The Saskatoon Public Library is a publicly funded library system in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It is available for use by any member of the public; library cards are free for all Saskatonians. Saskatoon Public Library was established in 1913.

Branches

Saskatoon Public Library has nine branches across Saskatoon. 2024 08 26 IMG 7460

Frances Morrison Library

The Frances Morrison Central Library is located at 311 – 23rd Street East in downtown Saskatoon. It officially opened on May 28, 1966. This facility was named after Frances Morrison, who served as SPL’s chief librarian from 1961 to 1980. The Frances Morrison Central Library is the largest of SPL’s nine libraries and houses a dedicated Children’s Department, Fine Arts Department, Local History Room, Theatre, a computer lab and various administration offices, SPL’s Outreach & Access Services, Information Services, Fiction Services and Teen Services departments.

Alice Turner Library

The Alice Turner Branch is located at 110 Nelson Road. The current facility replaced the smaller Sutherland Branch in December 1998. It was renamed after Alice Turner McFarland who was a library employee for 37 years and chief librarian from 1981 to 1989. The first library in Canada to be built to the standards of C-2000 construction, Canada's environmental building code, Alice Turner Branch was expanded to double its original size in 2013.

Carlyle King Library

The Carlyle King Branch is located at 3130 Laurier Drive. It officially opened October 16, 1979 and is currently located in the Cosmo Civic Centre. Carlyle King Branch was the first branch library to be part of a multi-purpose facility in Saskatoon. The branch was named in honour of Carlyle King who, in addition to a distinguished academic career, was actively involved in the Saskatchewan Library Advisory Council, the Saskatchewan Library Association and the Saskatoon Public Library Board (1955-1972).

Cliff Wright Library

The Cliff Wright Branch is located at 1635 McKercher Drive. The Lakewood Library relocated when the Lakewood Civic Centre opened in October, 1988. The branch was officially opened on January 9, 1989, and was renamed after former mayor, Cliff Wright, on March 30, 1989.

J.S. Wood Library

The J.S. Wood Branch is located at 1801 Landsdowne Ave. It opened in 1961 and is named after James Stuart Wood, who was born in England in 1891 and worked as a college librarian before enlisting in the British Army. He came to Canada with his family in 1925, teaching in Nipawin and Prince Albert before taking the role of Chief Librarian at SPL in 1938.

Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library

The Dr. Freda Ahenakew Library, located in the Station 20 West complex, was originally known as the Library on 20th Street. In December 2016, the Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) announced that the branch would be renamed to honor Dr. Freda Ahenakew, a Cree scholar and language preservationist who made significant contributions to Indigenous language revitalization. The renaming followed consultations with local Indigenous leaders and was part of the library's commitment to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action, which emphasize the importance of recognizing Indigenous history and contributions. A naming ceremony was held on February 10, 2017, attended by community members, library officials, and Ahenakew’s family. Dr. Ahenakew’s work in documenting and revitalizing the Cree language is widely recognized, and the library's renaming serves as a lasting tribute to her legacy.

Mayfair Library

The Mayfair Branch is located at 602 – 33rd Street West. The original Mayfair Branch Library was established in 1952 in the basement of the Mayfair Community Hall. By 1989, the building was no longer suitable for the library and the basement location presented accessibility problems. The Mayfair Branch was reopened in 1991, on the same site, after a one-year break in service during construction.

Rusty Macdonald Library

The Rusty Macdonald Branch is located at 225 Primrose Drive. It opened in 1989, as part of the Lawson Civic Centre, a multipurpose facility also housing a wave pool, weight room and exercise room. It is named after R. H. "Rusty" Macdonald, journalist, author, photographer and dedicated library trustee (1960-1981).

Round Prairie Library

The Round Prairie Branch is located at 170 – 250 Hunter Road. The branch was named in honour of the La Prairie Round (or Round Prairie) Métis, who were a community of buffalo hunters that established a wintering site near Dakota Whitecap in the late 1800s. In the 1920s and 1930s many in the community were forced to migrate to Saskatoon in search of work, and by the 1940s they had established a permanent and close knit community near the current site of the new SPL branch.

Central Library construction

The Saskatoon Public Library (SPL) began construction of its new central library in 2024, marking a significant step towards enhancing access to modern library services in the city. Located at 321 2nd Avenue North, the new library is designed to serve Saskatoon’s growing community by providing a state-of-the-art facility focused on learning, innovation, and cultural engagement. The library is expected to open in 2027. The 120,000-square-foot building's design is inspired by Indigenous cultures, featuring a Plains First Nations tipi-inspired exterior and a Métis log cabin-style interior. The facility is also designed with sustainability in mind, aiming to achieve LEED Gold certification and Rick Hansen Foundation Accessibility Certification. The project, with an estimated cost of $134 million, is funded by municipal contributions and community fundraising. Initial budget constraints led to design adjustments, but construction remains on schedule, with the library expected to open by mid-2027.

Writers in residence

The Writer in Residence program at the library is co-funded by the

Canada Council for the Arts The Canada Council for the Arts (), commonly called the Canada Council, is a Crown corporation established in 1957 as an arts council of the Government of Canada. It is Canada's public arts funder, with a mandate to foster and promote the study a ...

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Anne Szumigalski Anne Szumigalski, SOM (b. 3 January 1922 in London, England, d. 22 April 1999) was a Canadian poet. Life She was born Anne Howard Davis in London, England, and grew up mostly in a Hampshire village. She served with the Red Cross as a medical ...

* Patrick Lane *

Guy Vanderhaeghe Guy Clarence Vanderhaeghe (born April 5, 1951) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer, best known for his Western novel trilogy, '' The Englishman's Boy'', '' The Last Crossing'', and ''A Good Man'' set in the 19th-century American and Ca ...

Geoffrey Ursell Geoffrey Ursell (March 14, 1943 – February 21, 2021)
''Encyclopedia of Saskatchewan''. was a

Joe Rosenblatt Joseph Rosenblatt (December 26, 1933 – March 11, 2019) was a Canadian poet who lived in Qualicum Beach, British Columbia. He won Canada's Governor-General's Award and British Columbia's B.C. Book Prize for poetry.Samuel Selvon Samuel Dickson Selvon (20 May 1923 – 16 April 1994)"Samuel Selvon"
''Encyclop ...

Candace Savage Candace Sherk Savage (born December 2, 1949) is a Canadian non-fiction writer. Early life Candace Sherk was born in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Canada on December 2, 1949. Both of her grandmothers were born in the United States and married Canadia ...

* Sean Virgo *

Armin Wiebe Armin Wiebe (born 17 June 1948) is a Canadian writer from Winnipeg, Manitoba, best known for his humorous novels about Mennonites. Wiebe is regarded as one of the pioneers of humorous Mennonite writing in English and is known for his incorporati ...

* Betsey Warland *

Robert Minhinnick Robert Minhinnick (born 12 August 1952) is a Welsh poet, essayist, novelist and translator. He has won two Forward Prizes for Best Individual Poem and has received the Wales Book of the Year award a record three times (in 1993, 2006 and 2018). ...

Sandra Birdsell Sandra Louise Birdsell, CM (née Bartlette) (born 22 April 1942) is a Canadian novelist and short story writer of Métis and Mennonite heritage from Morris, Manitoba. Life and career Born in Hamiota, Manitoba, Birdsell was the fifth of eleven ...

* Steven Ross Smith * Harry Rintoul *

Elisabeth Harvor Erica Elisabeth Arendt Deichmann (26 June 1936 – 8 October 2024), known as Elisabeth Harvor, was a Canadian short story writer, poet, and novelist. Biography Harvor was born to Danish immigrant artisans in Saint John, New Brunswick and grew up ...

* John Livingstone Clark *

Edna Alford Edna Alford (born 19 November 1947 in Turtleford, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian author and editor. She was a graduate of Adam Bowden Collegiate, Saskatoon, and got scholarships to attend the Saskatchewan Summer School of the Arts. Some of her teache ...

* Dave Margoshes *

Myrna Kostash Myrna Kostash (born September 2, 1944) is a Canadian writer and journalist. She has published several non-fiction books and written for many Canadian magazines including ''Chatelaine''. Of Ukrainian descent, she was born in Edmonton, Alberta and e ...

Yann Martel Yann Martel, (born June 25, 1963) is a Canadian author who wrote the Man Booker Prize–winning novel '' Life of Pi'', an international bestseller published in more than 50 territories. It has sold more than 12 million copies worldwide and spe ...

* J. Jill Robinson * Jeanette Lynes * Curtis Peeteetuce *

Yvette Nolan Yvette Nolan (born 1961) is a Canadian playwright, director, actor, and educator based out of Saskatchewan, Canada. She was born in Prince Albert, Saskatchewan. She has contributed significantly to the creation and performance of Indigenous thea ...

* David A. Poulsen * Dee Hobsbawn-Smith *

Arthur Slade Arthur Gregory Slade (born July 9, 1967 in Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan) is a Canadian author. A resident of Saskatoon, he was raised on a ranch in the Cypress Hills and began writing in high school. He attended the University of Saskatchewan in Sa ...

References

External links

Saskatoon Public Library

Saskatchewan Libraries

{{Authority control Public libraries in Saskatchewan Culture of Saskatoon Library buildings completed in 1928 Tourist attractions in Saskatoon Organizations based in Saskatoon 1913 establishments in Canada Libraries established in 1913