Olds Municipal Library

Olds & District Municipal Library As early as 1895 a group of people, interested in reading for entertainment and education had organized and opened a library and public reading room. In 1954, the Baron Tweedsmuir Chapter IODE began to work to promote community interest in a Public Library. Excerpt from minutes of May 1954 “The Baron Tweedsmuir Chapter, Imperial Order Daughters of the Empire put a motion on their books to do all in their power to establish a Public Library in Olds.” In 1958, the old Bank of Commerce building became available. It was offered to the IODE as a home for the Olds Municipal Library. Nearly 800 books were donated and Lee Street held processing bees in her home. The Olds Municipal Library officially opened on June 6, 1959 with over 1000 books. Membership for a family was $2.00 annually, individuals $1.00. The library was open 8 hours per week with services provided by local organizations. It is interesting to note that by the end of 1959 there were 170 memberships and the circulation of books was 4336 for a six month period. The need for a public library was evident. In comparison, at the end of 2008 our borrowers numbered 4072, our total collection is over 38,000 and our circulation was nearly 80,000. The library was temporarily closed in 1960 as the library service and finances were becoming a real burden for the volunteer organizations. In 1961 the library was reopened and a list of 8 regular librarians was established, stabilizing the service. Financing was still a problem but in 1963 a new per capita grant was provided by the province which eased the situation. With the establishment of Provincial Regional Libraries, after much discussion it became evident that benefit could be obtained by inclusion in a larger unit. The Library Board recommended to Town Council that Olds Municipal Library become affiliated with Parkland Regional Library, and this affiliation became effective Jan. 1st, 1970. In 1982 we moved to our current location at 5217-52 Street. This building project was spearheaded by the Kiwanis Club of Olds. Spring 2004 we consulted Parkland to do a study on the feasibility of expanding our current location due to the increase in library usage. We are pleased to report that as of October 2009, construction of the expanded library will begin and October 2010 will see us in our newly expanded building.