A century ago, a principal’s idea came to life and is still a vibrant part of the community.
Today (July 19) community members, library board members, and staff gathered in Hollinger Park to reminisce and celebrate 100 years of the Timmins Public Library.
“We’ve been planning for this for over a year, and it’s so satisfying to see,” said library CEO Carole-Ann Demers.
Demers said the library is a fixture in the community and can significantly impact the people the staff there serve.
“I was always a library user,” she said. “And when I was 13, I decided I wanted to volunteer at the library, and that’s how my career started!”
The original idea for the public library was pitched by Mr. C.S. Carter, principal of the Timmins Public School, who wanted to secure a love of reading and learning in the community. The Timmins Free Public Library opened in 1924 in the city’s public school.
That love of reading has stuck with many people participating in the event.
Holly Rodrique, who performed in a powwow demonstration, said she remembers the C.M. Shields Centennial Library branch in South Porcupine as a positive part of her childhood.
“My sister and her friend Linda had taken me to the library, and when I first walked through the door, the smell of the books was in the air. I just loved it,” she said. “I started to look around, and it was like a little adventure.”
The Peter Rabbit series were her favourite books.
“I brought them home, and I read them and looked at the pictures,” she said. “As I got older, around 11 or 12, I would go on my own and continue to visit the library.”
Anthony Roberts frequently visits the South Porcupine location and says the staff are always eager to introduce him to new books. He does not own a computer and uses the ones available at the library.
The library also holds a place in the heart of Timmins-James Bay MP Charlie Angus.
“I spent my childhood in the old Timmins library, going downstairs,” he said. “The librarians opened a world for me, gave me a sense of possibilities I never would have had otherwise.”
Angus has now published nine books.
“I never thought I would be doing that as a kid, but there was something magical about the library,” he said. “They’ve continued, and that’s 100 years of opening minds and sharing stories. That’s an incredible legacy to be proud of.”
The library grew and moved throughout the next century, taking its place in the old post office building, the current City Hall engineering building, and finally, the main branch’s current home on Second Avenue, which opened in 2005.
The new building was approved under the leadership of former mayor Jamie Lim, who was at today’s event. She said getting the new home built was a labour of love.
“I left feeling like I’d won because I really wanted a new modern library for our community. It needed it desperately,” she said.
The library is an equalizer for many, said Lim.
“My three kids growing up, they all had computers, they did not need what the library offered, and they could do their homework at home and they could access stuff on the internet, and they were fine,” she said. “But there were other kids in their classes that didn’t have computers at home, couldn’t access the internet but were expected to compete and I didn’t understand how they could compete.”
“The playing field in our hometown needed to be levelled,” said Lim.
While building a new library was controversial at the time, she’s proud that she and the people who supported the project completed it.
She vividly remembers her last business council meeting, when they passed the resolution to hire contractors to build the new main branch.
“To know that it was for a good purpose and to know that we got it done, it was probably the best night in my term of office,” she said. “I probably slept that night because we finally knew that the fight was behind us and that the library would be built.”
The necessity of the public library is still clear to educators now. Carole Young from Northern College said the library offers a lot to students. She and Jaspreet Kaur were there in their fairy tale best, matching the theme of the Urban Market that was also on site.
“It’s really amazing that the library has evolved from not only books but offering other services such as the computers, the office rentals, and it caters to this new age of how we do things,” she said.
While the past 100 years have been an impressive journey and offered many a safe space to learn and grow, Young says there’s always room for more.
“I hope they are around for another hundred years,” she said
