Library History
1865
First Library and Reading Room
New Westminster Public Library holds the distinction of being the first public library in the province of British Columbia. It owes its existence to two events. In 1865, New West was the capital of the colony of B.C., recently carved from the forest on the banks of the Fraser River by the Royal Engineers. When the regiment disbanded, it donated its collection of books brought from England to create a public library for the City. At the same time, Queen Victoria offered a copy of her late husband Prince Albert’s speeches “to the public libraries of her more important colonies.”
Our first library and reading room was established in 1865 through financial support from the colonial government and membership fees charged to the public. On August 15th, 1865 the Library opened in the quarters of the former Mint, where it remained until 1890. During the first two years of its existence, the Library was well-funded by the government but, by 1868, all government aid was withdrawn. The Library was forced to rely entirely upon subscriptions and limped along for the next 22 years. By 1890, the Mint building was in a terrible state of decay, which was particularly noticeable when compared with the many fine new buildings that were being built in New West.
Bowing to public pressure, City Council decided to take action. The Dominion government agreed to donate the Columbia Street property where the Mint building stood on the condition that a proper building would be built and maintained by the City as a free public library. The old Mint building was demolished and, following an architectural competition, work began on architect G.W. Grant’s winning plan for a three-storey stone and brick building. Books were ordered from England and the new library opened in 1892.
1898
The Great Fire
Unfortunately, the recently built library building was doomed to a short existence. On the night of September 10th, 1898 the building was destroyed in The Great Fire. The only items not burned were those books checked out and a few saved by Alderman William A. Johnson, among them the Queen’s book.
One month after the Great Fire, New Westminster residents were lobbying to open a new library. A temporary Reading Room was established in half of a store building, with the other half occupied by the Fire Department, including its horses.
This situation existed from 1899 until 1901, when it was finally decided that the Library’s former Columbia Street site should be used for a new civic building. The City Hall and Police Department were to be housed on the main floor, with the Library on the second floor.
Soon after it was completed, however, the library’s space was required for civic administration and so the City began to investigate the possibility of obtaining money from the Carnegie Corporation. Andrew Carnegie was a wealthy philanthropist who, as a firm believer in the importance and value of a free public library, donated money to communities across the United States, and parts of Canada and the United Kingdom, for the construction of libraries.
1898
1902
The Carnegie Library
The Carnegie Corporation donated $15,000 for a library building on condition that the City of New Westminster would provide the site and a minimum of $1,500 per year to support it. This was readily agreed to and the cornerstone of the Library was laid on October 1st, 1902 in a ceremony attended by many.
The building was completed in October 1903 but, due to a shortage of books and political wrangling between City Council and the Library Commissioners, the new Library did not open until 1905.
The years in the Carnegie Library saw the development of the first consistent modern community services, accompanied by increased expectations of residents. For the first time, professionally trained librarians were hired; the book stacks were opened to the public (prior to this library patrons requested titles, which were kept in a closed area), and both Children’s and Reference Rooms were created.
The Depression years were very difficult financially while library services were in even greater demand. In the mid 1930s, 5,500 people were registered as borrowers, and the Library was circulating 150,000 books a year, all on an annual budget of only $10,000.
1958
6th Avenue and Ash Street
Library use continued to increase and by the late 1940s it was clear that a larger space was needed to house the ever-growing and popular library. Consideration was given to remodeling the Carnegie building but this proved to be unfeasible. After years of extensive lobbying, a new site was decided upon, funding was obtained and construction began on a new building uptown at 6th Avenue and Ash Street.
The completion of the new building coincided with the 100th Birthday of the Province of British Columbia and the library was officially opened on November 19th, 1958 by His Excellency, the Honourable Vincent Massey, Governor-General of Canada.
The new Library also saw a dramatic increase in use, due to shifts in city demographics and the change from single family dwellings to apartments. By 1976 it again became apparent that the Library was not large enough to accommodate the number of members. Renovation and expansion of the existing Library began in 1977 and included the addition of 17,800 square feet. After a brief closure from August 6th to September 5th, 1978, the library officially reopened October 21st, 1978.
1958
2013
Queensborough Community Centre
In May 2013, New Westminster Public Library opened its first-ever branch in 148 years, in the revitalized Queensborough Community Centre. This branch serves the needs of the community in Queensborough and provides them with convenient access to library services alongside other great New Westminster Parks, Culture, and Recreation facilities.
The Library continues to be well used, with over 570,000 people visiting the Main Branch and borrowing more than 830,000 items in 2011.
2017-2019
Main Branch Renovations
In April 2019 the Main Branch reopened after undergoing a $5.5 million-dollar renovation that occurred in three phases over 17 months.
A number of the Library’s structural systems were upgraded and many additional design features were added, including the new 12-seat iConnect Lab used for technology instruction, three new Creation Stations that allow for digitizing older media formats as well as providing a suite of creative Adobe products, a new reading lounge on the main floor, and an expanded Teens and Children’s area.
The Library also added RFID self-checkout technology at this time.
2017-2019
1865-2020
Chief Librarians
William Edward Wynne Williams 1865 – 1865
George Ramsay 1866 – 1866
John B. Harris 1866 – 1867
W.E. Cormack 1867 – 1868
J. Dawson 1874 – 1874
Henry W. Hughes 1882 – 1884
Donald McGregor 1887 – 1890
Julian Peacock 1891 – 1898
Edward Z. Whyman 1899 – 1905
Susan Gilley 1905 – 1912 – 1912
Annie T. O’Meara 1912 – 1913
Mabel D. Macmillan 1914 – 1921
Pearl D. Hale 1921 – 1923
Samuel Tilden Dare 1923 – 1936
Ruth E. Cameron 1936 – 1954
Amy M. Hutcheson 1954 – 1973
Alan Woodland 1973 – 1991
Ron Clancy 1991 – 2003
Julie Spurrell 2003 – 2021
Jorge Cárdenas 2021 – 2023
Susan Buss 2023 – 2024
Caroline Caseñas 2024 – present