Guelph Public Library
In 1882, the Ontario government passed the Free Libraries Act, allowing municipalities to establish libraries supported by local taxes. The City of Guelph was the first in Ontario to take advantage of this Act. The Guelph Library attempted to seek suitable quarters and moved to its current location on the corner of Norfolk and Paisley. Guelph was one of the first communities to take advantage of grants made available by steel magnate Andrew Carnegie.
Guelph is served by a growing library system composed of a main branch located in the downtown core, five branches and a Bookmobile. It holds a membership of over 85,000, the Guelph Public Library system's goals include preserving and indexing public materials relating to the history of Guelph. Although no formal program has been developed, the library acquires municipal records of archival value from the City of Guelph.
The Guelph Public Library also offers a number of programs including a book club.
Read more about this topic: Downtown Guelph
Famous quotes containing the words public and/or library:
“I have found it; I have discovered the cause of all the misfortunes which befell him. A public school, Joseph, was the cause of all the calamaties which he afterwards suffered. Public schools are the nurseries of all vice and immorality.”
—Henry Fielding (1707–1754)
“Every library should try to be complete on something, if it were only the history of pinheads.”
—Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. (1809–1894)