The Peterborough Public Library is a

public library A public library is a library, most often a lending library, that is accessible by the general public and is usually funded from public sources, such as taxes. It is operated by librarians and library paraprofessionals, who are also Civil servic ...

system in

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

Ontario Ontario is the southernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Located in Central Canada, Ontario is the Population of Canada by province and territory, country's most populous province. As of the 2021 Canadian census, it ...

, Canada.

Services

The Main Library is a full-service library with a current circulating collection of books, CD audiobooks, Music, DVDs and magazines. The collection also includes a local history collection, digital resources and microfilm selected to answer the information needs of the community. The Library shares its local history collection space with the Kawartha Branch of the

Ontario Genealogical Society The Ontario Genealogical Society, operating as Ontario Ancestors since early 2019, is the largest organization devoted to research into family history in Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1961Harry, George, "Thrill of Tracing Your Own History", ''The Su ...

. Volunteers of the group offer genealogical research assistance through special programs and email queries. Additional material can be obtained from other libraries and for those who are unable to come to the library, visiting library services are offered. A variety of programs are available for the public to attend. Access to the Internet is possible via the library's workstations. Visit the Children's area for storytime programs, play a game on one of the computers, or to grab a book to read together. List of services: Information and reference services, community information, Internet access, reader's advisory services, programs for adults and children of all ages, library materials delivery to home-bound individuals, Interlibrary loan, free downloadable electronic materials, and much more.

History

Peterborough Mechanics Institute, established in 1868, was one of a series of

Mechanic's Institutes Mechanics' institutes, also known as mechanics' institutions, sometimes simply known as institutes, and also called schools of arts (especially in the Australian colonies), were educational establishments originally formed to provide adult educ ...

that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. The Peterborough Mechanics Institute housed a subscription library that allowed members who paid a fee to borrow books. Mechanics Institutes were established across Ontario to make education universal and accessible to all citizens. The

libraries eventually became public libraries when the establishment of free libraries occurred.Harris, Michael. History Of Libraries In The Western World. 4th ed. Metuchen, N.J.: Scarecrow Press, 1995, p. 153. In Peterborough, the Institute and the Library was located on Water Street. In May 1895, the Mechanics Institute became the Peterborough Public Library. The library remained on Water Street. Later, the Peterborough Public Library received funding from the Andrew Carnegie Foundation and the new Carnegie Library located on George Street opened in 1911. This building is currently the Carnegie Wing of

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or municipal hall (in the Philippines) is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses the city o ...

Branches

In February 1949, a branch library opened in the south end of Peterborough. It was situated above a hardware store and was a room 50 by 20 feet. It was divided into two sections – one for boys and girls, the other for adults. The DelaFosse Branch Library opened officially on December 1, 1965.

The Peterborough Examiner ''The Peterborough Examiner'' is a newspaper that services Peterborough, Ontario and area. The paper started circulation in 1847, and is currently owned by Torstar and operated by its Metroland division. Between 1942 and 1955, it was edited by Ca ...

declared that this branch at 729 Park Street S., made "south end residents the envy of the rest of the city." Currently, it holds a recreational reading collection of approximately 14,000 books and a variety of media formats for all ages. This branch library is named in honour of Frederick Montague DelaFosse, who was the Chief Librarian of Peterborough Public Library from 1910 to 1946. In January 2022, Peterborough City Council voted to close the aging DelaFosse branch and replace it with a modernized facility in the proposed Twin Pad arena at Morrow Park. The DelaFosse has been closed to the public since the start of the pandemic and will not be reopening at this location. The Main Library
designed
b
Moriyama and Teshima Architects
at 345 Aylmer St. N. opened on Tuesday, September 2, 1980. The library was built on the site of the old fire hall and had about triple the floor space of the old Carnegie building. The opening ceremonies were held on September 17 and featured

Robertson Davies William Robertson Davies (28 August 1913 – 2 December 1995) was a Canadian novelist, playwright, critic, journalist, and professor. He was one of Canada's best known and most popular authors and one of its most distinguished " men of letters" ...

, Master of

Massey College Massey College is the postgraduate University of Toronto#Colleges, college of the University of Toronto located at the University of Toronto#St. George campus, St. George campus in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The college was established, built and ...

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

, who was the keynote speaker. A report in 2013 determined that the Aylmer St building no longer met community needs, and the city council of Peterborough in 2015 approved the renovation of the building at the Aylmer St site
+VG Architects
was contracted for the project. This included an addition and renovation of the facade on the front of the building and the installation of a central staircase that created another access point between the upper and lower levels. A temporary Main Location at the Peterborough Square complex opened in May 2016, and renovation of the old Aylmer St building began in July 2016. On January 30, 2018, the renovated Peterborough Public Library opened to the public.

Trivia

*A scene from

Jumper Jumper or Jumpers may refer to: Clothing *Jumper (sweater), is a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater **A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the uniform of the United St ...

was filmed here

References

External links

*
Peterborough Public Library Facebook Page

Peterborough Public Library Twitter Page

Peterborough Public Library Instagram Page
* Archives of the Peterborough Mechanics' Institute, now the Peterborough Public Librar
(The Peterborough Mechanics' Institute fonds, R11786)
are held at

Library and Archives Canada Library and Archives Canada (LAC; ) is the federal institution tasked with acquiring, preserving, and providing accessibility to the documentary heritage of Canada. The national archive and library is the 16th largest library in the world. T ...