History of Red Deer Public Library

Red Deer Public Library was one of the first four libraries to be established under the new legislation.  On September 1, 1914, the Library was created.  Its first home was in the Board of Trade/Firehall Building (pictured below):

The Library had a number of other homes in the first half of the century, including one in City Hall next to the Jail Cell.  Some Red Deer old-timers can remember the purpose-built library on the North Side of Ross Street, where the Parsons Clinic is today.  Here's a picture from 1953:

A new Library became an election issue in the mid-1960s, and after some controversy and a successful plebicite, a new one-story library was built to celebrate Canada's Centennial in 1967.  That's the main floor of the adult portion of today's Downtown Branch.   This new facility was made possible thanks to generosity and vision of long-time trustee Charlie Snell and his wife, Librarian Mabel Snell.  The Snells made a significant financial contribution.  Their contribution was recognized in the naming of the Snell Auditorium, the Library's main community program room.  [picture below: checking out a book in the Centennial Library, 1970]

A second storey was added to the building in 1979, thanks in part to a contribution from the Bower Family.  Meanwhile, on the north side of the Red Deer River, a new branch of Red Deer Public Library was being built in the new GH Dawe Community Centre.  The new Dawe Branch is named for one of Red Deer's great contributors to libraries and public life in our community: Harold Dawe.  In 1980 the new facility provided public library service to North Red Deer, and school library service to the public and Catholic elementary-junior-high schools in the Centre.

In 1993, planning began for a major expansion and renovation of the Downtown Branch.  After 18 months of fund-raising programming in The Firehall Fun Factory, the Children's Library in the basement of the Centennial Library building moved next door into Firehall #1 (which was originally the Armoury, built in 1914).  The new Piper Creek Optimist Children's Library was the focus of the expansion, built with $2.6 million raised by the Literacy & Legacy Capital Campaign.  The new Kinsmen Link connected the new Children's Library with renovated Adult spaces, the new Snell Auditorium, and the Library's Technical Services (back-office) areas.

A few renovations later, the 2007 Downtown Branch is one of the finest public library facilities in Canada.  It has some special spaces: the mezz, the Downtown Rotary Teen Space; the Kinsmen Link, a gathering place for the whole community; the Kiwanis Gallery, a space for community art displays; Café Noir, one of the first full-service coffee shops in a Canadian Public Library;  and many more. 

We also have big plans for the Dawe Branch, which has also had a number of face-lifts since it began more than 25 years ago.  In late 2007, construction will start on a major renovation, which will expand the branch from 600 to 900 square metres.  Watch for more information, coming soon.

At Red Deer Public Library, we're looking forward to the future!

100 Legends of Library Service

One of the interesting features on the Centennial of the Libraries Act page from Alberta Municipal Affairs and Housing's Libraries Section is this document on 100 Legends of Library Service (PDF format).  Names from Red Deer: Mac Coleman, RDPL Director for many years; Harold Dawe, community leader and long-time RDPL Trustee; Ethel Taylor, another great Trustee whose name shows up in Taylor Drive, along with many related Red Deer places; and Marilyn Corbett, another former RDPL Director. 

90th Anniversary

In 2004 the Library celebrated its 90th anniversary - this is what we were up to then.  See you in 2014! 

2004: In honour of our 90th anniversary, Red Deer Public Library presented a unique and whimsical exhibit examining our past and our present, and offering some thoughts about our future.  This exhibit can be viewed online, at this page: @ the library.

Library Stories

Check out these fascinating stories from Red Deer Public Library's colourful history.

Story 1: Early Leaders in Early Days

Story 2: The Library's Many Homes: Privies, Dripping Showers, Bubble Gum

Story 3: Romance, Tragedy, and the Burying of Books: The Charlie Snell Story

Firehall Renovations

Check out this photo story which shows the transformation of the firehall into the Children's Department.

Library Pictures

Picture: Ina Greene, RDPL's First Librarian (1914)

Pictures courtesy of the Red Deer & District Archives.  Thanks to Archivist Michael Dawe for all his help in researching RDPL's history.

• Policy Handbook of Red Deer Public Library (1975) - PDF format
• A history of Red Deer Public Library, by G.H. Dawe (1980) - PDF format 
• The Library Clock