Halifax Public Libraries is a Canadian public library system serving residents of Halifax, Nova Scotia. It is the largest public library system in Nova Scotia, with over 2.8 million visits to library branches and 172,520 active registered borrowers or 44% of the municipality's population. With roots that trace back to the establishment of the Citizens' Free Library in 1864, the current library system was created in 1996 during municipal amalgamation, and now consists of 14 branches and a collection of almost 1 million items.HistoryEarly HistoryHalifax Mechanics' Institute was one of a series of Mechanics' Institutes that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. It housed a subscription library that allowed members who paid a fee to borrow books. The Mechanic's Institutes libraries eventually became public libraries when the establishment of free libraries occurred. One of the members of the Mechanics' Institute about 1835 was Samuel Cunard.In 1864, the Honourable William Young purchased the heavily indebted Halifax Mechanic’s Library and donated the collection to establish the city’s first free public library, The Citizens’ Free Library. Anyone “above the age of 18 who were of a known and respectable nature” could borrow one book at a time. The library found a permanent home in 1890 on the second floor of City Hall, where the office of the Mayor of Halifax is now located.Some talks about a new municipally-funded library in 1901 were unsuccessful.Creation of municipal LibrariesIn 1948, Halifax had “a single over-crowded, under-equipped room at the end of a corridor” located in the City Hall building. The conditions and poor services of the Citizens' Free Library room even failed in comparison to much smaller towns in Nova Scotia, such as Amherst.
