The Saint-Sulpice Library is an historic building located at 1700

Saint Denis Street Saint Denis Street (officially in french: Rue Saint-Denis) is a major north–south thoroughfare in Montreal, Quebec. It extends from the Notre-Dame-de-Bon-Secours Chapel on Saint Paul Street in Old Montreal to the bank of the Rivière des Pra ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

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 ...

. It was designated a Historic Monument of Quebec in 1988. At the dawn of the 20th century, the political elite and religious leaders of Montreal recognized the need for creating a new francophone library that would elevate the education level of the population. The selection of books offered by the Cabinet de lecture paroissiale, previously created by the Sulpicians, was becoming obsolete and outdated for the time according to critics. The Sulpicians initiated the construction of a new library on Saint-Denis Street to offer Montrealers better readings combining part of their own collections with the ones owned by Université Laval à Montréal (Université de Montréal). The Saint-Sulpice Library was intended primarily for students, scholars and academics but also for Catholics seeking self-education. Designed by architect Eugène Payette, the Saint-Sulpice Library is considered one of the finest examples of

Beaux-Arts architecture Beaux-Arts architecture ( , ) was the academic architectural style taught at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris, particularly from the 1830s to the end of the 19th century. It drew upon the principles of French neoclassicism, but also incorpora ...

in the province. Built between 1912 and 1914, the building opened as a private library operated by the

Society of Saint-Sulpice The Society of Priests of Saint-Sulpice (french: Compagnie des Prêtres de Saint-Sulpice), abbreviated PSS also known as the Sulpicians is a society of apostolic life of Pontifical Right for men, named after the Church of Saint-Sulpice, Paris, ...

in 1917. It was notably the first French-language library in the nation of Canada. While the library was built by Eugene Payette, the Sulpicians hired a professional librarian

Aegidius Fauteux Aegidius Fauteux (27 September 1876 – 22 April 1941) was a journalist, librarian and historian. He was designated a Person of National Historic Significance by the Canadian Government in 1955. Rue Aegidius-Fauteux in Montreal is named after hi ...

, for conserving and developing a collection dedicated for research. From its opening in 1915 to its closure in 1931, Fauteux assumed his role by transforming the nature of the collection by acquiring titles that would support the educational mission of the library. To get ready for the opening, he acquired tens of thousands of works between 1913 and 1916. He also developed the special collections by including maps, portraits, medals, ex-libris and rare books. Not only the library offered a variety of books and periodicals but cultural activities and a centre dedicated to pictorial arts under the supervision of Olivier Maurault, priest of Saint-Sulpice. In 1931, Fauteux left the Bibliothèque Saint-Sulpice to become the director of the Public Library of Montreal and founded the first French library school in Canada. In the 1960s the library folded due to waning membership. Its large collection was donated to the newly formed

Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec The Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec ( 'National Library and Archives of Quebec') or BAnQ is a Quebec government agency which manages the province's legal deposit system, national archives, and national library. Located at the Gr ...

in 1967 and the

Ministry of Culture and Communications (Quebec) The Ministry of Culture and Communications (french: Ministère de la Culture et des Communications ) is responsible for promoting and protecting the culture in the Canadian province of Quebec. The current Minister is Nathalie Roy.Université du Québec à Montréal The Université du Québec à Montréal (English: University of Quebec in Montreal), also known as UQAM, is a French-language public university based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is the largest constituent element of the Université du Québe ...

bought the building, but was forced to sell it back to the ministry of culture due to financial reasons in 2007. In 2008 plans were announced to turn the building into a music centre that will house Le Vivier, a group of 22 Quebec music groups. Le Vivier presented its first season of 15 concerts from September 2009 to May 2010. In 2016, it was announced the building will be used as a new technology incubator and library for teens.

References

{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1914 Beaux-Arts architecture in Canada Libraries in Montreal Heritage buildings of Quebec Ville-Marie, Montreal Libraries established in 1917