{"id":80,"date":"2013-01-29T19:49:38","date_gmt":"2013-01-29T19:49:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/?page_id=80"},"modified":"2013-03-13T18:31:15","modified_gmt":"2013-03-13T18:31:15","slug":"beginnings","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/?page_id=80","title":{"rendered":"WPL Beginnings"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"William<\/a>The idea to open a free library in Windsor had been discussed in the community and in the local newspaper for many years. A Mechanics\u2019 Institute, a precursor to public libraries in Ontario, was established in 1854 to \u201ckeep young men off the streets,\u201d (Records of the Amalgamated and Branch Libraries, Municipal Archives) however the Institute, facing financial difficulties, closed around 1856.<\/p>\n

In 1894, a citizen\u2019s committee was organized in Windsor to develop a free library.\u00a0 The committee presented Windsor City Council with a petition with over 500 signatures requesting that the issue of a free library be put to a referendum. With majority support, the bylaw enabling the formation of a free public library was passed June 26, 1894, and the first public library was opened in Windsor in Lambie\u2019s Hall<\/a> on December 6, 1894.\u00a0\"Windsor<\/a><\/p>\n

The Windsor Public Library Board invited the Walkerville and Sandwich Councils to make library services available to their residents.\u00a0 Two years later, Walkerville Council agreed, paying $175 for the year to allow its residents use of the WPL services. This arrangement continued until 1905 when the Walkerville library was opened.\u00a0 The library was in various locations in the Walkerville area until it moved into Willistead Manor<\/a> in 1922.<\/p>\n

After a year of service, the library had 5,254 books in circulation and 1,713 library members. By 1898, the library had outgrown its physical space and overcrowding was a problem.\u00a0 Andrew Braid, secretary of the Windsor St. Andrew\u2019s Society and the WPL board, wrote to American philanthropist Andrew Carnegie.\u00a0 Carnegie (1835 \u2013 1919) financed the construction of libraries across Ontario, Canada and the U.S., under the stipulation that local authorities provided the land and a budget for continued operation and maintenance.<\/p>\n

In 1901, from the persistent determination of Andrew Braid, Carnegie agreed to fund the construction of a library in Windsor.\u00a0 Once the site was selected and contracts were tendered, the new library was built on the corner of Victoria Avenue and Park Street.\u00a0\u00a0\"Carnegie<\/a><\/p>\n

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The idea to open a free library in Windsor had been discussed in the community and in the local newspaper for many years. A Mechanics\u2019 Institute, a precursor to public libraries in Ontario, was established in 1854 to \u201ckeep young men off the streets,\u201d (Records of the Amalgamated and Branch Libraries, Municipal Archives) however the Institute, facing financial difficulties, closed Continue Reading<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=80"}],"version-history":[{"count":83,"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":174,"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/pages\/80\/revisions\/174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.windsorpubliclibrary.com\/engine\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=80"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}