Regina Public Library always moving with the times

Saturday marks the launch of Biblio Files: A History of the Regina Public Library, published by the University of Regina Press.

With 100 years packed into 300 pages, here are just a few of the most significant events in the library’s history:

During flu outbreaks in the ■ early 1900s, some books had to be destroyed for fear of transmitting disease, but head librarians at the time still urged the community to read because they believed it was healthy for the body and mind.

Immigrant education was top of ■ mind for librarians in the 1920s, who sought to have books published in French, Ukrainian and German — something that was very expensive at the time. Now we see library books published in languages that existed here long before English ever did, such as Cree, Saulteaux, Dene and more.

Until 1945, women had to be ■ between the ages of 18 and 35 to work in the library. Women were expected to resign if they aged past 35 and married women were not allowed to be librarians.

In 1937, Frederica Armstrong — ■ chief librarian at the time — promoted a pension plan specific to librarians in an attempt to lessen the impact of such laws on single women. In 1945, the discriminatory measures were revoked.

In 1949, chief librarian Marjorie ■ Dunlop, said to fight communism, “Democracy’s best defence against its enemies is an aware population — one that reads books.

Dunlop also recommended ■ programs designed to engage more of the community, saying “You can’t make a reader out of everyone, but with a creative and imaginative staff, programs can be expanded so they appeal to more people.”

Thanks to Dunlop’s efforts, ■ what is now called the Film Theatre was born. During her time, she also began hanging up artwork in a makeshift gallery, which later turned into the Dunlop Art Gallery.

Fast forwarding to 2003, the ■ RPL board announced the closure of several branches, including Prince of Wales, Connaught and Glen Elm, as well as the Dunlop Art Gallery and the Prairie history room.

In response, more 100 community ■ members protested the closures in the RPL theatre and then held a rally in front of the Central Library. Three hundred concerned citizens marched to City Hall. During winter that year, a petition was drafted. Many signed in coloured pencil, unable to get their pens to work in the freezing temperatures.

On March 5, the petition, which ■ had garnered 26,048 signatures, was presented to City Hall by a member of a group called Friends of the Regina Public Library successfully convincing the city not to go ahead with impending closures.