Lapsed Canadian Carnegie Library Grants, 1901–1922

Canadian Carnegie Grants for Public Libraries

At the turn of the 20th century, the philanthropist Andrew Carnegie rapidly became an internationally recognized supporter of public libraries in Anglo-Saxon countries. In Canada, in the period 1901–22, 125 buildings were erected as libraries using grants promised by the Carnegie Corporation of New York. The terms for receiving a grant directly from Carnegie personally or the Carnegie Corporation before the grant period ended in 1917 were straightforward. After a community representative(s) outlined the need for a public library and a promise of funding was secured, two commitments were required from local municipalities before funds for a building were released: a suitable site and a promise to provide at least ten percent of the total grant for annual operating expenses. There were also two further requirements, one that boosted the social standing of public library service: the library must be free to its citizens at the point of entry and, from 1908 onward, applicants had to submit building plans for final approval before receiving funds. Most architectural arrangements were made locally.  Carnegie and his personal secretary, James Bertram, who managed most of the library correspondence, often insisted on dealing with elected officials and library trustees. The standard Carnegie formula for awarding grants was approximately two dollars per capita.

There are many books, articles, and internet sources of information on the Carnegie program in Canada. A standard printed reference is the 1984 work by Margaret Beckman, Stephen Langmead, and John Black, The Best Gift: A Record of the Carnegie Libraries in Ontario published in Toronto by Dundurn Press. However, there were some communities — thirty-one in all — that sought and received a promise of Carnegie funds to build a library which never reached the construction stage. These communities eventually saw their opportunity lapse. There were many reasons why these communities lost the chance to build a library with the promised funding:

 — people were not convinced that a public library was necessary;
 — a few municipalities officially declined the Carnegie offer;
 — there was opposition to increasing the annual tax burden, that is 10% of the promised grant;
 — the requirement to pass a bylaw to create a free library was not achieved;
 — local communities were unable to secure a suitable site;
 — the requirement that it be purpose built as a library became objectionable;
— after 1908 building plans had to be approved by James Bertram and he rejected some because they were too ornate or featured non-library space for features such as museums or offices;
— many people, including organized labour, objected to ‘tainted’ or ‘blood’ money given Carnegie’s controversial record in suppressing the Pennsylvania Homestead Strike in 1892;
— anti-American attitudes despite Carnegie’s enthusiasm for Anglo-Saxon community governance;
— some communities requested additional or reduced funds that were not approved Bertram;
— local apathy or confusion about the stipulations of the grant promise.

The acceptance of a Carnegie grant was often controversial and subject to many comments in the contemporary press, such as humorous graphic printed in Toronto by The Moon on February 21, 1903.

Lapsed Carnegie Library Grants in Canada 1901–18

Because Carnegie was viewed as a foreign figure or as an ardent capitalist, many writers have assumed that lapsed or refused grants were motivated by a desire to avoid associating with Carnegie and creating memorials to his name. But again, a few case studies reveal the complexity of  involvement with the Carnegie library program. The largest grant, $150,000 to Montréal, ground to a halt in 1903 after formidable opposition from the Catholic Archbishop, censorship concerns, and the linguistic divide in the city. In Ontario, Port Arthur (now Thunder Bay) received three promises: a grant of $10,000 in 1902, an increase to $30,000 in 1909, and then an additional $10,000 in 1910. Despite some delays with building plans, the city was ready to erect a $40,000 building by early 1912. However, Bertram reduced the grant by $10,000 in March 1912 because revised 1911 population census figures indicated fewer people than the official application, which was based on municipal assessment. As a result, everything collapsed; the library board and council preferred a larger building and the project was lost. Halifax declined its $75,000 offer after it was unable to get a suitable site and became embroiled in a legal battle about its authority to accept. St. John’s $50,000 promise lapsed after its building proposal included museum and offices which did not receive approval. Saskatoon, a relatively new city in a new province, decided not to proceed with its $30,000 offer after its request to raise the amount to $75,000 in July 1912 due to building costs was turned down by Bertram.

Smaller places were usually in a more precarious financial state, especially in Ontario. Tilbury’s original $5,000 grant, approved before the WW I, was rescinded by the Carnegie Corporation in the mid-1920s. The entire project was beset by a series of false starts at the tendering stage, a reluctance to submit a free library bylaw to the electors, requests for additional money, delays because of municipal funding problems, a prohibitive rise in costs, and bitter local rivalry over site selection. Otterville, a police village situated within the Oxford County, was considered by Bertram to be too small for a grant; instead, he promised $6,000 to the township of South Norwich in March 1915. Special legislation permitting townships to form boards was duly arranged by the province in 1916, but the war effort scuttled any further movement in this direction until January 1923, when township electors refused to pass a free bylaw. Consequently, the award to South Norwich lapsed. Trenton received a promise for $10,000 in April 1911 and passed its free bylaw; however, when local library efforts flagged the provincial library Inspector, Walter Nursey, rescinded its free status in 1913, and Bertram judged the endeavour finished. Efforts to revive the Trenton pledge after WW I failed. Bertram testily advised that its revised proposal to construct a library as a war memorial should be financed by a local community, not an “outside agency.” Caledonia’s $6,000 promise lapsed because its free status was revoked when it failed to comply with provincial regulations. Thessalon, which received a $8,000 promise, requested a smaller amount since representatives felt that $500 (not $800) per annum was sufficient for its library. Similarly, Neepawa (Manitoba) assessed that it could not commit to the ten percent annual tax expenditure and asked for a reduced promise: Bertram refused based on his knowledge that $600/year was already the bare minimum needed for adequate service.

Eventually, the communities that experienced problems with Carnegie funding did build public libraries at their own expense. The library story did not end because library advocates continued to press for better services. Larger cities, such as Halifax and Montréal, now boast prominent central library faculties. Smaller communities are part of larger municipal or regional systems. For the most part, the history of their lapsed grants remain to be told in more detail because attention has been focused on the architecture and stories of successful Carnegie promises. A listing of lapsed Canadian grants follows:

Province	Community	Promise in $$$	Date of Award
Alberta	Raymond	10,000	December 24, 1909
Manitoba	Neepawa	6,000	January 8, 1908
Manitoba	Brandon	36,000	July 9, 1913
Newfoundland	St. John's	50,000	March 25, 1901
Nova Scotia	Amherst	5,000	February 6, 1907
Nova Scotia	Halifax	75,000	February 4, 1902
Nova Scotia	Yarmouth	4,000	October 3, 1901
Nova Scotia	Truro	10,000	October 4, 1902
Nova Scotia	Sydney	15,000	March 8, 1901
Ontario	Arthur	7,500	March 13, 1909
Ontario	Beeton	5,000	May 16, 1911
Ontario	Chesley	10,000	January 6, 1912
Ontario	Merrickville	2,500	April 8, 1907
Ontario	Milton	5,000	January 29, 1906
Ontario	Newmarket	10,000	March 29, 1911
Ontario	Paisley	5,000	January 8, 1908
Ontario	Petrolia	10,000	December 13, 1907
Ontario	Strathroy	7,500	March 21, 1908
Ontario	Thessalon	8,000	August 28, 1908
Ontario	*Port Arthur*	10,000	April 11, 1902
Ontario	Port Arthur	increased 30,000	February 1, 1909
Ontario	Port Arthur	increased 10,000	April 16, 1910
Ontario	Port Arthur	reduced 10,000	March 18, 1912
Ontario	Trenton	10,000	April 8, 1911
Ontario	Gananoque	10,000	August 11, 1911
Ontario	Otterville	6,000	March 16, 1915
Ontario	Caledonia	6,000	December 8, 1913
Ontario	Millbrook	8,000	December 8, 1913
Ontario	Tilbury	5,000	July 23, 1914
Ontario	Tilbury	increased 2,000	March 11, 1918
Québec	Montréal	150,000	July 23, 1901
Québec	Sherbrooke	15,000	February 4, 1902
Québec	Trois-Rivières	10,000	April 11, 1902
Saskatchewan	Saskatoon	30,000	May 16, 1911
Saskatchewan	Indian Head	10,000	May 8, 1908

* the 1902 Port Arthur promise was rescinded and replaced in 1909–10

My two earlier blogs on Carnegie libraries are on the Brantford Library constructed in 1904 and the Brockville Library opened in 1904. 

My blog on William Austin Mahoney, who was the architect for many Carnegie libraries in Ontario is at this link.

 

Pre-Confederation Public Libraries in Canada West/Ontario, 1841–1867

In 2007, I made a presentation at the Canadian Library Association in St. John’s on the development of public libraries in Canada before 1867. This period, for the most part, has been dominated in historiography by the growth of mechanics’ institutes. By the middle of the 19th century in the Province of Canada (the provinces of Ontario and Quebec after Confederation, 1867) many people were borrowing books from libraries located in a variety of local organizations, such as library associations, mechanics’ institutes, and Sunday schools. Some groups, such as the Toronto Mechanics’ Institute, Quebec Library, or the Montreal Mercantile Library Association, were incorporated under separate laws in the 1840s. Increasingly, legislators recognized the need to enact enabling public legislation regulating the establishment, holdings, and activities of dozens of existing and potential new libraries. The impetus for public libraries came from three sources.

Egerton Ryerson’s district school libraries for children and adults

Egerton Ryerson was the first to encourage the free-of-charge tax-supported public library concept with his Common School Act of  1850. This Act authorized the establishment of ‘district libraries’ in Canada West (later Ontario) by providing for libraries in ‘common’ (public) schools. Ryerson followed up by publishing extensive regulations in 1853 to cover book selection, provincial grants, the appointment of librarians, circulation records, and reports to the Dept. of Public Instruction he superintended. These libraries were free public libraries, i.e., there was no charge at the point of access, tax funding was authorized, and universal access for children and women (not just adult males) was encouraged. However, the location in school houses often mitigated book use by adults and after two decades local support for these libraries had greatly diminished.

The Library Association and Mechanics’ Institute Act of 1851

A second legislative effort came in 1851 when Robert Bell, a Member of Parliament for Lanark (Ontario), introduced a bill to facilitate the formation of mechanics’ institutes and library associations. His law (and subsequent similar acts in other provinces) contained influential ideas about public libraries. It recognized that a public library would be available to persons through voluntary decisions, not mandated legal regulations.  The Library Association and Mechanics’ Institute Act of 1851 established that libraries would be governed by local boards of trustees mostly independent from control by municipal politicians, a ‘special purpose body’ in modern public administrative terminology. Further, the Act provided public recognition of libraries as incorporated bodies through public legislation, thereby creating the opportunity for provincial grants in the public interest to supplement local fundraising efforts. However, unlike the Ryerson scheme this legislation did not stipulate public funding, although permissive Legislative grants were made to dozens of institutes and associations (as well as combinations of both) until 1858 when funding ceased due to an economic downturn.

Two Unsuccessful Canadian Public Library Bills in 1852 and 1866

A third stimulus for legislative initiatives took no notice of free libraries in schools or subscription libraries in associations and institutes. This development attempted to emulate the establishment of free public libraries in the United Kingdom and the United States. There is evidence for this trend shortly after 1850. Canadian efforts focused on the establishment of free library service by municipal corporations which were encouraged by the famous Baldwin Act of 1849. This important legislation permitted the incorporation of cities, towns, villages, and townships governed by locally elected councils across Canada West. William Henry Boulton, the Conservative member for Toronto in the Legislative Assembly, introduced a bill in 1852 which was essentially identical to the public library act passed by the American state of Massachusetts in the previous year (1851). His bill was premature: at this time, only a handful of municipal corporations existed in Canada West and in Canada East (Quebec) there was no general municipal legislation until 1855. The bill was not read a third time and died at the end of the parliamentary session. Later, in 1866, when support for Ryerson’s scheme had wanted and mechanics’ institutes were experiencing financial difficulties, Alexander Morris, a Liberal-Conservative member for the riding of Lanark South, sponsored novel legislation that supported the establishment of free public libraries by municipalities but also allowed a role for potential donors to contribute to the support and management of a semi-independent board. However, because a political union of Canadian colonies was well underway, Morris’ bill was discharged in August 1866 at the end of the Province of Canada’s last Parliament (1863–66).

Throughout this period, subscription libraries (often called library associations and occasionally in Canada social libraries) were established in all Canadian colonies. These ‘public libraries’ were accessible to all residents of a community (mostly males) but not generally free because they required voluntary payments. They performed a public function but were not agencies of the state. For the most part, the Canadian historiography of the subscription library has emphasized its social role as a prototype, a stage towards the development of the modern free public library. However, given the per-Confederation efforts to establish free libraries in schools and the abortive bills of 1852 and 1866, it can be seen that the subscription library was less important as a model for public funding and more important as an exemplar to establish the public library’s local roots by its identification with a sense of community, by its reliance on boards of management composed of citizen trustees, and by its example that access would be on a voluntary basis.

My article on proposed public library legislation for the Province of Canada (now Ontario and Quebec) in 1852. The bill was originally published in Ex Libris Association Newsletter 42 (Fall 2007): 15–18. See my earlier blog post on William Henry Boulton.

My article on public library legislation that was not passed by legislators of the United Canadas in 1866. Originally published in Ex Libris Association Newsletter 44 (Fall 2008): 10–13. See my earlier blog post on Alexander Morris.

For my revious post on Egerton Ryerson and his public libraries in schools, click here.

 

 

Egerton Ryerson’s Public School Libraries, 1850—1876

Egerton Ryerson, n.d.

In February 2007, I made a presentation on the common school library system that Egerton Ryerson established for Canada West (after 1867 Ontario) after he became Superintendent of Education in 1844. Ryerson, of course, is considered to be the founder of the Ontario school system and a leading Canadian figure in 19th-century education. And he is also a central figure in the development of ‘free’ public libraries in Canadian history. Before Ryerson launched his library scheme in 1853, subscription libraries created to serve specific groups dominated the public space across the southern part of Canada West. Adults could access libraries for a fee in a variety of organizations designed for a diverse clientele such as mechanics’ institutes; literary, agricultural and scientific societies; community library associations; and mercantile or commercial groups. But for rural residents, who comprised the majority of the population, access to books could be a difficult proposition. Ryerson recognized this problem and concluded that libraries, i.e. school district libraries, should be supplied through the growth of the school system he was establishing. Similar systems existed in the United States and in the Maritimes to provide reading for adults and school children. In his 1847 Report on a System of Public Elementary Instruction for Upper Canada, he outlined his library plan,

I mean the establishment of Circulating Libraries in the various Districts, and as far as possible in the School Sections. To the attainment of this object, local and voluntary co-operation is indispensable. Government may perhaps contribute; it may assist by suggesting regulations, and recommending list of books from which suitable selections can be made; but the rest remains for individual and local efforts to accomplish. And the advantages of the School can be but very partially enjoyed, unless they are continued and extended by means of books.

Over the course of his superintendency, hundreds of school libraries were formed and hundreds of thousands of books were delivered to local communities through the agency of a Book Depository which was established in Toronto. It offered discount prices on books. But, eventually, with the expansion of the frontier in Ontario and population growth, urban communities found public school libraries less attractive to an alternative appearing in Britain and the United States—free municipal public libraries. As well, the government was helping fund another source of library books in hundreds of mechanics’ institutes and frequently petitioned by a small, developing book trade to abolish the Depository’s monopoly. Nevertheless, Ryerson stood his ground, and the school libraries he created and nourished remained in place until the Depository closed in 1881 and the Ontario Legislature passed the Free Public Libraries Act in 1882. The original presentation lasted about a half hour with questions afterwards and follows below.

There is no commentary in the MP4 video of the PowerPoint presentation I made in 2007. It is about a 20-minute read, and viewers should adjust the settings to the slowest slide speed, i.e., 25 seconds.

Regarding the conclusion, there was some discussion at OLA, so perhaps a bit more information would be helpful for viewers. The concept of models is often used in historical explanations. The concept of ‘state formation’ has become important in the colonial experience of Canada West, 1841–67. State formation is the process whereby governing bodies during the period of growing responsible government and public institutions (such as libraries) exercised greater regulatory powers. In this development, government gained greater authority over the urban and rural populace ensuring the advance of liberal democratic rule and inculcating moral, cultural, and economic values aligned with capitalism. Bruce Curtis wrote on this topic four decades ago: “‘Littery Merrit,’ ‘Useful Knowledge,’ and the Organization of Township Libraries in Canada West, 1840–1860,” Ontario History 78, no. 4 (1986): 285–311. He concluded that while libraries were believed to promote certain ideals, such as literacy, his research indicated that few adults read the books supplied through Ryerson’s system because book selection was centrally controlled and officially excluded much published literature through the agency of the Book Depository. If the Dept. of Public Instruction sought to make the populace more governable, there must be some doubt about the successful role of the Ryerson system.

It seems, too, more difficult to make the case for another useful model, social control. Social control was a popular topic in library history and education, especially in America, beginning with the revisionist histories of the 1970s. There are many articles concerning its pros and cons due to its imprecise nature. Did Ryerson set out to use libraries to structure controls around public reading as well as provide moral instruction? It is a good question, yet the success of his scheme often relied on local responses, so it is fair to say that there was not just compliance but collaboration in building libraries. Also, there were many limitations to the concept of social control in library history: the degree of general public acceptance, the different levels of public usage, and opponents, especially booksellers or reluctant politicians and taxpayers.

A third model, the one I followed in my Free Books for All: The Public Library Movement in Ontario, 1850-1930, is less structured, libraries as a social movement. In short, people and groups from all sectors of the population organize formally or informally to support and produce societal or political change. Ryerson’s system displays a political characteristic of liberal democracy: a partnership between central and local authorities with the aim to establish public institutions. The central body instructs and local bodies supply the services. The political values are efficiency and participation in representative, responsible government. In time, a successful movement will eventually diminish because its objectives are mostly achieved and into woven into the fabric of government. Thus, the government sponsorship of libraries and universal public access that Ryerson espoused fits this general context until about 1930 when all the major cities and towns in Ontario had established free library service through local plebiscites.

Another influential Canadian historical thesis, the ‘liberal order framework’ proposed by Ian McKay, asserts that liberal-minded politicians and business leaders successfully shaped the nation’s consensus around individualism, private property and capitalist accumulation. This thesis is influenced by the Marxist philosopher, Antonio Gramsci, who developed the concept of cultural and social hegemony that reinforced the power of dominant classes. In this political environment, the impetus to create libraries would come from powerful individuals or groups seeking to legislate-regulate libraries and public reading by a ‘top down’ process. Gramsci is an important representative of Western Marxism.

The ongoing application of new models and theoretical approaches to library history may inject alternative views of the library system Ryerson developed over a quarter-century. Certainly, the recent development of Critical Librarianship, which strives to examine librarianship and library structures in relation to systemic ideologies, offers an opportunity to re-investigate power/knowledge relationships identified by Michel Foucault. For example, his formulation of ‘governmentality’ (governing people’s conduct through positive means) offers a theory of examining power relations in a different way. The prospect of other approaches looms in the future, but these were not part of my 2007 presentation.

Further information on my history of free public school libraries in Canada West can be viewed on the Internet Archive in my  Free Books for All: The Public Library Movement in Ontario, 1850-1930 published in 1994.

Citizen Participation in Library Decision-Making: The Toronto Experience by John Marshall (1984)

Citizen Participation in Library Decision-Making: The Toronto Experience edited by John Marshall. Metuchen, New Jersey: School of Library Service, Dalhousie University in association with the Scarecrow Press, 1984. p. 392., illus. and maps.

John Marshall, n.d.

Toronto Reform Movement in 1970s and Toronto Public Library

In the early 1970s, reform-minded politicians began to dominate the old city of Toronto council. Strong mayors, such as David Crombie (1972-78) and John Sewell (1978-80), as well as new city councilors were concerned with the direction of urban development, expanded social services, and transparency in politics. They believed community initiatives and citizen action trumped centralization and bureaucratic management. In the previous decade, the Toronto Public Library (TPL) had committed to a long-range plan of building larger regional libraries to better serve the growing population. However, there was a legacy of many older, smaller branches extending back to the Carnegie era and the administration of George Locke that had been neglected during this phase of planning. With the influx of immigrants after 1950, Toronto had become a more diverse city with many different neighborhoods that identified with the idea of ​​‘community.’ Progressive municipal politicians were interested in expanding citizen participation in government; thus, a number of reformist citizens were appointed as library trustees in the first half of the 1970s.

The idea of ​​citizen surveys, public consultation, or ‘friends groups’ working in concert with library boards and library personnel was limited, not new. Yet, the style of political action leaned more  to responsiveness with local community advisory groups. With the ongoing construction of a Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library scheduled to open in 1977, TPL’s trustees could forego district branch construction and focus on refurbishing local branches and services. During the next five-year planning cycle, there were major renovations to older branches such as Earlscourt, Dovercourt, Yorkville, Gerrard, Wychwood, and Eastern, and new branches such as Spadina Road, a timely partnership with the Native Canadian Centre. As well, the library’s focus turned to purchasing more Canadian books, decentralizing authority within the TPL pyramidal management structure, equalizing services across the city population, and offering better services to ethnic groups. TPL had a good reputation for Canadiana and George Locke had emphasized Canadian writers, but renewed nationalist sentiment in the 1970s demanded more attention to these resources.

John Maitland Marshall, a professor at the University of Toronto library school, noted this reform trend and edited a series of essays by contributors who had participated in this remarkable period which lasted for a brief decade. One might argue that urban reformers had more impact on library services than on other major city services, such as policing and housing. The essays demonstrate the concept of urban reform in relation to library services had many aspects and was by no means a uniform political perspective. Services attuned to local public viewpoints was not a new idea, but library planners now would significantly enlarge the scope of ‘stakeholders,’ a term which quickly gained currency after 1980. John Marshall began his career as a public librarian in 1952 and he retired in 1983 after contributing many insightful library publications. His biography is available at the Ex Libris Association .

My book review on Citizen Participation which follows was first published in Canadian Public Administration 28(3) September 1985, pp 497–499.

* * * * *

Public participation in the delivery of library services in Ontario has evolved in a variety of ways since the late nineteenth century. The concept that citizens participate to some extent with elected municipal officials and administrators in decision-making or program implementation has become firmly entrenched. Initially, the main thrust was political. A tax-supported free library was established by local referendum and its board of management was appointed by school trustees and municipal councillors. In theory the library trustees were broadly representative of their community, and the power vested in the board itself was politically significant: it controlled all aspects of policy-making, planning, raising funds, budgeting, personnel management, and so on.

This participatory model served the library community for a few decades before 1914. It satisfied the general liberal democratic consensus that municipal government was an educational process, the radical position that demanded participation as a right, and the conservative preference for non-elective offices by which prominent persons could exercise some social control. With the advent of scientific management and the growth of the library profession, political/administrative functions were shared to a greater degree. During this period, the model of citizen participation was reshaped and internalized. In larger urban centers “Friends of the Library” support groups were mobilized with some success after the beginning of the Depression. In rural villages and townships, where it was not feasible to establish public libraries, voluntary organizations such as women's institutes were encouraged to incorporate as Association Libraries to provide limited services as a substitute for municipal leadership.

When local government reforms commenced in the 1960s, important changes challenged traditional library governance. Local special purpose bodies were believed to fragment effective planning by municipal councils. Trustees, especially those appointed by greatly enlarged school boards, were held to be unaccountable to the local electorate. In larger regional governments the inherent community-based representative nature of boards was dismissed. In this environment genuine non-elective contributions to the political process became a low priority. Incorporating citizens in government planning by using technical needs assessments or performance evaluations was more prevalent. Feedback, not decision-making, was the rationale for citizen involvement.

Viewed in this context John Marshall’s Citizen Participation in Library Decision-Making is an essential anthology documenting the unprecedented transformation that occurred in the Toronto Public Library between 1974 and 1981. Fifteen contributors, who were either directly involved or close observers, recount their experiences in detail and give various opinions about the value of citizen participation. The editor does a fine job of unifying these disparate views by adding six chapters that explain events and analyse trends. Generally, Marshall and his contributors found participation a worthwhile activity with significant consequences for libraries.

The introductory chapters by James T. Lemon and Michael Goldrick acquaint the reader with the political context of the urban reform movement at Toronto City Hall and the neighbourhood citizen power groups that came into prominence in the early 1970s. As Marshall points out, at this stage the library board and administration were ill-prepared to accommodate any reformers — one participant, Alderman Dorothy Thomas, described the board as “dominated by north Toronto professionals.” But by 1975 reform-minded trustees were in a majority, and dramatic change was under way.

James Lorimer and others describe the entire affair as a turnaround. Over a period of five years TPL was transformed from a closed to an open system, from a hierarchical to a reasonably decentralized structure. Citizen interest in newly formed committees and public input at meetings reordered library priorities at both the system and neighbourhood levels. The library’s administrative practice was reorganized and a staff union created. The concept of district libraries was abandoned; in its place renovated or newly constructed community branches appeared. Inequalities in service were identified and long-range plans set in motion to equalize resources. Library collection policies were reassessed to place greater emphasis on multilingual, Canadian and popular (as opposed to quality) items. By the end of this period, citizens’ advisory committees became a standard feature at TPL.

Throughout this process management was in a state of flux. So too were old-guard trustees and “Friends” groups that supported the traditional political/administrative structure which had evolved. Lorimer concludes that library managers and trustees need to reassess their basic rationale for providing service — that is, they must involve the public to relate collection policies and services to enlarge the community base. Meyer Brownstone stated that TPL's trials and tribulations show that one advantage of an appointed library board is its flexibility vis-à-vis “the more rigid, political, bureaucratic character of the municipal government with its general centralizing tendencies and its pseudo participation.”

Marshall agrees with their analyzes and suggests one way to encourage more responsiveness in libraries is to foster the concept of active advisory committees. Another proposal is to promote administrative commitment to include staff and public in planning and evaluation of services, a parallel structure of decentralized decision-making at the neighborhood (community) and branch (system) levels. Naturally, the major institutional hurdle is to set in place this scheme and keep it operating, Marshall advises the employment of area-based library community organizers to coordinate this activity.

There are a few lessons to be drawn from the Toronto experience. A decade ago, a comprehensive survey by Jane Robbins, Citizen Participation and Public Library Policy, found that participation was the exception rather than the rule. Since 1975 library administrators and trustees in larger urban centers have gradually moved toward involving the community in more significant ways by using committees, meetings or needs assessments. However, the Toronto experience remains unique for the degree of change introduced in institutional goals and objectives, organization, staffing and interface with the public. The drawbacks of participation — the costs in terms of expected money, energy, staff time and so on — are not examined by Marshall at length. In rural libraries where the heritage of voluntarism lives on and the theory of trustee representativeness remains plausible, there is some skepticism about the necessity to adopt participatory methods. What is clear today is that the traditional trustee/administrator monopoly in policy and management is in transition. New forms of citizen participation, use of marketing approaches, and program evaluation techniques offer hope for more responsive and accessible public libraries.

Lome Bruce, McLaughlin Library, University of Guelph