New Westminster Public Library

The New Westminster Public Library is a vibrant, modern library situated in the city of New Westminster (pop. 52,000), in the Greater Vancouver area of British Columbia, Canada. The 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 Westminster was t... he capital of the mainland colony of British Columbia, 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". The 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the first two years of its existence, the Library was well funded by the government but by 1868 all government aid was withdrawn.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 Westminster. Bowing to public pressure, the 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 library 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. Unfortunately, the beautiful new library building was doomed to ...Read More