, 9 March 1882.
Editorial in Toronto Evening Telegram, 29 Dec. 1882.
Times, 3 Jan. 1883.
"The City Council," Guelph Daily Mercury, 21 Nov. 1882.
Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, John Hallam Papers, vol. 2, David W.
McCrae to Hallam, 7 March 1884 [hereafter MTRL].
For Tytler's early career, see Rose, Cyclopaedia, 363-64.
For this club see "James Bain, D.C.L.," Saturday Night2\ (25 July 1908): 11-12.
"Municipal Politics," London Free Press, 22 Dec. 1883.
For Essery, see Morgan, CAfW(1898), 314, and his obituary in Toronto Globe
and Mail, 26 March 1937.
For provincial rights, see Margaret Evans, Sir Oliver Mowat (Toronto: Univ. of
Toronto Press, 1992), 141-81.
See Evans, Sir Oliver Mowat, 296-326.
AO, OLA, MU 2239, Dr. May, "How to Secure the Passing of a Free Public
Library By-Law," 2.
296
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23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
Notes to pages 80 to 87
George W. Ross, The School System of Ontario (Canada); Its History and Distinctive
Features (New York: D. Appleton, 1896), 159-60.
"Singular Objections," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 13 May 1885.
"Hamilton's Public Library," Toronto Globe, 16 Sept. 1890.
James Bain, Jr., "Brief Review of the Libraries of Canada," Library Journal 12
(1887): 409.
"The Public Library," Dundas Star, 26 Sept. 1895.
"A Public Library," Hamilton Evening Times, 6 May 1885.
"The Library By-Law," Hamilton Evening Times, 16 May 1885.
"Booming the By-Law," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 20 Dec. 1888.
Goldwin Smith, "Current Questions in Education," Canada Educational Monthly
4 (1882): 325-26.
MTRL, Hallam Papers, vol. 2, W.F. Poole to Hallam, 2 April 1883 and 6 April
1883; and C.A. Cutter to Hallam, 4 April 1883. For Cutter and Poole, see DALE,
109-15,404-12.
"The Free Library," Toronto Mail, 25 Dec. 1882.
"A Free Library For Toronto," Toronto Mail, 30 Dec. 1882.
"In Favor of the Library," Hamilton Evening Times, 7 May 1885. In the Hamilton
Daily Spectator 7 May account of this meeting, Thomas Brick is identified as the
"voice." For Brick, see Gregory S. Kealey and Bryan D. Palmer, Dreaming of What
Might Be; The Knights of Labor in Ontario, 18801900 (Cambridge: Cambridge
Univ. Press, 1982), 206-7.
"The Council Takes Over the Library," Thorold Post, 18 Oct. 1895.
"The Free Library By-Law," Norfolk Reformer, 3 Jan. 1884; and Simcoe Public
Library; An Historical Sketch (Simcoe: n.p., 1978), 1.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 101 (f), St. Catharines Mechanics' Institute report
for 1888. For Robertson, see Andrew Fraser, A History of Ontario; Its Resources and
Development (Toronto: Canada History Co., 1907), vol. 2, 897-900.
"Board of Trade," Chatham TriWeekly Planet, 20 Dec. 1889.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 93, letter of John B. Rankin to Dr. May, 2 May
1890.
"Hamilton Public Library," Toronto Globe, 16 Sept. 1890.
"Books Without Buying," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 2 May 1885.
For contemporary critics' views, see Kenneth Graham, English Criticism of the
Novel 18651900 (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1965).
"The Free Library," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 28 March 1885.
For a broader context, see Robert A. Colby, Fiction With a Purpose; Major and
Minor NineteenthCentury Novels (Bloomington: Indiana Univ. Press, 1968).
"Books That Are Read; Public Literary Taste Steadily Improving," Toronto Globe,
10 Jan. 1884.
"Novel Reading," Toronto Globe, 26 July 1890.
"Public Libraries," Toronto Evening News, 17 Dec. 1881.
Ester J. Carrier, Fiction in Public Libraries, 18761900 (New York: Scarecrow
Press, 1965), 169-78.
See Frederick J. Stielow, "Censorship in the Early Professionalization of American
Libraries, 1876 to 1929 " Journal of Library History 18 (1983): 37-54.
Ontario. Education Dept., Catalogue of Books Recommended for Public Libraries by
the Education Department, Ontario (Toronto: Warwick & Rutter, 1895), 96-103.
Touchstone, "Novels at the Public Library," Toronto Saturday Night, 19 March
Notes to pages 87 to 96
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
1892. In fact, Sullivan was more concerned with facilities in the central library and
its branches.
For the growth of popular literature, see James D. Hart, The Popular Book; A
History of America's Literary Taste (New York: Oxford Univ. Press, 1950); Richard
D. Altick, The English Common Reader: A Social History of the Mass Reading Public,
18001900 (Chicago: Univ. of Chicago Press, 1957).
Lawrence J. Burpee, "Recent Canadian Fiction," Forum 27 (1899): 752-60.
AO, OLA, MU 2239, Barnett, "Value of Public Libraries," 8. For Barnett, see
Henry Morgan, ed., Canadian Men and Women of the Time (Toronto: William
Briggs, 1912), 62 [hereafter Morgan, CMW(1912)]; and "Noted Bibliophile
Passes in London," Toronto Globe, 22 March 1926.
"The People's Forum," London Advertiser, 25 May 1892.
"The Free Library; Books Which the Workingmen Have on Their Shelves,"
London Advertiser, 26 May 1892; and Eleanor Shaw, A History of the London
Public Library (London: London Public Library and Art Museum, 1968), 32-33.
"The City Library By-Law," Hamilton Evening Times, 8 May 1885.
Citizen, "Arguments Against the Free Library," Toronto World, 30 Dec. 1882.
"Trades and Labour Council," Toronto Globe, 16 Dec. 1882.
AO, RG 49, Series I-7-F-2, 1892, petition no. 835, Toronto Trades and Labour
Council, read 11 March 1892.
"A Public Library Already," Hamilton Evening Times, 8 May 1885.
"Public Library," Toronto Evening Telegram, 15 Dec. 1882; and "Provincial
Library," Toronto Evening Telegram, 3 Feb. 1883.
Editorial in Ottawa Free Press, 5 Feb. 1895.
Daniel Wilson, "Free Public Libraries," Canada Educational Monthly 6 (1884):
149.
See Nancy Z. Tausky and Lynne D. DiStefano, Victorian Architecture in London
and Southwestern Ontario; Symbols of Aspiration (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press,
1986), 211-14.
"The Library Board," London Advertiser, 11 March 1884.
See Eleanor Shaw, A History of the London Public Library, 30-31.
James Bain, Jr., "Public Libraries in Canada," Proceedings of the Canadian Institute,
n.s., 1 (1897-98): 95-100; Bain, "Lectures, Museums, Art Galleries, etc., in
Connection with Libraries," Library Journal18 (1893): 214-16.
AO, OLA, MU 2239, George Ross to E.A. Hardy, 20 July 1899.
"John Hallam is Dead," Toronto Globe, 22 June 1900.
Hallam, Days of Advance, 3.
Chapter 5: From One Century to Another
1
2
3
4
5
6
297
AO, Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario Collection, MU 2017, Letterbook of the
Association of Mechanics' Institutes 1880-1884, Edwards to May, 12 March
1884.
AO, MU 2017, Association Letterbook 1885-1897, Edwards to Ross, 31 Oct.
1885.
AO, MU 2017, Edwards to Ross, 2 March 1886.
Newspaper hansard record, Toronto Globe, 12 March 1886.
Regulations reprinted in RMEfor 1887, 182-83.
AO, MU 2017, Edwards to Dewey, 27 Aug. 1884 and Edwards' memo to
298
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
Notes to pages 96 to 100
Warwick & Rutter, 23 April 1888. See also, AO, Association of Mechanics'
Institutes, MU 2021, circular letters 1880-1894. This collection contains various
flyers publicizing Edwards' scheme. For Dewey, consult DALE, 124-34.
"The Toronto Public Library," Canadian Educational Monthly 7 (1884): 136.
MTRL, John Hallam Papers, vol. 2, Leypoldt to Hallam, 1 Feb. 1883. For
Leypoldt, see DALB, 314-16.
"Librarians in Council," Toronto Globe, 15 Aug. 1883 and 17 Aug. 1883. MTRL,
John Hallam Papers, vol 2., M. Dewey to Hallam, 25 Jan. 1884; and W.F. Poole
to Hallam, 4 March 1884.
Buffalo conference proceedings in Library Journals (Aug. 1883): 280.
Bain quoted by Green, Library Movement, 162.
Richard Bowker, ed., The Library List (New York: Library Journal, 1887); for
Bowker, see DALB, 52-55.
G. Mercer Adam, The Librarian s [Key]; Brief Suggestive List of Books, New and Old
(Toronto?: n.p., c.1882).
The resolution of the institute directors and the municipal bylaw are reprinted in
Toronto. City Council, Minutes of the Council of the Corporation of Toronto
(Toronto: Corporation of Toronto, 1884), 202-4, 208.
"The Free Library; How the Building will Appear on Thursday," Toronto Globe, 3
March 1884.
William Archer, Suggestions as to Public Library Buildings (Dublin: Browne &
Nolan, 1881). He included a postscript disagreeing with William Poole's subject
divided concept for libraries.
Donald E. Oehlerts, "The Development of American Public Library Architecture
from 1850 to 1940," (Ph.D. diss., Indiana University, Graduate Library School,
1975), 41-54. This author describes the slow transition from book halls, which
housed readers and featured alcove/perimeter shelves, to the modern separation of
readers, staff, and books.
"Public Library; Formal Opening by the Lieutenant-Governor," Toronto Globe, 7
March 1884.
James Bain, "Books in Branch Libraries," in American Library Association, Papers
and Proceedings of the American Library Association 1898 (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1898), 100.
MTRL, Hallam Papers, vol. 1, Edward Edwards to Hallam, 19 Dec. 1883 re:
information for a new edition of Memoirs of Libraries.
See Toronto Public Library, Catalogue of Books and Pamphlets Presented to the
Toronto Public Library by John Hallam (Toronto: C.B. Robinson, 1888).
Susan McGrath, "The Origins of the Canadiana Collection at the Metropolitan
Toronto Central Library: the First Twenty-Five Years," Papers of the Bibliographic
Society of Canada 13 (1974): 85-100.
James Bain, "Canadian Public Documents," Canadian Magazine of Politics,
Science, Art and Literature 25 (1905): 125-27.
Toronto Public Library, Fifth Annual Report, 1888 (Toronto: Toronto Public
Library, 1889), 4.
Toronto Public Library, Report of a Special Committee on the Museums of the United
States and Canada (Toronto: Toronto Public Library, 1892).
Council session reported in Toronto Globe, 15 March 1892.
James Bain, "Lectures, Museums, Art Galleries, etc., in Connection with
Libraries," Library Journal \% (1893): 216.
Notes to pages 100 to 105
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
299
Lorna L. Bergey, "Library Facilities of Wilmot Township," Waterloo Historical
Society Annual Report50 (1962): 86.
"Farmers' Institutes," Rural Canadian 9, 2 (Feb. 1886): 33.
Newspaper hansard, Toronto Globe, 16 March 1888.
Ontario. Education Dept., Return to an Order of the Legislative Assembly, Dated
15th March, 1888 that there Be Laid before this House...Purchasing Libraries since
the Withdrawalof Such Aid (Toronto: Provincial Secretary's Office, 1888).
For Lancefield, see Katharine Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library 18891963: a
Celebration of Vision and Leadership (Hamilton: Hamilton Public Library, 1989),
16-34; Gordon Roper, "The Canadian Bibliographer and Library Record and its
Editor," Papers of the Bibliographical Society of Canada 6 (1967): 27-31; and
Morgan, CMW(l898), 554.
Hamilton Public Library, Catalogue of Books in the Circulating Department of the
Hamilton Public Library (Hamilton: Griffin & Kidner, 1890). The 1891 supplement was arranged by class.
Hamilton Public Library, Annual Report of the Hamilton Public Library for 1891
(Hamilton: Hamilton Public Library Board, 1892), 7-8.
John W. Emery, The Library, the School and the Child (Toronto: Macmillan Co,
1917), 48-54.
"Hamilton Public Library Building Competition," Canadian Architect and Builder
2 (1889): 54-55. For Stewart, see Thomas M. Bailey, ed., Dictionary of Hamilton
Biography (Hamilton: Dictionary of Hamilton Biography, 1981), vol. 1., 188-89.
See Frank]. Burgoyne, Library Construction, Architecture, Fittings and Furniture
(London: George Allen, 1897), 73-87.
"Our Public Library," Hamilton Daily Spectator, 17 Sept. 1890.
"Board of Trade," Chatham TriWeekly Planet, 20 Dec. 1889.
W.K.P. Kennedy, comp., North Bay; PastPresentProspective (North Bay?: n.p.,
1961), 120-22; and "A.G. Browning," Toronto Globe and Mail, 8 July 1941.
For its general activities, see Veronica Strong-Boag, The Parliament of Women: the
National Council of Women of Canada, 18931929 (Ottawa: National Museum of
Canada, 1976).
The disappointing 1895/96 bylaw fight is outlined by Anita Rush, "Establishment
of Ottawa's Public Library," 2-4. For a discussion of the NCWC's general relationship with libraries, see John Wiseman, "Temples of Democracy," 51-55.
John A. Wiseman, "Silent Companions; the Dissemination of Books and
Periodicals in Nineteenth-Century Ontario," Publishing History; the Social,
Economic, and Literary History of Book, Newspaper and Magazine Publishing 12
(1982): 26-34. He emphasizes the positive aspect.
See Robert M. Stamp, The Schools of Ontario, 18761976 (Toronto: Ministry of
Culture and Recreation, 1982), 45-50.
Samuel P. May, Catalogue of School Appliances, Pupils' Work, etc., Exhibited by the
Education Department of Ontario, Canada, at the World's Columbian Exposition,
Chicago, 1893 (Toronto: Warwick & Sons, 1893), 8.
U.S. Bureau of Education, Statistics of Public Libraries in the United States and
Canada (Washington: Government Printing Office, 1893), 20.
Greenwood, Public Libraries, 544. For Greenwood, see RJ. Pritchard, Thomas
Greenwood; Public Library Enthusiast (Biggleswade, United Kingdom: Clover
Publications, 1981).
Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, "Technical Education," in Annual Report of the
300
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52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
Notes to pages 105 to 111
Bureau of Industries for the Province of Ontario for the Year 1893 (Toronto:
Warwick Bros. & Rutter, 1894), part VI, 1-103.
AO, Legislative Assembly, RG 49, Series I-7-B-2, 1894, no. 124, Return to an
Order of the House dated the 23rd April instant for A Return...Farmers' Institutes have
not been Established.
Newspaper Hansard, Toronto Globe, 5 April 1895.
AO, RG 49, Office of the Legislative Assembly, Series I-7-F-2, 1896, petition no.
354, Dominion Grange Praying Certain Amendments to the Public Libraries Act.
For popular fiction tastes, see Mary Vipond, "Best Sellers in English Canada,
1899-1918: An Overview," Canadian Journal of Fiction 24 (1979): 96-119.
Ontario. Education Dept., Catalogue of Books, introduction.
Ontario. Education Dept., Act and Regulations Respecting Public Libraries, Reading
Rooms, Evening Classes and Art Schools (Toronto: Warwick Bros. & Rutter, 1895),
3-4.
George Ross, The School System of Ontario, 159-60.
"London's Library," London Advertister, 27 Nov. 1895; and "Dedicated to the
Citizens," London Free Press, 27 Nov. 1895.
A plan and illustration of the London library appears in the Canadian Architect and
Builder! (1894): 156. For Matthews, see "H.E. Matthews London Native,"
London Free Press, 13 Dec. 1941.
American Library Association, Papers Prepared for the World's Library Congress,
Held at the Columbian Exposition (Washington: Govt. Printing Office, 1896).
American Library Association, Papers and Proceedings of the Twentieth General
Meeting 1898 (Chicago: American Library Association, 1898), 36.
"Public Librarian Blackwell Passes Away This Morning," London Free Press, 19
March 1906.
London Public Library. Class Catalogue; Public Library London, Ont.,June 1st,
1897 (London: Thomas Coffey, 1897); it included sections for juvenile literature,
magazines and newspapers. Hamilton Public Library, Catalogue of Books in the
Hamilton Public Library, July, 1 #97 (Hamilton: McPherson & Drope, 1897).
For Blackwell's administration, see Elizabeth Spicer, A History of the London Public
Library 18991905 (London: London Public Library and Art Museum, 1967).
RME for 1889, 221.
J.W.C. Purves, "A Paper on Library Ideals: Work and Legislation in Canada,"
Library Association Record 14 (Sept. 1912): 446-47.
"Toronto Public Library Board v. City of Toronto," in Ontario Practice Reports
(Toronto, 1899-1900), vol. 19, 329-32.
George lies, "The Appraisal of Literature," The Week 13 (18 Sept. 1896): 1025-26.
"International Library Conference," Times, 17 July 1897.
George lies, "The Trusteeship of Literature," Library Journal'26 (1900): 16-22.
For lies, see Morgan, CMW( 1912), 565-66; and Walter L. Brown, "As it was in
the Beginning: George lies," Public Libraries 30 (1925): 367-68.
William I. Fletcher, Public Libraries in America (Boston: Roberts Brothers, 1894),
113. For Fletcher, see DALE, 176-79.
Canada's national psyche is ably discussed in Robert G. Moyles and Douglas
Owram, Imperial Dreams and Colonial Realities; British Views of Canada, 1880
1914 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1988); and Carl Berger, The Sense of
Power; Studies in the Ideas of Canadian Imperialism 186719l4(Tototito: Univ. of
Toronto Press, 1970).
Notes to pages 111 to 118
71
72
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74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
301
John Macfarlane, Library Administration (London: George Allen, 1898),
177-79 and 210-12.
Greenwood, Public Libraries, 22-23.
See Jon C. Teaford, The Unheralded Triumph: City Government in America, 1870
1900 (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Univ. Press, 1984), 258-62.
RMEfor 1901, Part II, 197.
For the "new" education, see Neil Sutherland, Children in EnglishCanadian
Society: Framing the TwentiethCentury Consensus (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto
Press, 1976), 202-24.
RMEfor 1900, xliii.
John Seath, "Manual Training and High School Courses of Study," in RMEfor
1900, 284.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 70, letter of F.W. Hodson to George Ross, 25 June
1897.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 60, John Millar to J.R. Cartwright, Deputy Attorney
General, 1 June 1900.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 69, Circular to Public Libraries dated 15 Nov. 1899.
James Bain, "Public Libraries in Canada," Proceedings of the Canadian Institute n.s.,
1 (1897-98): 99-100.
Bain, Proceedings n.s., 1 (1897-98): 100.
A Public Reference Library for the Province of Ontario, and Provincial Travelling
Libraries (Toronto: n.p., 21 Jan. 1899) [printed circular].
Lawrence J. Burpee, "Modern Public Libraries and Their Methods," Proceedings
and Transactions of the Royal Canadian Society, 2nd Series, 8 (1902): 43-47 [hereafter Burpee, "Modern Public Libraries," TRCS\. For Burpee, see Pelham Edgar,
"Lawrence J. Burpee (1873-1946)," TRCS, 3rd series, 51 (1947): 115-17.
Newspaper hansard, Toronto Globe, 19 March 1897.
Ontario. Education Dept., Circularfor Librarians on Classification of Books in
Public Libraries (Toronto: n.p., 1900), 1-4.
"William Edwards Dead," Toronto Globe, 2 May 1904.
Burpee, "Modern Public Libraries," TRCS: 43.
See Marjorie G. Cohen, Women's Work Markets, and Economic Development in
NineteenthCentury Ontario (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1988), 146-51.
Jean Thomson Scott, "The Conditions of Female Labour in Ontario," in William
J. Ashley, ed., Toronto University Studies in Political Science series I, 3 (1892): 22.
The lengthy TPL careers of Staton and some of her friends are recounted in
"Toronto Public Libraries Staff Association," Ontario Library Review 2% (1944): 5-6.
For the theme of feminization in American libraries, see Dee Garrison, Apostles of
Culture: the Public Librarian and American Society, 18761920 (New York: Free
Press, 1979), 173-241. Her work is essential, although she does not emphasize the
importance of societal structures which (in my view at least) effectively determined
the low status of librarianship as it emerged as a service profession.
Burpee, "Modern Public Libraries," TRCS: 42. Sanders helped pioneer open
access, children's services, and the idea of the library as a hospitable centre of culture: see Emily M. Danton, ed., Pioneering Leaders in Librarianship (Chicago:
American Library Association, 1953), 153-64.
See Graham S. Lowe, "Women, Work and the Office: the Feminization of Clerical
Occupations in Canada, 1901-1931," Canadian Journal of Sociology 5(1980):36181.
302
95
Notes to pages 119 to 128
See the weekly edition of the Sarnia Observer between 24 Nov. 1899 and 12 Jan.
1900.
Chapter 6: The Ontario Library Association
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
Hardy's contributions are summarized in John A. Wiseman, "'Champion HasBeen': Edwin Austin Hardy and the Ontario Library Movement," in Readings in
Canadian Library History, ed. Peter McNally (Ottawa: Canadian Library
Association, 1986), 231-43.
The minutes of OLA meetings from 1900 to 1925 are conveniently reprinted in
Ontario Library Association, The Ontario Library Association; An Historical Sketch
19001925 (Toronto: University of Toronto, 1926), 117-89.
Hardy's program for the OLA is reprinted in The Ontario Library Association, 2633.
For Robertson's outstanding contributions, see David Williams, "The
Collingwood Public Library," Ontario Library Review 28 (1944): 69-71.
Constitution of the Ontario Library Association as adopted 1901, The Ontario
Library Association, 25.
Editorial section, Library Journal 25 (1900): 271.
A.A.C., "Public Libraries," Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and
Literature 17 (1901): 286.
A Librarian in Canada, "A Word About Modern Methods," Public Libraries 9
(1904): 222.
E.A. Hardy, "The Training of Librarians in the Province of Ontario," Public
Libraries \\ (1906): 144.
See Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library 18891963, 31-34.
AO, RG 2, D-7, box 18, Bill 150, An Act to Amend the Public Libraries Act.
For Fitzpatrick, see Morgan, CAfWr(1912), 400. For Brown, see Morgan, CMW
(1912), 157-58.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 64, letter of G.C. Creelman, Superintendent of
Farmers' Institutes, to Harcourt, 5 March 1900.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 11, Brown to Harcourt, 25 Jan. 1900.
AO, RG 2, P-2, V, no. 57, Brown to Harcourt, 31 Jan. 1900.
AO, RG 2, P-2, V, no. 66, Brown to Harcourt, 25 March 1900 and John Millar
to Brown, 13 July 1900.
Walter Brown, "Travelling Library System of Ontario," O.A.C. Review 15 (1903):
10-11.
AO, RG 2, P-2, V, no. 62, Fitzpartrick to May, 7 Aug. 1900.
Alfred Fitzpatrick, Library Extension in Ontario; Travelling Libraries and Reading
Camps (n.p.: n.p., c.1901), 2-3; and NAC, MG 28,1 24, Frontier College Papers,
vol. 132, file 1900-1, circular on travelling libraries, 11 Sept. 1900. The pamphlet
on library extension summarizes Fitzpatrick's work in 1900 and includes most of
his correspondence.
Fitzpatrick, Library Extension, 36.
AO, RG 2, Series D-7, box 18, Harcourt to Melvil Dewey, 24 Jan. 1901. For
Dewey's contribution to travelling libraries and extension work, see Michael M.
Lee, "Melvil Dewey (1851-1931): His Educational Contributions and Reforms,"
(Ph.D. diss., Loyola Univ. of Chicago, 1979), 148-64; and Joanne E. Passet,
"Reaching the Rural Reader: Travelling Libraries in America, 1892-1920,"
Libraries & Culture 26 (1991): 100-18.
Notes to pages 128 to 133
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
303
AO, RG 2, Series D-7, box 18, Bain to Harcourt, 24 April 1901.
#ME/&r 75W, xvii-xx.
Richard Harcourt, Speech of Hon. R. Harcourt at the Opening Meeting of the
Ontario Teachers'Association, Normal School Building, April 1st, 1902 (Toronto:
n.p., c.1902), 10.
Eastman later authored The Library Building (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1912).
The Ontario Library Association, 124.
AO, RG 2, Series D-7, box 7, Harcourt to H. Langton, 19 Dec. 1902.
AO, OLA, MU 2239, Langton to Hardy, 1 Nov. 1902.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 57, memorandum for the Minister's Consideration,
2 Feb. 1900.
RMEfor 1900, xix.
RMEfor 1902, xvi-xx; AO, RG 49, Series 1-7-B-2, 1903, Regulations pertaining
to School Libraries, sessional paper no. 63 [adopted 16 July 1902]. Ontario.
Education Dept., Catalogue of Books Recommended for Public School Libraries by the
Education Department of Ontario (Toronto: King's printer, 1902).
AO, RG 2, D-7, box 18, Deseronto library board to Samuel Russell, M.P.P. for
Hastings East, 1 Oct. 1901.
AO, RG 2, D-7, box 18, memorandum of May to Harcourt, 4 April 1900.
AO, RG 2, D-7, box 18, memorandum of May to Harcourt, 12 March 1902.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, V, no. 20, memorandum on legislative grants by Dr. May,
15 May 1903.
Newspaper hansard, Toronto Globe, 1 May 1902.
"A Farmers' Institute Library," Farmer's Advocate and Home Magazine (Eastern
Edition) 36, 536 (15 Oct. 1901): 674. The magazine supplied books to institutes
and offered discounts based on subscriptions. See Farmer's Advocate 36, 530 (15
July 1901): 480.
John Seath, "Some Needed Educational Reforms," in Ontario Educational
Association, Proceedings of the Annual Convention for 1903 (Toronto: William
Briggs, 1903), 70.
AO, RG 2, D-7, box 18, Harcourt to Seath, 16 March 1903.
"Dr. Bain Replies to Dr. Seath," Toronto Daily News 17 April 1903.
Hugh Langton, A Provincial Library Commission (Toronto?: n.p, 1903), 1-2. For
Langton, see William S. Wallace, "Hugh Hornby Langton," Canadian Historical
Review 34 (1953): 388.
RMEfor 1903, xxiv-xxvi.
RMEfor 1903, 153-54, 156.
He died in 1957: Toronto Globe, 25 Oct. 1957. Albert Leake wrote two books:
Industrial Education; Its Problems, Methods and Dangers (New York: Houghton
Mifflin, 1913); and The Vocational Education of Girls and Women (New York:
Macmillan, 1918).
RMEfor 1904, 245.
Newspaper hansard, Toronto Globe, 25 March 1904.
AO, OLA, MU 2239, Norman Gurd to E.A. Hardy, 16 Feb. 1904 includes
Gurd's objections to WJ. Hanna. For Gurd, see Morgan, CMW(1912), 483.
E.A. Hardy, "The Ontario Library Field," Public Libraries 9 (1904): 201.
"Libraries and Librarians," Toronto Globe, 5 April 1904. For Macallum, see
Morgan, 0^1^(1912), 673.
For Gould, see DALE, 208-10. Gould was active in the ALA and instrumental in
304
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55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
Notes to pages 134 to 140
bringing it to Montreal in 1900. For Bain's interest in the global scientific catalogue, see James Bain, Jr., "President's Address," Proceedings of the Canadian
Institute, n.s., 2 (1899-1904): 98-101.
WJ. Robertson, "Should the Education Department Issue a Librarian's
Certificate?" Public Libraries*) (1904): 209-12. See Morgan, CMW(\9U), 95455; and Andrew Fraser, A History of Ontario; Its Resources and Development
(Toronto: Canada History Co., 1907), vol. 2, 897-900.
The Ontario Library Association, 131.
For Tytler, see Rose, Cyclopaedia, 363-64.
Hodgins remained until his death. See "Famous Educator Dies at Age of 92,"
Toronto Globe, 23 Dec. 1912.
"Men of the Books Confer," Toronto Globe, 25 April 1905.
See M. Lee, "Melvil Dewey," 164-74.
Journals of the Legislative Assembly of the Province of Ontario (Toronto: L.K.
Cameron, 1904), vol. 38, 170 [15 March 1904].
AO, Sir James P. Whitney Papers, MU 3315, T.H.W. Leavitt to J.P. Whitney, 19
Feb. 1905.
AO, Whitney Papers, MU 3116, Pyne to Whitney, 21 March 1905. For Leavitt's
Conservative ties see Charles W. Humphries, 'Honest Enough to Be Bold': The Life
and Times of James Pliny Whitney (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1985), 67-71.
"Dr. May Will Retire," Toronto Globe, 3 Nov. 1905.
Henry J. Cody, "Dr. A.H.U. Colquhoun — An Appreciation," Ontario Library
Review 20 (1936): 62-63.
Arthur H.U. Colquhoun, "Canadian Celebrities; No. XIII - Mr. James Bain, Jr.,"
Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature 15 (1900): 31-33.
"Larger Education Grants and More Normal Schools," Toronto Globe, 11 April
1906.
AO, OLA, MU 2240, Bain to Hardy, 4 Feb. 1907.
Norman Gurd, "How to Deepen Public Interest in the Library," Public Libraries 9
(1904): 222-24.
Ontario Library Association, Catalogue of Children *s Books Recommended for Public
Libraries, Alphabetically Arranged by Authors, Giving Title, Publisher and Price
(Toronto: Warwick Bro's. & Rutter, 1906), 3.
Proceedings of the Ontario Library Association (1907), 18 [hereafter Proc. of OLA].
Proc. ofOLA(l9Q7): 18.
An Act Authorizing Certain Payments under the Public Libraries Act, 6 Edw. VII,
c.38.
"Carnegie Plan," Toronto Globe, 17 April 1906.
AO, OLA, MU 2240, Leavitt to Hardy, 14 Dec. 1906.
Walter R. Nursey, The Story of Isaac Brock, Hero, Defender and Saviour of Upper
Canada, 1812 (Toronto: William Briggs, 1908). For his extraordinary career, see
Morgan, CMW(19U), 858.
Regulations published in RMEfor 1906, 181-82.
T.W.H. Leavitt, "Travelling Libraries in Ontario," Library Journal'33 (1908): 231.
AO, OLA, MU 2240, Hardy to WJ. Robertson, 31 Jan. 1907.
Proc. of OLA (1907): 40-42.
Reprinted in RMEfor 1907, 198.
Newspaper hansard in Toronto Daily Star, 7 March 1907.
T.W.H. Leavitt, "Some Library Problems," Proc. of OLA (1908): 55.
Notes to pages 141 to 150
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
305
Patricia Spereman, "Library Work for Children," Proc. of OLA (1908): 36-40.
Angus Mowat, "Patricia Spereman," Ontario Library Review 30 (1946): 348-49.
AO, OLA, MU 2240, Gurd to Hardy, 12 April 1907; and "Not for Small
Children Are Public Libraries," Toronto Evening Telegram, 3 April 1907.
"Plea for Open Library," Toronto Evening Telegram, 9 April 1907.
Carnegie Library Correspondence, Toronto, reel no. 32, letter of James Bertram to
Bain, 8 May 1908.
For example, Thomas E. Champion, "A Great Librarian; the Late James Bain,
D.C.L.," Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature 31 (1908): 22326.
For the progressive elements of Conservative reform after 1905, see Charles
Humphries, 'Honest Enough to Be Bold\ 123-79.
Proc. of OLA (1909): 22.
T.W.H. Leavitt, "Technical Work in Public Libraries," Proc. of OLA (1909): 3646. Due to illness, this paper was read by Walter Nursey.
"Encouragement of Technical Instruction in Ontario Through the Medium of
Public Libraries," Labour Gazette*) (1908/09): 973-74.
George Locke, "The Public Library as an Educational Institution," in Addresses
Delivered Before the Canadian Club of Toronto 190809 (Toronto: Warwick Bros,
and Rutter, 1909), 142. For Locke, see DALE, 317-19.
See "T.W.H. Leavitt Passes Away," Toronto Mailand Empire'22 June 1909; and a
notice in RMEfor 1909, 331.
Alexander D. Hardy, "[Presidential Address]," Proc. of OLA (1910): 33.
See Ryan Taylor, "Mabel Dunham's Centenary," Annual Report of the Waterloo
Historical Society 69 (1981): 13-25; Lillian Snider, "Miss Mabel Dunham,"
Ontario Library Review 38 (1954): 221-24; and Constance Banting, "Mabel
Dunham," Ontario Library Review 12 (1927/28): 66-67.
Mabel Dunham, "Methods of Reaching the People," in Proc. of OLA (1910): 70.
Ontario Library Association, Report of Special Committee on Technical Education in
Public Libraries (Toronto: William Briggs, 1910), 6.
Ontario. Dept. of Education, Education for Industrial Purposes; a Report by John
Seath (Toronto: L.K. Cameron, 1911), 308-12.
Canada. Royal Commission on Industrial Training and Technical Education,
Report of the Commissioners, part IV (Ottawa: C.H. Parmelee, 1913), 2177.
AO, RG 2, Series P-2, no. 42, Charles Gould to A.H.U. Colquhoun, 26 Nov.
1908.
"In the Library," Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature 34
(1909): 78.
Lewis. E. Hornung and Lawrence J. Burpee, A Bibliography of Canadian Fiction
(English) (Toronto: William Briggs, 1904).
E.A. Hardy, "Training of Librarians," Public Libraries 11 (1906): 143-45.
William O. Carson, "The Status and Training of the Librarian," Proc. of OLA
(1912): 111.
Mary T. Butters, "[Ontario Summer Library School]," in RMEfor 1911, 556.
Mabel Dunham, "The Ontario Library Summer School 1911," Proc. of OLA
(1912): 66.
For Henwood's death notice see Ontario Library Review 8 (1923/24): 74.
"Library Meeting Is Held," Brantford Daily Expositor, 12 July 1907.
Edwin D. Henwood, Notes on Binding (Toronto: Education Department, 1908).
306
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
Notes to pages 150 to 160
Walter R. Nursey, "The Story of the Library Institutes of Ontario," RMEfor 1913,
733-37.
"Visitors Well Entertained," St. Catharines Daily Standard, 6 Nov. 1908.
George B. Snyder, "How We Started Our Library on 'Modern Lines/" RMEfor
1910,51516.
George B. Snyder, A Study of the Conditions of the Libraries of the Niagara District
(Port Colborne?: n.p., c.1911), 14-15.
AO, OLA, MU 2242, Mabel Dunham to E.A. Hardy, 12 Feb. 1913.
Otto Klotz, "The Trustee's Duty to the Library," Proc. of OLA (1910): 78-81.
Robert McAdams, "How Trustees May Help the Library," RMEfor 1911, 569.
Andrew Denholm, "Problems of the Small Libraries," Proc. of OLA (1910): 42.
Nursey's report is contained in RMEfor 1912, 660-81.
Lawrence Burpee, "Library Cooperation in Ontario," Library Journal37 (1912):
85.
Walter R. Nursey, "Some Library Possibilities," Proc. of OLA (1911): 57.
William H. Arisen, "Library Extension on County Lines," RMEfor 1912, 687.
Arison continued with the board in different capacities until 1938. See Niagara
Falls Public Library, "History of the Niagara Falls Public Library" (Niagara Falls,
n.p., n.d.), unpaged [typescript]; and his obituary in Ontario Library Review 22
(1938): 97.
A.W. Cameron, "A Provincial Library System," Proc. of OLA (1911): 48.
AO, OLA, MU 2241, Lawrence Burpee to E.A. Hardy, 16 Feb. 1911.
Lawrence J. Burpee, "A Plea for a National Library," University Magazine 10
(1911): 152-63.
See Saturday Nigkt24 (March 25 1911), 2.
NAC, MG 30, D-39, Lawrence Burpee papers, file 1-14, letter of LJ. Burpee to
Edmund Walker, 24 Jan. 1918. His disappointing personal crusade is outlined in
Francis D. Donnelly, The National Library of Canada (Ottawa: Canadian Library
Association, 1973), 31-33.
Lutie Stearns, "The Library Militant," Proc. of OLA (1912): 88-94; and "Library
Extension,"/3™*:, of OLA (1912): 114-21. For Stearns, see DALE, 504-5.
The legal committee's report appears in Proc. of OLA (1914): 49.
E.A. Hardy, "The Library Situation in Ontario: What May Be Done in Organized
Effort," Proc. of OLA (1914): 121.
Andrew Denholm, "Rural and Village Libraries," Proc. of OLA (1915): 82.
Norman Gurd, "The Public Library in Every Municipality," RMEfor 1914, 732.
AO, RG 49, Series I-7-H, Bill no. 127 - 1906, An Act to Amend the Act
Respecting Public Free Libraries.
AO, OLA, MU 2241, Nursey to Hardy, 17 June 1910.
AO, OLA, MU 2241, letter of Burpee to Hardy, 20 June 1910.
AO, OLA, MU 2242, notice to boards dated 20 Jan. 1912.
AO, OLA, MU 2242, Adeline Kopp to Hardy, 21 May 1912; Hardy to H.B.
Coleman, 28 May 1912; and Hardy to Kopp, 31 May 1912.
AO, OLA, MU 2242, Nursey to Hardy, 4 June 1912.
Ontario. Dept. of Education, American Library Association, Ottawa, Canada, June
26th to July 2nd, 1912; Advance List of Librarians and Other Representatives in
Attendance from Ontario (Toronto: n.p., 1912).
For Ahern, see DALE, 5-7. Mary Ahern, "A Day in Toronto," Papers and
Proceedings of the American Library Association 1912, (Chicago: American Library
Association, 1912), 208-9.
Notes to pages 160 to 168
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
307
ALA Papers and Proceedings 1912, 66.
Ibid., 160.
Ibid., 302-7.
For example, "Library Convention Sessions Open With Interesting Talks," Ottawa
Evening Citizen 27 June 1912. The editor could not resist the subhead "Many
Ladies Here."
William F. Moore, "The Library Situation in Ontario: In Organized Effort What
Has Been Done?" Proc. of OLA (1914): 59.
Moore, "Library Situation," 60.
AO, OLA, MU 2242, Hardy to Gibbard, 20 Aug. 1914. See J.S. Wood, "The
Saskatchewan Library Association: A Brief History," Saskatchewan Library
Association Bulletin 8, 2 (1955): 2-13.
See Nursey's address, "Library Progress in Ontario," RMEfor 1912, 651-58; and
AO, OLA, MU 2242, Hardy to Annie A. Pollard, President of Michigan Library
Association, 20 Sept. 1913.
Matthew Dudgeon, "The Universality of Library Service," Proc. of OLA (1914):
94. For Dudgeon, see DALE, 145-46.
William H. Keller, "The Character of Books for a Small Library," Public Libraries
6 (1901): 347.
For this period, see Evelyn Geller, Forbidden Books in American Public Libraries,
18761939; A Study in Cultural Change (Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press,
1984), 79-97.
William J. Sykes, "Book Selection," Proc. of OLA (1914): 102-6.
William J. Sykes, Selected List of Fiction in English; Prepared for Canadian Public
Libraries (Ottawa: James Hope & Sons, 1914); and Geller, Forbidden Books in
American Libraries, 93-97.
E. A. Hardy, "How Ontario Administers Her Libraries," Library Journal^.
(1916): 732.
RMEfor 1914,755.
Chapter 7: Carnegie Philanthropy
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
Robert Nixon, Liberal member for Brant, speaking on 15 Nov. 1984. See Hansard
Official Report of Debates; Legislative Assembly of Ontario (Toronto: Legislative
Assembly of Ontario, 1984), fourth session, 32nd parliament.
Andrew Carnegie, The Gospel of Wealth and Other Timely Essays, ed. by Edward C.
Kirkland, (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard Univ. Press, 1962), 39.
Andrew Carnegie, Triumphant Democracy: or Fifty Years'March of the Republic
(New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, c.1886), 363.
"Carnegie Library Formally Opened," Ottawa Evening Journal, 30 April 1906.
"Mr. Andrew Carnegie's Message to the Association," Proc. of OLA (1915): 43.
The fundamental study of the Carnegie era in Ontario is Margaret Beckman, John
Black, and Stephen Langmead, The Best Gift; A Record of the Carnegie Libraries in
Ontario (Toronto: Dundurn Press, 1984). See also, George S. Bobinski, Carnegie
Libraries; Their History and Impact on American Public Library Development
(Chicago: American Library Association, 1969).
"Carnegie Library Formally Opened," Ottawa Evening Journal, 30 April 1906.
Carnegie Library Correspondence, Tavistock, reel no. 31, letter of J.G. Fields,
municipal clerk, to James Bertram, 2 June 1915 [hereafter CLC].
For American opponents, see Bobinski, Carnegie Libraries, 87-106.
308
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
Notes to pages 168 to 173
See Susan H. Swetnam, "Pro-Carnegie Library Arguments and Contemporary
Concerns in the Intermountain West," Journal of the West3Q (July 1991): 63-68.
Wilfred Campbell, "The Man and His Scottish Home," Ottawa Evening Journal,
28 April 1906.
Carnegie's thoughts on a global order can be found in Joseph F. Wall, Andrew
Carnegie (New York: Oxford University Press, 1970), 674-80.
Andrew Carnegie, Triumphant Democracy, 111.
Christopher Howard, Splendid Isolation (London: Macmillan, 1967), 14-20.
A good review of the furor about Carnegie's 1903 statements regarding Canadian
sovereignty appears in J. Castell Hopkins, ed., The Canadian Annual Review of
Public Affairs 1903 (Toronto: Annual Review Publishing, 1904), 391-93.
Responses appear in "Money from Carnegie to Build Four Libraries," Toronto
World, 2S Jan. 1903.
"Opposes the Grant from Andrew Carnegie," Stratford Evening Herald, 6 Jan.
1902.
"Rev. A.H. Goring Replies," Stratford Evening Herald, 4 Feb. 1902.
James Anderson, Sue Bonsteel, and Tom Dolan, Stratford Library Services Since
1846, 2d ed. (Stratford: Stratford Public Library, 1975), 12-14.
A.A.C., "Public Libraries," Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and
Literature 17 (1901): 286.
Margaret Cohoe, "Kingston Mechanics' Institute to Free Public Library," Historic
Kingston 33 (1985): 50. The opening ceremonies attended by Inspector Nursey are
covered in "At the Library," Kingston Daily British Whig, 16 March 1911.
See Abigail A. Van Slyck, "Free to All: Carnegie Libraries and the Transformation
of American Culture, 1886-1917," (Ph.D. diss., University of California, 1989),
321-33.
"A New Library Building Needed," Saturday Night 15(13 Sept. 1902): 7.
"Carnegie's Offer to Toronto," Toronto Globe, 28 Jan. 1903.
"Mr. Carnegie's Offer," Toronto Globe, 28 Jan. 1903.
For this period of race-thinking see Stuart Anderson, Race and Rapprochement;
AngloSaxonism and AngloAmerican Relations, 18951904 (East Brunswick, New
Jersey: Fairleigh Dickinson Univ. Press, 1981), 17-61.
Elisabeth Wallace, "Goldwin Smith on England and America," American Historical
Review 59 (1954): 884-94.
"Carnegie and Canada," Toronto World, 28 April 1906. Carnegie's speech is
reported at length in the same issue.
Israel T. Naamani, "The 'Anglo-Saxon' Idea and British Public Opinion,"
Canadian Historical Review 32 (1951): 43-60.
"Orangemen Say Accept It," Toronto World, 11 Feb. 1903.
The bilingual school issue is studied by Franklin A. Walker, Catholic Education
and Politics in Ontario; A Documentary History (Toronto: Thomas Nelson, 195586), vol. 2, 228-96.
Editorial in Saturday Night, 16 (Sept. 1911): 2.
For the intellectual interchange, see James T. Kloppenberg, Uncertain Victory;
Social Democracy and Progressivism in European and American Thought (New York:
Oxford Univ. Press, 1986); for national political-business parallels, see Kenneth O.
Morgan, "The Future at Work: Anglo-American Progressivism 1890-1917," in
Contrast and Connection: Bicentennial Essays in AngloAmerican History, ed. H.C.
Allen and Roger Thompson (London: G. Bell & Sons, 1976), 245-71.
Notes to pages 173 to 178
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
309
Lawrence Burpee, "Canadian Libraries and Mr. Carnegie," Public Libraries 10
(1905): 87.
CLC, St. Catharines, reel no. 27, letter of James Bertram to Mayor Marquis, 12
Dec. 1904.
"The City Hall That May Be Built," Sault Star, 14 Aug. 1902.
"Money from Mr. Carnegie," Sault Star, 19 Dec. 1901.
CLC, Sault Ste. Marie, reel no. 28; and Beckman, Best Gift, 35-36.
CLC, Toronto, reel no. 32, letters of G. Smith to A. Carnegie, 28 Nov. 1901 and
14 Feb. 1903.
Letter of Goldwin Smith to Lord Mount Stephen, 4 March, 1902, in A Selection
from Goldwin Smith's Correspondence, ed. Arnold Haul tain (Toronto: McClelland
&Goodchild, 1910), 381.
Melvil Dewey, "The Future of the Library Movement in the United States in the
Light of Andrew Carnegie's Recent Gift," Journal of'Social Science 39 (Nov. 1901):
139-47.
Lee, "Melvil Dewey (1851-1931): His Educational Contributions and Reforms,"
89-107.
"Reception of Library King," Ottawa Evening Journal, 30 April 1906.
For Carnegie's role, see C. Roland Marchand, The American Peace Movement and
Social Reform, 18901918 (Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press, 1972), 114-43.
See Thomas P. Socknat, Witness against War; Pacifism in Canada, 19001945
(Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1987), 23-42.
Consult Leon Wolfe, Lockout: The Story of the Homestead Strike of 1892; A Study of
Violence, Unionism, and the Carnegie Steel Empire (London: Longmans, 1965).
For unionization between 1867 and 1941, see Ian M. Drummond, et.al., Progress
without Planning; The Economic History of Ontario from Confederation to the Second
World War (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1987), 237-44.
"Reject Carnegie Offer," Toronto Globe, 12 Feb. 1903.
"Labor's View of Carnegie's Offer," Ottawa Evening Journal, 16 March 1901.
"Town Should Not Be Stained by Carnegie Blood Money," and "Went by
Default," Welland Tribune2l May 1914.
"What Should be Done with Mr. Carnegie's Offer," Ottawa Evening Journal, 20
March 1901.
"Worked for Carnegie," Guelph Daily Mercury, 23 Nov. 1901.
"Millionaires' Gifts," Canadian Magazine of Politics, Science, Art and Literature 25
(1905): 178.
"The Carnegie Offer," Guelph Daily Mercury, 31 Oct. 1901.
Beckman, The Best Gift, 46.
CLC, Thorold, reel no. 34, letter of A.M. McCulloch, library board chairman, to
James Bertram, 16 March 1915. Bertram refused McCulloch's request for a supplementary $10,000 to build an extension when the insured building was reconstructed.
Barbara Forsyth and Barbara Myrvold, The Most Attractive Resort in Town: Public
Library Service in West Toronto Junction, 18881989 (Toronto: Toronto Public
Library, 1989), 10-14.
"Teeswater," Wingham Advance, 16 Jan. 1908.
CLC, Teeswater, reel no. 31, letter of Dr. George S. Fowler to Robert A. Franks,
Carnegie financial agent, 21 March 1913.
"Mr. Carnegie's Offer," Owen Sound Times, 24 June 1904; "Favor Carnegie
310
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
Notes to pages 178 to 188
Offer," 18 Nov. 1904; "Town Council," 10 Feb. 1905.
"Labor and the Library," Lindsay Weekly Post, 20 Feb. 1903; and "The Public
Library Bill is Approved," Lindsay Weekly Post, 20 March 1903.
G.Y. Donaldson, "Palmerston, Ontario, and It's Public Library," Ontario Library
Review 27 (1943): 243.
Editorial in Orillia Packet, 20 May 1909.
"The Carnegie Library," Orillia Times, 3 June 1909.
"A Free Library," Orillia Packet, 4 March 1909.
This also was evident in the United States: see Alvin S. Johnson, A Report to
Carnegie Corporation of New York on the Policy of Donations to Free Public Libraries
(New York: Carnegie Corp., 1919), 37.
"The Free Library," Lindsay Weekly Post, 27 Feb. 1903.
"Men Elected for 1896," St. Mary's Journal, 9 Jan. 1896.
"Long Petition," St. Mary's Journal, 14 April 1904.
CLC, St. Mary's, reel no. 27, letter of Maybee and Makins to James Bertram, 30
July 1904.
See Goderich Signal, 3 April 1902; and the Goderich Star, 28 March, 4 April, and
11 April 1902.
Robena Kirton, "Gravenhurst Public Library" (Gravenhurst: n.p., 1985), 1-4
[typescript].
Beckman, The Best Gift, ^'%.
CLC, Otterville, reel no. 23, includes Bill 89 (the 1916 legislation for township
free libraries) and Otterville correspondence between Bertram and H.C. Downing
or M. Durkee between 1915 and 1923.
CLC, Port Arthur, reel no. 68, outlines Port Arthur's problems.
CLC, Trenton, reel no. 68, letter of Bertram to Lieutenant Colonel A.E. Bywater,
26 Feb. 1919.
For the pre-war era, see Drummond, et. al., Progress without Planning (Toronto:
Univ. of Toronto Press, 1987), 103-33.
CLC, Oshawa, reel no. 23, letter of Frederick Fowke to J. Bertram, 3 July 1906,
12 July 1906, etc.
For this transformation, see Jacob Spelt, The Urban Development in SouthCentral
Ontario, 2nd ed. (Ottawa: Carleton Univ. Press, 1983), 176-86.
H.G. Wells, Social Forces in England and America (New York: Harper & Brothers,
1914), 203.
Charles C. Soule, Library Rooms and Buildings (Boston: American Library
Association, 1902), 14.
Frank Burgoyne, Library Construction; Architecture, Fittings, and Furniture
(London: George Allen, 1897), 8-9.
Burgoyne, Library Construction, 14.
James D. Brown, Manual of Library Economy (London: Scott, Greenwood & Co.,
1903), 99.
Brown, Manual of Library Economy, 93.
Soule, Library Rooms and Buildings, 22.
For design, see Abigail Van Slyck, "Free to All," 279-320.
Design is discussed in Beckman, The Best Gift, 117-40.
William A. Langton, "Library Design," Canadian Architect and Builder \5 (1902):
47.
Langton, "Library Design," 48.
Notes to pages 189 to 195
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
311
"Would Accept Carnegie Gifts," Toronto News, 14 April 1903. See also, Paul G.
Boultbee, "The Story of a Small Town Library: Paris Public Library — the Early
Years," Library History Review 2 (Sept. 1975): 53-56.
"Men of the Books Confer," Toronto Globe, 25 March 1905.
"Carnegie Plan Confer on Books," Toronto Globe, 17 April 1906.
Editorial in Sault Star, 19 June 1902. Halton's initial approach to Bertram began
on 9 Sept. 1901 and a promise was awarded on 14 Dec. See CLC, Sault Ste.
Marie, reel no. 28.
"The City Hall That May Be Built," Sault Star, 14 Aug. 1902.
For Goderich, see RMEfor 1906, 226-29. For Bertram's frequent criticism of
Guelph, consult the CLC, Guelph, reel no. 13. Later he relented and promised
$8,000 for an extension in 1914, but the project never materialized.
See Barbara Keogh, "Burlington Public Library, 1872-1952: School House to Big
White House on Elizabeth Street," Ontario Library Review 37 (1953): 75-77. A
formula for size based on population, volumes, seats, and circulation first appears
in Joseph L. Wheeler and Alfred M. Githens, The American Public Library
Building: Its Planning and Design with Special Reference to Its Administration and
Service (Chicago: American Library Association, 1941),
38-44.
For Horwood, see Who's Who in Canada 1928/29 (Toronto: International Press,
1929), 1390.
RMEfor 1906, 284-88.
The planning for the Ottawa library is documented by Otto Klotz in Appendix A
of the Ottawa Public Library, First Preliminary Report of the Carnegie Library
(Ottawa: Ottawa Printing Ltd., 1906), 30-33.
Lawrence J. Burpee, "Modern Methods in Small Libraries," Public Libraries 9
(1904): 218.
RMEfor 1909, 416-17.
CLC, Ottawa, reel no. 23, letter of WJ. Sykes to A. Carnegie, 10 May 1913; and
J. Bertram to WJ. Sykes, 12 May 1913.
CLC, Ottawa, reel no. 23, letter of Harold Fisher, Mayor, to J. Bertram, 8 May
1917.
"Lots of Branch Libraries Plan Mr. Carnegie Favors," Toronto World, 25 April
1906.
Toronto Public Library, Programme of a Competition for the Selection of an Architect
for the Public Reference Library Building in the City of Toronto 1905 (Toronto: n.p.,
1905).
For descriptions, see "Public Reference Library for Toronto," Canadian Architect
and Builder 19 (1906): 85-86, and RMEfor 1906, 233-42.
For Chapman's career, see Howard D. Chapman, Alfred Chapman: The Man and
His Work (Toronto: Architectural Conservancy of Ontario, 1978). Chapman also
designed Carnegie libraries in Dundas and Barrie, and the Dovercourt branch in
Toronto.
For these forerunners, see Burgoyne, Library Construction, 158-62, 144-45, and
177-80.
"The New Library Open at Nights," Toronto Star, 30 Oct. 1909.
Amian L. Champneys, Public Libraries; A Treatise on Their Design, Construction,
and Fittings (London: B.T. Batsford, 1907), 123-24.
Hamilton Public Library Archives, Series I-F-4b-2, "Instructions to Architects for
312
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
127
128
129
130
131
132
Notes to pages 196 to 205
the Public Library Building to be Erected at Hamilton, Ontario, 1910."
Hamilton Public Library Archives, Series I-F-4b-6, "Agreement Between
Hamilton Public Library and E.L. Tilton Architect," 24 April 1911. Tilton was
contracted "to make sketches that meet the approval of James Bertram" and "to
assist in a professional way."
Edward L. Tilton, "Scientific Library Planning," Library Journal37 (Sept. 1912):
497-501. For Tilton's influence see Donald Oehlerts, "The Development of
American Public Library Architecture," 117-21, 165-68.
See Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library 18891963, 37-42.
"Will Trust Them," Hamilton Times, 23 May 1913.
For a discussion, see Wheeler and Githens, The American Public Library Building,
215-22. Bertram's leaflet underwent several revisions.
For these branches, see "Toronto Branch Library," Construction 1,0 (1917): 39091; and Alfred V. Hall, "Toronto Branch Libraries Ground Treatment,"
Construction 10 (1917): 392-94. For Eden Smith, see Who's Who in Canada
1928/29,549.
Hester Young, "The Dewey Decimal Classification," Proc. of OLA (1908): 24.
Amian L. Champneys, Public Libraries, 88. For another negative British view, see
William Willcock, "Ladies' Reading Rooms," Library Association Record \5 (1913):
80-84.
Norman Gurd, "Free Access in an Ontario Library," Public Libraries 9 (1904):
229-30.
RMEfor 1910, 523.
CLC, Windsor, reel no. 34, letter of Andrew Braid to James Bertram, 5 March
1910.
RMEfor 1912, 622.
RMEfor 1913, 740.
RMEfor 1916, 108.
See Abigail A. Van Slyck, "The Utmost Amount of Effectiv [sic]
Accommodation": Andrew Carnegie and the Reform of the American Library,"
Journal of the Society of Architectural Historians 50 (1991): 359-83.
For the positive influence of Carnegie, see Bobinski, Carnegie Libraries, 183-202;
and Beckman, The Best Gift, 171-77.
Hardy, The Public Library, 108.
Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library 18891963, 14-15.
"Opening of the New Public Library Building at Renfrew," Ontario Library Review
6 (1921/22): 18.
Bill Hillier and Julienne Hanson, The Social Logic of Space (London: Cambridge
Univ. Press, 1984), 143-97. They discuss how various building interiors function
in terms of social relations.
Chapter 8: A Province to Be Served
1
2
3
For a contemporary record of Ontario's war achievements, see J. Castell Hopkins,
The Province of Ontario in the War; A Record of Government and People (Toronto:
Warwick Bros. & Rutter, 1919).
See Gerald A. Hallowell, Prohibition in Ontario, 19191923 (Ottawa: Love
Printing, 1972).
See Christopher Armstrong, The Politics of Federalism: Ontario s Relations with the
Notes to pages 205 to 209
4
5
6
1
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
313
Federal Government, 18671942 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1981), 114-59.
For the development of broadcasting and radio audiences, see Mary Vipond,
Listening In; The First Decade of Canadian Broadcasting, 19221932 (Montreal:
McGill-Queen's Univ. Press, 1992).
For the Conservative collapse, see Peter Oliver, Public and Private Persons; The
Ontario Political Culture, 19141934 (Toronto: Clarke, Irwin & Co., 1975), 1643. For labour's problems, see James Naylor, The New Democracy; Challenging the
Social Order in Industrial Ontario, 19141925 (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press,
1991).
For Mary Black, see "The Librarian and Library of Fort William," Ontario Library
Review 1 (1916/17): 92-95 [hereafter Ont. Lib. Rev.].
General meeting discussion, Proc. of OLA (1917): 88.
For Great Britain, see W.C. Berwick Sayers, "The Immediate Programme of
Librarianship," Library Assistant 14 (1918): 229-37; for the United States, see
Charles C. Williamson, "The Need of a Plan for Library Development," Library
Journal^ (1918): 649-55.
Mary J.L. Black, "Concerning Some Popular Fallacies," Proc. of OLA (1918): 58.
The best study of northern libraries before 1920 is John A. Wiseman, "Temples of
Democracy," 77-122.
Nursey died in 1927: see "W.R. Nursey's Death Ends Stirring, Colorful Career,"
Toronto Star, 14 March 1927.
AO, OLA, MU 2245, 1916, E.A. Hardy to David Williams, OLA President, 8
April 1916.
For Carson, see A Standard Dictionary of Canadian Biography; The Canadian Who
Was Who, eds. Charles G.D. Roberts and Arthur L. Tunnell (Toronto: TransCanada Press, 1934), vol. 1, 101.
For education policies under the farmer government, see Charles M. Johnston,
EC Drury: Agrarian Idealist (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1986), 83-98.
William Carson, "The Canadian Public Library as a Social Force," Proc. of OLA
(1915): 37.
Wayne A. Wiegand, "British Propaganda in American Public Libraries, 1914\9\1? Journal of Library History 18 (1983): 237-54. He outlines Parker's clandestine work.
John A. Wiseman, "A Genteel Patriotism; Ontario's Public-Library Movement
and the First World War," in Readings in Canadian Library History', ed. Peter F.
McNally (Ottawa: Canadian Library Association, 1986), 181-90.
Toronto Public Library, Thirtyfifth Annual Report, 1918 (Toronto: Toronto
Public Library, 1919), 18-19.
William O. Carson, "Libraries in War-Time and Some Factors that Require
Consideration," Proc. of OLA (1917): 62.
Charles C. Williamson, Andrew Carnegie: His Contribution to the Public Library
Movement (Cleveland: n.p., 1920).
William G.S. Adams, A Report on Library Provision and Policy (Edinburgh: Neill &
Company, 1915).
Alvin S. Johnson, A Report to Carnegie Corporation of New York on the Policy of
Donations to Free Public Libraries (New York: n.p., 1919), 45-49.
A Selected List of Books Recommended by the Ontario Library Association. Title varies
between 1902-1916.
Edgar M. Zavitz, "From A Rural Library Trustee," Ont. Lib. Rev. 1 (1916/17): 6.
314
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
Notes to pages 209 to 215
Transmission of the disease by library books was a worrisome problem. See
Hibbert W. Hill, "Library Books Rarely, If Ever, Carry Disease," Ont. Lib. Rev. 3
(1918/19): 34.
RMEfor 1916, 113.
For Barnstead, see Freda F. Waldon, "W.G.B.: A Personal Reminiscence," Ont.
Lib. Rev. 35 (1951): 203-5.
Toronto Public Library, An Extension of the Dewey Decimal Classification Applied to
Canada (Toronto: n.p., 1912); and Winifred Barnstead, "Expansion of Dewey
Decimal System for Canada," in Proc. of OLA (1912): 76-79. Also, Winifred G.
Barnstead, Filing Rules for Dictionary Catalogues, Recommended by the Minister of
Education for Use in the Public Libraries of Ontario (Toronto: A.T. Wilgress, 1918).
RME for 1916,106.
"Statistics of City Libraries," Ont. Lib. Rev. 2 (1917/18): 111-14; and "Statistics
for 1917 - Free Public Libraries in Places of Less than 10,000," Ont. Lib. Rev. 3
(1918/19): 12-15.
Letter of W.O. Carson to W.A. Hutton, municipal clerk of Tilbury, 22 Feb. 1917,
CLC, reel no. 31. Tilbury was contemplating a commitment of $500 per annum.
RME'for 1917,99.
RME for 1919, 76.
Rev. Father J.T. Foley, "A Public Library Confers a Benefit on Its Whole
Community," Ont. Lib. Rev. 1 (1916/17): 12.
Ontario. Dept. of Education, Reference Work and Reference Works (Toronto: A.T.
Wilgress, 1920), 2.
"Loan System for Rural, Village and School Libraries," Ont. Lib. Rev. 4 (1919/20):
60-63.
Sir Robert Falconer, "What a Public Library Can Do for the Development of a
Community," Proc. of OLA (1918): 60-61 [also printed in Ont. Lib. Rev. 2
(1917/18): 105-6].
For the intellectual postwar milieu, see James G. Greenlee, Sir Robert Falconer; A
Biography (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1988), 242-73.
RME for 1919, 81.
See Charles Johnston, £CDrwry, 99-181.
Frederick F. Schindeler, Responsible Government in Ontario (Toronto: Univ. of
Toronto Press, 1969), 12-27.
George Locke, "Canadian Libraries and the War," Ont. Lib. Rev. 3 (1918/19): 5.
William J. Sykes, "Why Should a Community Support a Free Library?" Ont. Lib.
Rev. 1 (1916/17): 5.
W.G. Peacock, "The Educative Value of Fiction," Ont. Lib. Rev. 3 (1918/19): 6163.
"Librarians and Their Work," Toronto Mail and Empire, 23 April 1919.
For a synopsis, see "The Public Libraries Act of 1920," Ont. Lib. Rev. 5 (1920/21):
9-13.
Mary J. L. Black, "New Library Legislation in Ontario," Canadian Bookman n.s., 2
(Dec. 1920): 18.
William O. Carson, "The Ontario Public Library Rate," Bulletin of the American
Library Association 15 (July 1921): 126-28.
Samuel H. Ranke, "The Ontario Library Law and American Libraries," Bulletin of
the American Library Association 15 Quly 1921): 128-30; see also, "Standards for
Public Libraries," Bulletin 27 (Nov. 1933): 513-14.
Notes to pages 215 to 224 315
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
"Claimable Public Library Rates Compared/' Out. Lib. Rev. 5 (1920/21): 14-17.
"Regulations Governing Grants to Public Libraries, 1921-1922," Out. Lib. Rev. 5
(1920/21): 107-8.
For the Carnegie work, consult Carl M. White, A Historical Introduction to Library
Education: Problems and Progress to 1951 (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow Press,
1976), 157-87.
Ontario. Dept. of Education, Ontario Library School (Totonto: n.p., c. 1923-24),
1-19. This publication describes all the school's activities.
See Bertha Bassam, The Faculty of Library Science University of Toronto and its
Predecessors 19111972, 23-34.
RMEfor 1921, 74.
C.E. Freeman, "Travelling Libraries," (B.A. thesis, Ontario Agricultural College,
1925), 11.
For example, Ontario. Dept. of Agriculture, Report of the Women's Institutes of the
Province of Ontario 1920 and 1921 (Toronto: Clarkson W. James, 1922), 27-30.
See Report of the Women's Institutes 1923, 64-66 for early twenties undertakings.
RME for 1918, 138.
Mary J. L. Black, "Twentieth Century Librarianship, Canadian Bookman n.s., 1
(Jan. 1919): 58.
Mary S. Saxe, "The Library from the Inside, Out!" Canadian Bookman n.s., 2
(April 1920): 17.
Mary Kingley Ingraham, "Librarianship as a Profession," Canadian Bookman n.s.,
3 (June 1921): 39-40. For Canadian concerns on censorship, see Henry Alexander,
"Obscenity and The Law," Queen's Quarterly 60 (1953): 161-69.
Evelyn Geller, Forbidden Books in American Public Libraries, 18761939, 127-46.
AO, OLA, MU 2246, 1919, B. Mabel Dunham, "The Public Library of ToMorrow," unpaged typescript.
"Editorial Comment: Duties of All Trustees," Ont. Lib. Rev. 13 (1928/29): 130.
For Taylor's impact on American libraries during this period, see Marion Casey,
"Efficiency, Taylorism, and Libraries in Progressive America," Journal of Library
History 16 (1981): 265-79.
David Williams, "Publicity, a Factor in Library Work," Ont. Lib. Rev. 2
(1917/18): 83-84.
Talk given by B.W.N. Grigg, Waterloo Public Library, on the Kitchener radio station, 1922: see Ont. Lib. Rev. 1 (1922/23): 18.
[William O. Carson], "Adult Education and the Library," Ont. Lib. Rev. 10
(1925/26): 8.
American Library Association, Libraries and Adult Education (Chicago: American
Library Association, 1926), 97.
The role of the provincial library service branch is discussed by Stephen F.
Cummings, "Angus McGill Mowat and the Development of Ontario Public
Libraries, 1920-1960," (Ph.D. diss., University of Western Ontario, School of
Library and Information Science, 1986), 133-53.
W.A. Craick, "Little Sketches of Busy Men; V. - Dr. George H. Locke," Toronto
Globe, 12 April 1913.
George H. Locke, "Revery of a Bookish Librarian," Canadian Bookman n.s., 1
(Jan. 1919): 43.
George Locke, "The Library and Adult Education," Libraries 35 (1930): 433-37.
George Locke, "An Experiment Station in Education," The Nineteenth Century
316 Notes to pages 224 to 229
76
77
78
79
80
81
82
83
84
85
86
87
88
89
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
and After; A Monthly Review 97 (Aug. 1925): 199.
Margaret Penman, A Century of Service: Toronto Public Library 18831983
(Toronto: Toronto Public Library, 1984), 19-35. For architectural comments, see
George H. Locke, "The Toronto Public Libraries," Journal of the Royal
Architectural Institute of Canada 3 (May-June 1926): 87-103; and Charles R.
Sanderson, "Beauty with Utility," Construction 23 (1930): 282-88, 293-96.
Augustus Bridle, The Story of the Club (Toronto: Arts & Letters Club, 1945), 41.
Locke was the second president, 1909-10.
Charles R. Sanderson, "A Library in a Shopping Centre," Library Journal tt
(1930): 257-59.
Teresa O'Connor, "The Old Order Changeth," Ont. Lib. Rev. 12 (1927/28): 7273.
For example Septimus Pitt, Libraries of the United States and Canada: Report of
Visit by the City Librarian Glasgow; SeptemberOctober, 1926 (Glasgow: n.p., n.d.),
13-14 [typescript].
Frances Staton, "The Compilation of a Bibliography of the Rebellion of 1837-38,"
Canadian Historical Association Annual Report (1924): 66.
Lillian Smith, "The Children's Librarian," Acta Victoriana 42, 2 (1917): 65.
See Mary Vipond, "The Nationalist Network: English Canada's Intellectuals and
Artists in the 1920s," Canadian Review of Studies in Nationalism 5 (1980): 32-52.
William O. Carson, "Public Libraries of Ontario," Library Journal52 (1927): 451.
The Hamilton controversy (and its origin) is studied by Greenfield, Hamilton
Public Library 18891963, 46-54.
"Hamilton's Library," Hamilton Spectator, 22 Nov. 1920.
"Library Inquiry Has Been Refused," Hamilton Spectator, 18 Dec. 1920.
Hamilton Public Library Archives, Series I-A-3, Ontario. Dept. of Education,
Public Libraries Branch, "Report of Special Inspection of the Hamilton Public
Library," Dec. 1921 (?), 31 [typescript].
Carson also issued a supplementary report on the collection, Hamilton Public
Library Archives, Series I-A-3, "Notes on the Book Collections."
For Hunter's career, see Jesse E. Middleton and Fred Landon, The Province of
Ontario a History 16151927 (Toronto: Dominion Publishing, 1927), vol. 3,
198-99.
Carlton published a number of works, e.g., William Carlton, English Literature
(Chicago: American Library Association, 1925). For the American Library in Paris
and American influence in France, see Mary N. Maack, "Americans in France:
Cross-Cultural Exchange and the Diffusion of Innovations," Journal of Library
History 21 (1986): 315-33.
Hamilton Public Library Archives, Series I-A-3, William Carlton, "General
Outline of Library Administration," 1921 (?) [typescript].
See Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library, 55-64.
"Report of Special Investigation of the Hamilton Public Library," 27.
Hamilton Public Library Archives, Series I-A-3, letter of Winifred Barnstead to
Freda Walton, 16 Feb. 1963.
Lurene McDonald Lyle, "Reference Work in the Depression," Ont. Lib. Rev. 18
(1934): 59-61.
See Greenfield, Hamilton Public Library, 65-79.
William Sykes, "Adult Education in Ottawa," Ont. Lib. Rev. 9 (1924/25): 35-36.
Wilfred Campbell, The Poetical Works of Wilfred Campbell; Edited with a Memoir
by W.J. Sykes (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1923).
Notes to pages 229 to 233
100
101
102
103
104
105
106
107
108
109
110
111
112
113
114
115
116
117
118
119
120
121
122
123
124
125
126
317
Ottawa Carnegie Library, The Ottawa Public Library 19211931; A Retrospect and
Forecast (Ottawa: n.p., 1932), 7.
Ottawa Public Library, 5.
For an investigation of the Americanization of Canadian culture in the twenties,
see A.B. McKillop, Contours of Canadian Thought (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto
Press, 1987), 111-28.
See Arthur R. Ford, "Fred Landon, Journalist, Librarian, Historian," Ont. Lib.
Rev. 27 (1943): 119-20; Frederick H. Armstrong, "Fred Landon, 1880-1969,"
Ontario History 62 (1970): 1-4; and Elizabeth Spicer, "Our Fourth Librarian Fred Landon," Ex Libris News; Newsletter of the Ex Libris Association 12 (Fall
1992): 22-24.
Fred Landon, "A City Library's Work," Ont. Lib. Rev. 6 (1921/22): 10-13.
Fred Landon, "The Library and Local Material," Ont. Lib. Rev. 1 (1916/17): 6162.
Fred Landon, "John Davis Barnett, 1849-1926," Ont. Lib. Rev. 10 (1926/27): 7577.
"New Library is Badly Needed," London Free Press, 28 Sept. 1920.
See "Richard Crouch, New Librarian," London Free Press, 8 June 1923; and
"Richard Edwin Crouch," Ont. Lib. Rev. 46 (1962): 28.
"Ask Vote on Debenture Issue of $250,000 for New Library Building," London
Free Press, 24 Sept. 1926.
"Library Building is Needed Here," London Free Press, 11 Nov. 1927.
London Advertiser, 6 Dec. 1927.
London Public Library, ThirtyThird Annual Report (London: n.p., 1928),
unpaged [typescript].
"Why London Should Vote for Public Library By-Law," London Free Press, 28
Nov. 1930.
"London's Library Situation," London Free Press, 3 May 1933.
"Library By-Law Carried," Kingston Daily British Whig, 26 March 1920.
Advertisement in Kingston Daily British Whig, 24 March 1920, 12.
"Kingston's New Public Library Formally Opened on Wednesday," Kingston
Daily British Whig, 17 Dec. 1925.
Mildred A. Clow, "Kingston Public Library," Ont. Lib. Rev. 11 (1926/27): 39-40.
A.M. Kennedy, "The Librarian in Her Relationship to Books and Readers," Ont.
Lib. Rev. 15 (1930): 42.
"Kingston Librarian Retires," Ont. Lib. Rev. 34 (1950): 13.
Brooke Abbott, "An Accidental Librarian," Canadian Magazine 76 (1931): 18.
Ena Kirker, "The Woman Who Put Charm into a Public Library," Canadian
Magazine68 (1927): 32.
Mary J.L. Black, "The Ideal Librarian," Ont. Lib. Rev. 19 (1935): 125.
For the early period, see Mary J. L. Black, "Our Public Library," Thunder Bay
Historical Society Papers and Annual Reports 3 (1911/12): 6-7; and Mary Black,
"Early History of the Fort William Public Library," Thunder Bay Historical Society
16/17 (1924/26): 28-31.
See The Library Story in Fort William (Fort William: n.p., 1959), unpaged;
"Retirement of Miss M.J.L. Black from the Fort William Pubic Library," Ont. Lib.
Rev. 21 (1937): 132; and "Mary J.L. Black Dies in Vancouver," Ont. Lib. Rev. 23
(1939): 5-7.
Mabel Dunham, "Leaves from the Diary of a Librarian," Acta Victoriana 33, 4
(1910): 270-76.
318 Notes to pages 234 to 240
127
128
129
130
131
132
133
134
135
136
137
138
139
140
141
142
143
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
AO, OLA, MU 2246, 1921, Mabel Dunham, "Library Work As a Profession for
Canadian Women," 2 [typescript].
Mabel Dunham, "What of the Canadian Historical Novel?" Ont. Lib. Rev. 16
(1932): 114.
Lillian Snider, "Miss Mabel Dunham," Ont. Lib. Rev. 38 (1954): 221-24.
John Ridington, Mary J.L. Black and George Locke, Libraries in Canada; A Study
of Library Conditions and Needs (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1933), 51.
A.E. Borland, "Fred DelaFosse," Ont. Lib. Rev. 30 (1946): 27-28.
Fred DelaFosse, "The Influence of a Good Book," Ont. Lib. Rev. 3 (1918/19): 5759.
Fred DelaFosse, "Library Service," Ont. Lib. Rev. 27 (1943): 471.
For an example, see Andrew Braid, "Bookish Edinburgh," Ont. Lib. Rev. 4
(1919/20): 8-11.
Braid died in 1925: see Ont. Lib. Rev. 10 (1925/26): 3,
Agnes Lancefield, "[Windsor]," Proc. of OLA (1928): 12-17 [typescript].
See "First Woman Chairman of Barrie Library," Ont. Lib. Rev. 22 (1938): 85; and
Mrs. J.E. Montagu-Leeds, "Trustee and the Library," Bulletin of the Canadian
Library Association! Qan. 1951): 148.
"The Walkerville Public Library," Ont. Lib. Rev. 8 (1923/24): 54.
Margaret Fralick, "Anne Hume Retires," Ont. Lib. Rev. 41 (1957): 209-10.
Anne Hume, "The Librarian in the Community," Quill and Quire 14 (Oct. 1948):
18.
"Sarnia Librarian Retires," Ont. Lib. Rev. 38 (1954): 220.
Dorothy Carlisle, "Steps Toward County Library Work in Lambton County,"
Ont. Lib. Rev. 15 (1931): 138-40.
Mowat's early career appears in Stephen Cummings, "Angus McGill Mowat and
the Development of Ontario Public Libraries," 196-223.
Angus Mowat, "Better Reading and How to Attain It from the Viewpoint of the
Adult," Ont. Lib. Rev. 8 (1923/24): 3-6.
See Angus Mowat, "Reference Work in the Smaller Library," Proc. of OLA (1928):
2-12 [typescript]; and "Adult Education," Proc. of OLA (1929): 12-16 [typescript].
See Mary Vipond, "Canadian Nationalism and the Plight of Canadian Magazines
in the 1920s," Canadian Historical Review58 (1977): 43-63.
For Ferguson's administration, see Peter Oliver, G. Howard Ferguson: Ontario Tory
(Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1977), 144-370.
AO, RG 3, Premier's Office and Cabinet Office, Ferguson Papers, box 89, general
correspondence and letters, libraries and censorship bill, letter of G.H. Ferguson to
W. Doreen, editor of Bookseller and Stationer and Office Equipment Journal, 25
Feb. 1926.
Inconstant Reader, "Preferences," Canadian Forum 9 (Aug. 1929): 386-87.
His viewpoints are evident from his unpublished works. See MTRL, George
Herbert Locke papers, undated typescripts of speeches.
"Two Public Libraries on Rails," Ont. Lib. Rev. 11 (1926/27): 8; see also, Karl and
Mary Schuessler, School on Wheels; Reaching and Teaching the Isolated Children of
the North (Erin, Ont.: Boston Mills Press, 1986).
"Mr. W.O. Carson," Ont. Lib. Rev. 14 (1929/30): 40-41.
AO, OLA, MU 2246, 1920, "Annual Report of the O.L.A. Secretary for the Year
1919-20," 15-16. For the defeat of the enlarged program, consult Dennis
Thompson, A History of the American Library Association, 18761972 (Chicago:
American Library Assn., 1978), 72-83.
Notes to pages 240 to 247
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
319
AO, OLA, MU 2247, 1922, Hugh S. Eayrs, "Canadian Authors Association;" and
"Annual Report of the O.L.A. Secretary for the Year 1921-22," 17-23.
All these addresses, in typescript, can be found in the Proc. of the OLA for the particular years.
Lieut.-Col. John Malcolm Mitchell, "[Libraries in Great Britain]," Proc. of OLA
(1925): 40-49 [typescript]; and Charles F.D. Belden, Achievements and Hopes of
the American Library Association," Proc. of OLA (1926): 20-28 [typescript],
AO, OLA, MU 2247, 1924, letter of George H. Ferguson to E.A. Hardy, 18 Dec.
1924.
Edwin A. Hardy, "A Half Century of Retrospect and Prospect; Annual Presidential
Address," Ont. Lib. Rev. 11 (1926/27): 41-46.
Beatrice W. Welling, "Canadian Librarians Meet at the American Librarian [sic]
Association," Ont. Lib. Rev. 10 (1925/26): 11-12.
Toronto Public Library, Gossip! Of the American Library Association Conference,
Held in Toronto, June 10th to June 25th, 1927 (Toronto: n.p., 1927), 3.
Mary J. L. Black, "Canadian Library Extension Meeting," Proceedings and
Transactions of the American Library Association, FortyNinth Meeting, 1927> 33840.
"Organization of the Canadian Library Association," Library Journal'52 (1927):
705-6.
Fred Landon, "The Toronto Conference — II; Canadian Library Association,"
Library Journal (1927): 749.
George Locke, "President's Address," Proceedings and Transactions of the ALA for
1927,271.
A. Raymond Mullens, "Bringing Books to Brains," MacLean s Magazine 40 (1
June 1927): 83.
Epilogue: Other Days
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
See John Taylor, "Urban Autonomy in Canada: It's Evolution and Decline," in
The Canadian City: Essays in Urban and Social History, rev., eds. Gilbert Stelter and
Alan Artibise (Ottawa: Carleton Univ. Press, 1984), 478-500.
For a brief synopsis, see Charles R. Sanderson, "The Extension of Library
Privileges to the Rural Parts of England and Scotland Through the County Library
System," Proc. of OLA (1930): 9-10 [typescript]. For the Mitchell and Kenyon
reports, see Thomas Kelly, History of Public Libraries in Great Britain, 18451975,
2nd ed. (London: Library Assn., 1977), 232-54.
For a general introduction to regional systems in Canada, see Violet L. Coughlin,
Larger Units of Public Library Service in Canada (Metuchen, New Jersey: Scarecrow
Press, 1968), 55-73.
Carnegie Corporation. Commission of Enquiry. Libraries in Canada; A Study of
Library Conditions and Needs (Toronto: Ryerson Press, 1933), 61-62.
Frederick P. Gavin, "Vocational Training for Adults in Ontario," Ont. Lib. Rev. 9
(1924/25): 30-32. For Gavin, see "Was Technical School Leader," Toronto Globe
and Mail, 3 Oct. 1944.
For the CAA in the 1920s, see Lyn Harrington, Syllables of Recorded Time
(Toronto: Simon & Pierre, 1981), 15-113.
Marjorie Jarvis, "The Librarian and Community Drama," Ont. Lib. Rev. 9
(1923/24): 9-13.
For example, see Maria Tippett, Making Culture: EnglishCanadian Institutions and
320
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
Notes to pages 24 7 to 249
the Arts Before the Massey Commission (Toronto: Univ. of Toronto Press, 1990).
See Meyeme C. Althouse, "The Librarian's Job," Chatelaine (Sept. 1931): 40-41.
For the broader context, see Veronica Strong-Boag, The New Day Recalled: Lives of
Girls and Women in English Canada, 19191945 (Toronto: Copp Clarke Pitman,
1988), 41-80.
N. Gurd, "Other Days," Ont. Lib. Rev. 16 (1931/32): 114-15.
Waterloo Public Library, The Waterloo Public Library Golden Jubilee 18761926
(Waterloo: n.p., c.1926), 10.
"Other Days," Ont. Lib. Rev. 19 (1935): 153-54.
William J. Sykes, "Canada," in Popular Libraries of the World, ed. Arthur E.
Bostwick (Chicago: American Library Association, 1933), 47.
In chronological terms, William J. Murison, The Public Library; Its Origins,
Purpose, and Significance, 3rd ed. (London: Clive Bingley, 1988), 10-73 delimits
the British "movement" by using the convenient date of 1918 after which "modern" developments commenced.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
A number of principal sources on library history, librarians, and trustees in Ontario can be
located at larger public libraries, the National Archives in Ottawa, and the Archives of
Ontario in Toronto. There are few scholarly studies in the secondary literature. Following
the formation of the Canadian Library Association's Library History Interest Group in
1980, more academic publications have appeared, but much work remains to be done. I
have consulted sources at the following major collections and microfilmed some records at
the Ontario Archives during the course of my research. These items are designated with an
"Mf' and now can be purchased for study purposes.
A. Archives of Ontario
1. The Mechanics' Institutes of Ontario collection, MU 2017-2022: Mf
2. The Board of Arts and Manufactures for Upper Canada, MU 279-80: Mf
3. Dept. of Education records, R.G. 2.
a. Office of the Minister, correspondence 1880-1905, Series D-7 box 18
(Richard Harcourt): Mf
b. Educational Depository records 1849-1905, Series N: Mf
c. Registrar's branch select files 1885-1913, Series P-2 (mostly Dr. May's
administrative records): Mf
d. Central registry files 1911-1968, Series P-3, Deputy Minister-7 (inspectors'
records 1911-1937)
e. Provincial library service records 1874-1924, Series R (reports from various
agencies): Mf
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INDEX
Aberdeen, John Campbell Gordon,
Marqueis, 102
Aberdeen, Ishbel Maria Gordon,
Marchioness, 102-3
Adam, Graeme Mercer, 22, 43-44, 48, 53,
56, 71, 96-97
Adams, William G.S., 208
Addison, Robert, 3
Adult education, 222
Ahern, Mary, 160
ALA. Catalog (1904), 162
ALA Meetings
AshburyPark, (1916), 163
Buffalo (1883), 96,241
Chautauqua(1898), 108
Montreal (1900), 123
Ottawa (1912), 158-60
Philadelphia (1876), 40
Seattle (1925), 241
Thousand Islands (1887), 96-97
Toronto (1927), 160, 241-42
Algoma, 127
American Centennial Exposition,
Philadelphia, 25, 40
American Federation of Labor, 60, 177
Amherstburg, 32
Andrews, Grace, 148
Anglo-Saxonism, 171-73
Appraisal of literature, 110
Arcadian Adventures of the Idle Rich
(Leacock), 173, 184
Arisen, William H., 150-51, 154-55
Art schools, 57, 132, 145
Arthur Mechanics' Institute, 43
Arts and Letters Club, Toronto, 223-24
Association libraries, 142, 245
Association of Mechanics' Institutes of
Ontario, 23, 30, 45, 71- 72, 94-95
Ayr Mechanics' Institute, 20
Baden Mechanics' Institute, 100
Bain, James Jr., vii, xv, 78, 81, 91-92, 96100, 111, 114-15, 123, 125-29,
131,133,136,139,141,155,171,
192-94, 209, 241
Baldwin, Robert, 10, 36
Banton, T.W., 176
Barnard, Henry, x, 12, 32
Barnett, John Davis, 88, 230
Barnstead, Winifred G., 209, 217, 225
Beck, Adam, 158,204-6
Bell, Robert, 4, 16, 37
Belleville Public Library, 110, 170, 237
Bentham, Jeremy, 59
Bentnick Township, 13
Berlin. See Kitchener
Bertram, James, 166, 173, 178, 182-83,
188, 191, 193, 195-97
Bestsellers, 106
Bibliotheque Sainte-Genevieve, 11
Black, Mary Joanna Louise, 149, 206,
215,219,225,232-33,242,245,
247
Blackwell, Robert J., 108-9, 123, 135,
141
Board of Arts and Manufactures, 19-20,
23
Boards of Trade, 103
Book selection for libraries, 218
The Bookman, 86, 106
Booksellers Association, 13, 25
Borden, Sir Robert, 204
Boston, 36, 83
Boston Public Library, 14, 36
Boulton, William Henry, 36-37
Bourinot, John G., 52-53, 68-69
Boville, Rev. Robert G., 64
Bowker, Richard R., 40, 97, 160
Boyle, Gertrude, 216
Braddon, Mary Elizabeth, 13
Bradlaugh, Charles, 88
Braid, Andrew, 200, 235
Brampton, 64
Brantford Mechanics' Institute, 47, 63
Brantford Public Library, 54, 100, 143,
150
Index
Brick, Thomas, 83
Bridle, Augustus, 241
Briggs, William, 83
Brighton Mechanics' Institute, 43
British Association for the Advancement
of Science, 97
Brockville Public Library, 116, 137, 200
Brown, George, 10, 14, 20-22
Brown, James, 25
Brown, James Duff, 186
Brown, Walter, 126-27
Browning, Arthur G., 103
Browning, Earl, 228
Browning, Robert, 55
Bruyere, Rev. Jean-Marie, 12
Buffalo, 112
Burgoyne, Frank, 185-86
Burlington, 192
Burpee, Lawrence, xv, 87, 115-16, 11819, 125, 151, 154-56,159, 173,
192-93
Butters, Mary T., 149
Caliban: the Missing Link (Wilson), 55
Cameron, A. W., 134-35, 155, 161
Campbell, James, 14, 25, 43
Campbell, Wilfred, 168
Canada Bureau of Agriculture, 16-19
Canadian Authors Association, 214, 223,
246
Canadian Book Week, 240, 246
Canadian Bookseller, 101
Canadian clubs, 169, 172
Canadian Copyright Association, 101
Canadian Forum, 240
Canadian Institute, Toronto, 92, 114-15,
133
Canadian library association, 92, 241-42
Canadian nationalism, 170, 204, 238
Canadian Periodical Index, 235
Capitalism, 176-77
Card catalogues, 116
Carleton Place, 16, 248
Carling, John, 23
Carlisle, Dorothy, 236
Carlton, William N.C., 227
Carnegie, Andrew, xv, 128, 161, 165-81,
184, 187, 189-91, 193, 195, 198,
200-3, 208, 210-11, 213, 215, 23334,238
Carnegie Commission of Enquiry (1933),
234, 242, 245, 249
341
Carnegie Corporation, 180, 196, 203,
216, 242
Carnegie Endowment for International
Peace, 175
Carnegie Training School for Children's
Librarianship, 150
Carnegie United Kingdom Trust, 208
Carnochan, Janet, 81, 118
Carrere & Hastings, 183
Carscallen, Henry, 126
Carson, William, 148-49, 166, 201, 20712, 214-18, 222-23, 226-30, 240-41
Cartwright, Adeline, 149
Catalogue of Books Recommended for Public
Libraries (1895), 87
Censorship in libraries, 13, 219-20, 240
Champneys, Amian, 195
Chapman, Alfred H., 193-94
Chatham, 84, 150
Chatham Board of Trade, 60
Chatham Public Library, 103
Chicago Public Library, 39
Children's departments, 102, 117, 14041, 193, 199
Chown, George, 231
Clergy Reserve Lands, 9
Clifford, 129
Clinton, 68, 170
Cobalt, 248
Cobourg Mechanics' Institute, 20
Cochrane, William, 63, 110
Cody, Canon Henry J., 207, 214
Collingwood, 124
Collingwood Mechanics' Institute, 43
Collins, Wilkie, 13, 32, 48
Colquhoun, Arthur H.U., 136, 139, 147,
180,239
Confederation, 20, 38
Diamond Jubilee, (1927), xviii, 238
Corby, Senator Harry, 170
Council of Public Instruction, 6-8, 21-22
County libraries, 156-57
Crooks, Adam, 20, 22, 25, 27-30, 43-44,
48, 71-72, 94, 129
Crouch, Richard E., 230-31
Cumberland, Frederic, 12, 17
Curry, John, 62
Cutter, Charles Ammi, 40, 83
Cutter Classification, 140, 152
Dana, John Cotton, 145
Davison, Thomas, 24-25, 43
342
Index
Davy, James, 98
The Days of Advance^ 70
DelaFosse, Frederick, 149, 234-35
Denholm, Andrew, 153, 157
Denison, Lt.-Col. George Taylor, 169
Dent, Charles, 97
Deroche, Hammel, 44
Detective stories. See Fiction in libraries,
D'Everardo, Dexter, 5, 16
Dewey Decimal Classification, 101, 109,
116,135, 140,152,198-99
Dewey, Melvil, 40, 128, 134-35, 174
Dickens, Charles, 13, 58
Dominion Grange, 48
Draper, William, 10
Drury, Ernest C, 206, 213
Dudgeon, Matthew, 161
Dufferin, Frederick Temple Blackwood,
Marquess, 43
Dundas Mechanics' Institute, 20, 46-47,
81
Dunham, B. Mabel, 144, 147-49, 152-53,
220, 225, 233-34, 247
Eales, Walter, 15,64
Eastman, William R., 128
ficole des Beaux-Arts, 187, 197
Eden Smith & Sons, 197
Education book depository, 6-7, 10, 14,
21-22, 25, 27-29, 218
Edwards, Edward, 32, 34-35, 38, 41
Edwards, John Passmore, 170
Edwards, Robert, 23
Edwards, William, 20, 23, 30, 48, 94, 96,
110, 116, 139
Eighty Years' Progress of British North
America (1864), 14
Elgin, James Bruce, Earl, 6-7, 9
Elliott, Judge William, 91
Espionage novel. See Fiction in libraries
Essery, Emmanuel, 56, 78-79, 110
Evangelical Protestantism, 63
Everett, Edward, 36
Ewart, William, 34-35
Falconbridge, Chief Justice William G.,
171
Falconer, Sir Robert, 211-12
Farmers' Institutes, 100, 114, 130
Ferguson, George Howard, 238-40
Fiction Catalog (1908), 162
Fiction in libraries, 13, 84-87, 140, 161-
63, 250
Fitzpatrick, Rev. Alfred, 126-27
Fletcher, William I., Ill
Fonthill Library Association and
Mechanics' Institute, 16
Fort William Public Library, 149, 206,
232-33
Fowke, Frederick, 183
Fraser, Rev. James, 14
Free library rate. See Public library rate
Freed, Augustus T., 60
Frontier College, 126
Gait, Alexander, 17-18
Gait Mechanics' Institutes, 46
Gavin, Frederick, 246
General Catalogue of Books, 10, 13, 22
Gibbard, Alexander H., 92, 161
Gibson, Sir John M., 59, 196
Glencoe Public Library, 203
Glenelg Township, 13
Goderich Public Library, 180-81, 191
Going, A.H., 170
Gompers, Samuel, 177
Gould, Charles, 92, 110, 133, 144, 146,
149,151,233
Gould, Joseph, 18, 67
Graham, Margaret, 118
Grant, David M., 145
Grant, George Monro, 57, 172
Grant, Robert H., 207, 226
Gravenhurst Public Library, 181-82, 203
Green, Samuel, 40
Greenwood, Thomas, 64, 105, 111
Grip, 77
Guelph Public Library, 56, 77-78, 100
Gurd, Norman, 119, 132, 137-38, 141,
157,180,199,248
Haehnel, Charles A., 248
Hall, Alfred, 197
Hallam, John, vii, xiv, 56, 61, 70-71, 77,
83, 85, 89, 93, 96-100,110,179,
202,241
Halton, H. Russell, 173, 190
Hamilton, 5, 23, 44, 64, 80, 83, 90, 115,
146
Hamilton Mechanics' Institute, 15, 17,
20, 24, 46
Hamilton Public Library, 59, 82, 101-2,
195-96, 202, 211, 226-28, 235
Hanna, William J., 132
Index
Harcourt, Richard, 21, 113-14, 125-34
Hardy, Edwin A., xi, xvi-xix, 62, 65, 9192, 110, 119, 123, 125,134-35,
138-39, 143, 145, 148, 152-53,
158-59,189,207,240-41,248
Hardy, Judge Alexander D., 143, 145-46
Harrison, Joseph, x
Hearst, William, 206, 211
Henderson, T.K., 63-65
Henwood, Edwin D., 150
Herbert, Samuel, 217
Hicklin Rule, 13, 219
Hodgins, John George, 7, 9, 12-14, 22,
25, 27-29, 37, 41-42, 44, 135
Homestead Strike, 175-76
Hornung, Dr. Lewis E., 147, 175, 189
Horwood, Edgar L, 192
Howe, James, 104
Hume, Anne L, 236
Hunt, Clara W., 199
Hunter, Adam, 146, 195, 226-27
lies, George, 55, 110
Illinois, 39
Immigration to Canada, 66, 205
Imperialism, 169
Independent Labour Party, 206
Indian and Colonial Exhibition, London,
56
Indicators, 102, 108, 117
Ingersoll Public Library, 58, 103
Ingersoll, Robert Green, 88
Ingraham, Mary, 219-20
Innes, James, 51, 78
International Library Conferences
London (1877), 41
London (1897), 110
Jalna (De la Roche), 238
Jarvis, Marjorie, 247
Jast, Louis Stanley, xvi
Jewett, Charles, 5, 31, 35-36
Johnson, Alvin, 209, 216
Joseph Gould Institute, 67
Journal of Education for Upper Canada, 4,
8
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council,
79
Jury, Alfred, 57
Keilty, Thomas, 177
Keller, William H., 123, 162
Kelly, A.J., 176
Kelly, Hugh T., 110
Kemptville, 166
Kennedy, Aimee, 231-32
Kingsford, William, 53
Kingston, 5, 44, 225
Kingston Public Library, 110, 170, 23132
Kirby, William, 81
Kitchener Public Library, 96, 100, 134,
137, 144, 147, 234
Klotz, Mary, 54
Klotz, Otto, Jr., 151, 153, 160, 179, 192
Klotz, Otto, Sr., 45, 95
Knights of Labour, 60
Kopp, Adeline, 159-60
Labour Day, 60
Labour movement, 175-78
Labrouste, Henri, 11
Lady Audley s Secret (Braddon), 13
Laissez faire, 58
Lancefield, Agnes, 235, 237
Lancefield, Richard, 53, 101-2, 109, 111,
123, 126, 235
Landon, Fred, 225, 229-31, 242
Langton, Hugh, xxvi, 92, 110, 123, 125,
128-29, 131, 133, 155
Langton, John, 12, 17
Langton, William, 188-89
Laurier, Sir Wilfrid, 160, 175
Leake, Albert, 132
Leavitt, Thaddeus W.H., 136-43, 199,
211,241
Lennox, Thomas, 158
Leypoldt, Frederick, 96
Liberalism, reform, 58, 65
Librarianship
certification, 133-34
education, 148-49, 216-17
women in, 47, 118,247
Libraries
branch, 99, 193, 197, 224
debentures, 230-31
management, 220-21, 237
salaries, 118,228
standards, 185-86, 192,215
Libraries in Canada (1933), 246
Library
bylaws, 79
commissions, 128, 131-33
institutes, 138, 150-53, 209-10
343
344
Index
schools, 146-49, 209, 216-17, 237
trustees, 75-76, 153, 195, 220-21, 227,
248
Library Acts
Act Respecting Technical Schools
(1897), 57
Common School Act (1846), 4
Common School Act (1850), 6, 10, 16
Free Libraries Act (1882), 70, 72-77
Industrial Education Act (1911), 145
Management of Library Associations
and Mechanics' Institutes (1851), 16
Public Libraries Act [U.K] (1850), x
Public Libraries Act (1895), 79-81, 106
Public Libraries Act (1909), 141-42
Public Libraries Act (1920), 214-16
Library architecture
Canadian literature, 188-90
exterior forms, 187, 197, 201, 238
functionalism, 191-92,198-99, 202
handbooks, 185-86, 188, 197
interior planning, 187-88, 195-97
landscaping, 197
neoclassical style, 187, 197, 201
open plan concept, 196-98
"T" design, 192
Victorian closed stack, 98-99, 102, 108
Library Association [U.K.], 41
Library Journal, 40, 96-97, 125, 160
Lindsay, 65, 91, 180
Lindsay Public Library, 178
Little Current, 127
Locke, George H., xvii, 142, 160, 178,
197, 220, 223-25, 235, 240- 43,
245
London, 5, 44-45, 60, 66, 79
London Institution (U.K.), 41
London Ministerial Association, 88
London Public Library, 90-91, 103, 1089,115-16,229-31
Macallum, Archibald B., 92, 123, 133
Macdonald, Sir John A., 20
Macdonald, John Sandfield, 18, 20
Mackenzie King, William Lyon, 204
Macphail, Andrew, 155
Manchester, 35, 38
Manchester School, 58
Mann, Horace, x, 32
Manual of Public Libraries (1859), ix
Mason, Col. James, 98
Massachusetts, 28, 32, 36
Matthews, Herbert, 108
May, Dr. Samual P., 9, 17, 25-30, 41, 4348, 57, 67, 80, 84, 92, 94, 96, 104,
106-7, 109, 112-13, 116, 125, 127,
129-30, 132, 134, 136
McAdams, Robert, 51-52, 119, 153
McConnell, John, 169-70
McDonald, Lurene, 228
McGee, Thomas D'Arcy, xiv, 18-19
Mechanics' Institutes, 15
Mellen, Rev. W.R.G., 44
Merchant, Dr. Frederick, 239
Metcalfe, Sir Charles, 10
Michigan, 28
Mill, John Stuart, 59
Millar, John, 54, 123, 125, 133, 136
Missing link, 55
A Modern Lover (Moore), 85
Modernism, 110, 203, 237, 250
Moir, Elizabeth, 148
Montreal, 92, 172
Montreal Mercantile Library Association,
37
Moore, William F., 160-61
Morgan, Eliza, 118
Morris, Alexander, 37-38
Mowat, Angus, 236-37
Mowat, Oliver, xi, xiv, 21-22, 25, 71-75,
79, 210, 236
Mr. BritlingSeesIt Through (Wells), 163
Mudie's Select Library, 32
Municipal government, viii, 36, 165, 24445
civic economy, 61, 80-81
civic pride, 66-67
elites, 183-84
reform, 173, 179, 183
Muskoka Club, 78, 141
Nairn Centre, 127
Napanee Mechanics'Institute, 19
Napanee Public Library, 67-68, 170
National Council of Women of Canada,
xvii, 103
National Library, 155-56, 160
National Simplified Spelling Board, 174
New Education Movement, 113
New Hampshire, 36
New York (city), 112
New York (state), 4, 28, 32
New York Public Library, 188
Newark charging system, 211
Index
Niagara Falls, 150, 158
Niagara Falls Public Library, 154
Niagara Library, 3, 19
Niagara-on-the-Lake, 3
Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library, 81
Nicholson, Edward W.B., 41
North Bay Public Library, 103
Norwood Public Library, 203
Notes on the Erection of Library Bildings
(1911), 188, 196,203,237
Notices of Public Libraries (1851), 35
Nursey, Walter R., 138, 143, 145-48,
150-52, 154, 156, 158-59, 163,
182,207,211,241
Oakville Mechanics' Institute, 43
Obscene Publications Act of 1857, 13
Ontario classification system, 23-24, 116,
139-40
Ontario College of Education, 217
Ontario Department of Agriculture and
Public Works, 20
Ontario Education Department, 22, 25,
48
Ontario Educational Association, 130
Ontario Hydro-Electric Power
Commission, 132, 158
Ontario Library Association, xvi-xvii, 92,
108, 123-26, 128, 131-40, 142-47,
149-50, 155-63, 165, 189-90, 19899, 206, 208-9, 211, 220-21, 23233, 236-37, 240-42, 246-47, 249
Ontario Library Review, 209, 215, 221,
248
Ontario Library School, 216-17
Ontario Teachers' Association, 82
Open access in libraries, 108, 116, 186,
188,196-97,199,237
Orillia Public Library, 179-80
Oshawa Public Library, 183
Osier, Edmund B., 169
Ottawa, 30, 44, 68, 90, 176
Ottawa Allied Trades and Labour
Association, 176
Ottawa Public Library, 103, 110, 153,
162, 167, 178-79, 191-93,211,
228-29, 249
Otterville, 158, 182
Ouida. See Ramee, Marie Louise de la
Owen Sound, 178
345
Palmerston, 129, 159
Palmerston Public Library, 179
Panizzi, Anthony, 35, 41
Parker, Gilbert, 207
Parliamentary libraries, 90
Patrons of Industry, 79
Patterson, J.W., 176
Peene, Alfred W., 195-96
Perley, William G., 68
Perth, 37
Peterborough, 92
Peterborough Public Library, 149, 234-35
Philadelphia, 40, 112
Police village libraries, 158
Poole, William F., 39-40, 83
Port Arthur Public Library, 182
Port Colborne, 149
Pratt Institute Library School, Brooklyn,
140, 145
Preston Mechanics' Institute, 45-46
Prince Edward Farmers' Institute, 114
The Prisoner ofZenda (Hope), 106
Progress, belief in, 61, 184
Prohibition, 204, 238
Provincial Library, 115, 155
Public Libraries, 160
Public Libraries in the United States of
America (1876), 28
Public Library Associations, 142, 245
Public library as concept, viii-ix
Public library movement, 36, 40, 212,
243-44, 249
definition, vii-viii
Edwardian change, 124-25, 138-40
modern lines, 212-13, 219-22, 227-28
origins, 33-36
phases in Ontario, xiii-xvii
Victorian progress, 47-48, 69, 91-93
Public library rate, 76, 82, 109, 141, 210,
215
Publishers'Weekly',41
Putnam, Herbert, 160
Pyne, Dr. Robert, 134-37, 145, 159, 207,
214
Quebec Literary and Historical Society, 9
Ramee, Marie Louise de la (pseud.
Ouida), 85
Ranke, Samuel, 215
Reading rooms, women's, 109, 191, 193,
198-99
346
Index
Reference service, 211
Reid, Robert, 59
Religious Tract and Book Society, 7, 35
Renfrew Public Library, 202-3
Rhees, William, ix, 5
Rhode Island, 32
Ridgeway, 151
Ridington, John, 242, 245
Robert Gamey affair, 132
Robertson, Henry, 124
Robertson, John Ross, 52, 76
Robertson, William J., 84, 123, 133, 13738, 147
Roger, Walter M., 88
Rosebery, Lord, 53
Ross, George, 43, 57, 66, 79-80, 92, 9495, 100, 104-5, 107, 113, 128-29,
132, 143, 169
Ross, Philip, 51,54
Rouillard, Eugene, vii
Rowe, Carrie, 118, 137
Royal Commission on Industrial Training
and Technical Education, 145
Royal Commission on the Relations of
Labour and Capital, 60
Royal Society of Canada, 62
Ryerson, Rev. Egerton, xiii-xiv, 3-16, 2022, 28-29, 32-34, 36-37, 43, 63,
157,250
St. Catharines Mechanics' Institute, 84
St. Catharines Public Library, 96, 173
St. Mary's Public Library, 180-81, 201
St. Thomas Public Library, 96, 100, 103,
116
Sanders, Minerva A., 118
Sarnia Public Library, 119, 140, 153, 199,
236
Saskatchewan Library Association, 161
Sault Ste. Marie Public Library, 173-74,
190, 236
Saxe, Mary S., 151,219
Scarboro Mechanics' Institute, 43
Schmidt, Effie A., 118, 134-35, 137, 151
School libraries, rural, 129-30
Scientific Management, 221
Scoble, Col. Thomas C, 27-29
Seaforth, 81
Seath, John, 113, 129-31, 136, 138, 145,
207
Simcoe, 84, 100
Sixty hour work week, 88
Smith, Adam, 58
Smith, Goldwin, 82, 99, 110, 171, 174
Smith, Gordon J., 189
Smith, Lillian, 149-50, 199, 224-25
Smith's Falls, 191
Smithsonian Institution, 36
Snead Company, New Jersey, 193-94
Snyder, Dr. George, 151-52
Social Darwinism, 55, 172
Social libraries, xiii, 32-33
Society for the Diffusion of Useful
Knowledge, 7
Soule, Charles, 185
Southampton, 104
Special Report on the Mechanics' Institutes
(1881), 46-47, 71
Spereman, Patricia, 140-41, 148-50, 199201,217
Staton, Frances, 118, 148, 225
Stavely, James, 68
Stearns, Lutie, 156
Stewart, William, 102
Storm, William G., 17
Stormont and Glengarry Counties, 8
Stratford, 65, 88, 170
Streetsville, 68, 134
Studholme, Allan, 176
Subscription libraries, 33, 109, 246
Sykes, William, 162, 193, 213, 225, 22829, 249
Tanner, Hazel, 230
Tavistock, 167
Taylor, Dr. Bruce, 202
Taylor, Frederick Winslow, 221
Taylor, John, xiv, 54-55, 70-71, 77, 85,
89,98,110
Technical education, 56-57, 132, 142-43,
145-46
Teeswater, 178
Temperance, 64, 204, 238
Thompson, Dorothy, 216-17
Thorold, 83, 178
Ticknor, George, 32, 36
Tilbury Public Library, 182, 210
Tillsonburg, 228
Tilton, Edward L, 188, 195-96
Todd, Alpheus, 43, 62
Toronto, 5, 44, 48, 63, 70, 75, 77, 90,
109, 169, 176-77
Toronto Junction, 178
Toronto Mechanics' Institute, 12, 15, 17,
Index
20,23-24,71,224
Toronto Public Library, 53-54, 98-100,
115, 135, 166, 171-73, 182, 19395, 197, 211, 216, 223-24, 235, 247
Boys' and Girls' House, 224
branches, 99, 224, 235
Township public libraries, 156-58
Trades and Labour Councils
London, 91
Toronto, 89, 176
Welland, 176
Travelling libraries, 114-15, 126-28, 136,
138-39,217-18
Tremaine, Marie, 225
Trenton Public Library, 182, 238
Trilby (Du Maurier), 106
Triumphant Democracy (Carnegie), 165,
168
Tytler, William, 78, 123, 134
United Farmers of Ontario, 206, 214, 239
United States Bureau of Education, 40,
104
University of Toronto, xvii, 5, 217
Ulysses (Joyce), 219
Utilitarianism, 59
Uxbridge, 67, 162, 170
Uxbridge Mechanics' Institute, 18
Vankoughnet, Peter, 18
Vardon, Roger. See DelaFosse, Frederick
Victoria College, 3, 233
Victorianism, viii, xi, 51-52, 93, 110, 219,
250
The Virginian (Wister), 162
Walkerville Public Library, 236
War camp libraries, 208
Warner, Harvey, 67
Warren, Samuel, 40
Wells, H.G., 163, 184
Western fiction. See Fiction in libraries
Whitby Mechanics' Institute, 20
Whitney, James Pliny, 134-35, 206
Wickson & Gregg, 193
Williams, David, 221
Willis, Sara D., 67
Wilmot Township, 100
Wilson, Daniel, 22, 55, 90
Wilson, John, 67
Wilson, Uriah, 67
Windsor, Justin, 40
347
Windsor Public Library, 62, 103, 200-1,
235-37
Withrow, William Henry, 54, 99
Wisconsin Free Library Commission, 156,
161,217
Witton, Henry B., 60, 101
Women's Institutes, 218
Wood, William, 100, 105
Woods, Stanley, 25, 29
Woodstock Public Library, 110
Workers' Educational Association, 230,
246
World's Columbian Exposition, Chicago,
86, 104, 187
YMCA, 126, 230
Young, George Paxton, 27, 78
Young, Hester, 148-49
Young, James, 30