The Port Hope Public Library is a
public library
A public library is a 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 service, civil servants.
There are ...
system with two branches that serves the town of
Port Hope,
Ontario
Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
.
History
The first incarnation of the Port Hope Public Library was a
Mechanic's Institute
Gray's School of Art is the Robert Gordon University's art school, located in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is one of the oldest established fine art institutions in Scotland and one of Scotland's five art schools today, and ranked among the Top 20 S ...
established in 1852. This was followed by the building of a public library in 1912 with a grant from the Carnegie Foundation. The library was erected at 31 Queen St and later became the Mary J. Benson Branch. In 1971 the library was expanded and the front facade altered. The next alteration to the building came in 1982 with the installation of an elevator in the south west corner of the building which, in turn, required a relocation of the front door. In 2000 the Town of Port Hope and the Hope Township were amalgamated by the municipal government which added the smaller Garden Hill Branch to the Port Hope Public Library network. The Queen St building underwent further renovations in 2001 which effectively doubled the size of the library and added columns that imitated the facade of the initial 1912 building. These renovations were done from January to December 2001 and cost 2.2 million dollars. During this time much of the library collection was stored but service did continue from a nearby storefront. Upon its reopening in 2002, the building was named the Mary J. Benson Branch of the Port Hope Public Library. Ten years later, in 2012 the library celebrated its 100th anniversary.
Programs and awards
The "Library.Card.Cool" campaign made efforts to increase library membership among local children and won the Ministry of Culture Award in 2006.
The "Open a BOOK; Open a BUSINESS @ Port Hope Public Library" program aimed to expand the library collection to educate and promote local business and agriculture. This program won the Angus Mowat Award for Business Initiative in 2007.
The D. Becker Summer Tutoring Program is an annual program that provides free tutoring in French, reading and math for the children in the community over the summer. It is named after Dieter Becker who provided funding to allow the continuation of the program in 2016.
See also
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List of Carnegie libraries in Canada
There are a total of 125 public Carnegie libraries in Canada. Of these, the vast majority (111) were built in Ontario. They were constructed and opened from 1903 to 1922. Place names as they were during the grant period are used. In a few cases, C ...
*
List of public libraries in Ontario
This is a list of public libraries in Ontario.
Background
Ontario public libraries are created by municipal by-laws and governed by public library boards. The Ontario Ministry of Tourism and Culture has responsibility for the administration of t ...
References
External links
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{{Authority control
Public libraries in Ontario
Carnegie libraries in Canada
Libraries established in 1852
1852 establishments in Canada