The library is celebrating a century of supporting the Timmins community.
On Monday (July 8) the city honoured the Timmins Public Library’s 100th anniversary. The proclamation was delivered at the main branch on Second Avenue at 10 a.m. with staff and library board members.
“To think that there’s been this evolution over a hundred years is definitely something worth celebrating,” said Mayor Michelle Boileau.
This is only the first step in celebrating the anniversary.
On Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., the library will be throwing a party in Hollinger Park and the BIA Urban Park Market will join the celebration. There will be a barbecue on site.
Both the library and the park will have a story walk on site to share the history of the Timmins Public Library over the past century.
“Our history display goes through the decades,” said Amy Knifton, Timmins Public Library assistant library director. “People can go on a little walk down memory lane so they can see the library story and see where they were in the library story.”
Those who wish to reminisce about the library are encouraged to share their experiences.
“We would like people to come and tell us their stories,” said Knifton
She has a soft spot in her heart for libraries. She said they have always been her happy place.
“Regardless of what community I live in, my first stop in any community is the library, even from the time I was a child,” she said. “It was a running joke that I would become a librarian.”
The library will hold events throughout the summer to mark the anniversary, including the summer reading club for children and teens, teen reading bingo, and programming, including a ventriloquist on July 23.
In August, a teen theatre group will write and perform their original show at the summer reading club’s end-of-season party. Registration is required for this program.
The Porcupine Art Club is also putting together a mural, and anyone who wants to participate can pick up a small canvas on Wednesday.
“It’s already traced out, and it’s paint-by-number,” said Knifton.
The Timmins Public Library first opened its doors in 1924 after years of campaigning from Mr. C.S. Carter, principal of the Timmins Public School. It had many homes before moving into its current location on Second Avenue, which opened in 2006.
The library’s old homes hold a lot of memories, and Boileau is no exception.
“When I give tours of City Hall to students from school groups, and we go into the old library that’s now our engineering building and I retell stories about how I remember going down to the children’s section,” said Boileau.
“Just to think about where the library was at in my childhood to its current home now, and the changes and the way it’s evolved along the way is pretty incredible.”
