James Bain (August 2, 1842 – May 22, 1908) was a Scottish-Canadian bookseller,

publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the term refers to the creation and distribution of printed works, such as books, newsp ...

, and

librarian A librarian is a person who works professionally in a library providing access to information, and sometimes social or technical programming, or instruction on information literacy to users. The role of the librarian has changed much over time ...

. Born in London, England, his family emigrated to Toronto when he was 6 years old. After completing his education at the Toronto Grammar School, he went to work for his father who was a stationer and bookseller. He was active in the publishing industry both in England and in Canada, joining the firm John Nimmo & Son which later became Nimmo & Bain. He returned to Canada in 1882. After managing the fledgling Canada Publishing Company, Bain was selected in 1883 to become the first chief librarian of the

Toronto Public Library Toronto Public Library (TPL) (french: Bibliothèque publique de Toronto) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2008 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other pub ...

. He held this position until his death in 1908. Portrait of James Bain, D

As chief librarian, he was occupied with building both the library's collection and new branches. Acquiring the library's first collection took some diplomacy on his part, since in the 1880s fiction was controversial. In the campaign to establish a free library, some of the opposition had argued against it on the grounds that taxes shouldn't be used to circulate novels. While the library did acquire novels, the bulk of the collection was more serious. He was particularly concerned with ensuring that the library's collection include "every work of any consequence" in the fields of Canadian history and literature. The first building space and book collection for the library came from the

Toronto Mechanics' Institute The Toronto Mechanics' Institute, originally named the York Mechanics' Institute, was an educational institution in 19th century Toronto that became the city's first public library. It was one of a series of mechanics' institutes that were set up ...

, who had opened a subscription library in 1833. The collection was supplemented by $15,000 worth of books that Bain acquired on a trip to England in late 1883. Bain welcomed patrons to the first Toronto Public Library in the Mechanics' Institute in 1884. Two branches, Northern and Western, also opened that year, with Eastern following in 1888, Dundas in 1889 and College in 1900. In 1903, Bain secured Carnegie funding to build a new central library (now the

Koffler Student Centre The Koffler Student Centre is the main student centre at the University of Toronto, located at 214 College Street. The centre houses a number of different student services, including the main campus bookstore, career centre, and health clinic. The ...

at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

) and three branches, Yorkville, Queen and Lisgar, and Riverdale. After his death, the library received a second Carnegie grant to build more branches. Seven of the ten Carnegie libraries are still open as branches of the

. He helped found the

Ontario Library Association The Ontario Library Association (OLA) was established in 1900 and is the oldest continually operating library association in Canada. With 5,000 members, OLA is also the largest library association in Canada and among the 10 largest library associ ...

, serving as president of the preliminary committee for 1900 and as its president for 1901 and 1902. He was also a founding member of the

Champlain Society The Champlain Society seeks to advance knowledge of Canadian history through the publication of scholarly books (both digital and print) of primary records of voyages, travels, correspondence, diaries and governmental documents and memoranda. Th ...

and held the role of Treasurer and was the president of the

Royal Canadian Institute The Royal Canadian Institute for Science (RCIScience), known also as the Royal Canadian Institute, is a Canadian nonprofit organization dedicated to connecting the public with Canadian science. History The organization was formed in Toronto as t ...

from 1900 to 1902. James Bain is buried in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, along with his wife, Jessie Mary Paterson, and some of their children.grave marker, Plot R Mount Pleasant Cemetery http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GSln=bain&GSiman=1&GScid=639401&GRid=8161213& His son was James Watson Bain.

References

External links

*Edith G Firth,
James Bain
''Dictionary of Canadian Biography online'', 2000 *Toronto Public Library
A Passion for History: The Legacy of James Bain
a virtual exhibit honouring James Bain
James Bain archival papers
held at th
University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bain, James 1842 births 1908 deaths Canadian librarians Librarians from London People from Old Toronto Burials at Mount Pleasant Cemetery, Toronto

See also

References

External links