The Montreal Children's Library () is a public

library A library is a collection of Book, books, and possibly other Document, materials and Media (communication), media, that is accessible for use by its members and members of allied institutions. Libraries provide physical (hard copies) or electron ...

and

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

Quebec Quebec is Canada's List of Canadian provinces and territories by area, largest province by area. Located in Central Canada, the province shares borders with the provinces of Ontario to the west, Newfoundland and Labrador to the northeast, ...

History

Montreal Children's Library was founded in 1929. It was the first free children's library for both English and French-speaking children in Montreal. The initiator of the Montreal movement for a children’s library was Elizabeth Murray, who came from a family with a long tradition of public service and the belief that every child should have the same opportunity to grow up with books that she herself had enjoyed. When she discovered that the librarian of the Fraser Institute, M. de Crèvecoeur, had set apart a section for children’s reading but lacked the funds to purchase books for it, Miss Murray got in contact with the Local Council (later the Montreal Council of Women), which had formed a committee to inquire into the possibility of establishing a children’s library, under the chairmanship of Maysie McSporran. The committee obtained $3000 in a fund raising campaign, and in October 1929 the room in the Fraser Institute was opened for all girls and boys between the ages of three and sixteen.Mac Ewen, Violet M. (1930). ''Report of the Head Librarian''. nnual Report Série 1000, sous-série 1100, sous-sous-série 1120. Bibliothèque des jeunes de Montréal, Montréal, QC. During its first month of operation, under librarian Violet McEwen, membership grew to 208 children.

Activities

The Montreal Children's Library offers a variety of activities, including parent-child story time, craft-making, reading circles and group activities such as a chess club. The library's programs and activities are all free and are targeted at children ranging from 0–17 years of age. In addition to its various in-house activities, the Montreal Children's Library engages in a wide range of outreach projects.

Location

The Montreal Children's Library is located at 4121 42nd Rue in St. Michel. The head librarian is Laurence Savage-Duguay.

References

External links

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Montreal Families
{{Authority control Libraries in Montreal 1929 establishments in Quebec Children's libraries Libraries established in 1929