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National Library News |
The following provides an overview of the major initiatives undertaken and the statements made over the course of some 70 years, each asserting the benefits and value of, and the need for, a national library in Canada. Prominent individuals and organizations presented the merits of a Canadian institution to parallel those already in existence in other parts of the world. The chronology demonstrates that there is, at times, a very long delay between an idea’s inception and its realization.
1883 Sir John A. Macdonald makes a statement in the House of Commons:
"We ought really to have – the Dominion of Canada really ought to have – a national library, containing every book worthy of being kept on the shelves of a Library."
House of Commons Debates, 5th Parliament, 1st session, vol. 13 (16 April 1883), p. 631.
1911 Lawrence J. Burpee, Librarian of Ottawa Carnegie Library, publishes his "plea":
"Canada enjoys the dubious distinction of ranking with Siam and Abyssinia in at least one respect – none of the three possesses a national library."
Lawrence J. Burpee, "A Plea For a National Library", University Magazine, vol. 10 (February 1911), p. 152 (Speech given at the annual conference of the Ontario Library Association in the spring of 1910).
1911 The Ontario Library Association presents a resolution to the government requesting the appointment of a royal commission on the need for a national library:
It called for the "speedy establishment of a national library in Canada ... [which] would be of incalculable benefit to students all over the Dominion, but also a source of stimulus and inspiration to the library movement in every quarter of the country."
Ontario Library Association, "Resolution of Ontario Library Association re Canadian National Library (1911)", Wilfrid Laurier Fonds, MG 26, G. vol. 681, p. 186218 (National Archives of Canada).
1933 The Ridington Commission of Enquiry publishes its report and recommends:
"If the Dominion Government chose to embrace it, a glorious opportunity to-day presents itself to create in Canada a National Library, comparable to those already established in other countries – one worthy of Canada’s place among the nations."
John Ridington, Libraries in Canada: A Study of Library Conditions and Needs (Toronto: Ryerson Press; Chicago: American Library Association, 1933), p. 142.
1938 The British Columbia Library Association and the Ontario Library Association submit briefs to the Rowell-Sirois Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations:
The Commission acknowledged that "attention had been called to the great need for a national library in Canada".
Canada. Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations, Report of the Royal Commission on Dominion-Provincial Relations. Book II: Recommendations (Ottawa: [s.n.], 1940), p. 52.
1943 The Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament recommends to Parliament:
that "the Government adopt the policy of a National Library".
Journals of the Senate of Canada, vol. 83 (1943-44), p. 333.
1944 The Canadian Library Council submits a brief to the Special Committee on Reconstruction and Re-establishment of the House of Commons:
It recommend the "establishment of a national library as an important part of national library services".
"Library Service for Canada: A Brief Prepared by the Canadian Library Council to the House of Commons Special Committee on Reconstruction and Re-establishment" (1944), p. 9.
1945 The Canadian Social Science Research Council publishes a report by John Bartlet Brebner:
"It is astonishing that she should be one of the few countries of the world without one, particularly when the examples of the British Museum and the Library of Congress are so striking."
John Bartlet Brebner, Scholarship for Canada: The Function of Graduate Studies (Ottawa: Canadian Social Science Research Council, 1945), p. 77.
1946 The newly formed Canadian Library Association mounts a campaign for a national library as per the resolution adopted:
That the Association "petition the Government of Canada to set up, in the near future, a Committee to consider the advisability of creating a National Library and to study the scope and function of such a Library, and that this Association and other interested organizations be asked to serve on that Committee".
"Report of the Resolutions Committee, Canadian Library Association Conference (1st: 1946: Hamilton), Proceedings of the Organizational Conference, June 14-16, 1946, Hamilton, Ontario", p. 5.
1947 The Canadian Library Association and four learned societies present a joint brief to the Secretary of State:
"To sum up, the National Library would be a centre of intellectual life of Canada, and a guarantee that the sources of its history will be preserved, and a symbol of our national concern with the things of the mind and the spirit."
"A National Library for Canada: A Brief Presented to the Government of Canada by the Canadian Library Association = Association canadienne des bibliothèques, the Royal Society of Canada, the Canadian Historical Association, the Canadian Political Science Association and the Social Science Research Council of Canada" (December 1946), p. 2.
1947 The Humanities Research Council publishes a report and makes recommendations to the Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament pointing at the weaknesses of the Canadian library situation:
"The pressing needs of the moment are (a) the immediate appointment of a national librarian, with a working nucleus of personnel to set up a bibliographic centre and library information bureau, including photostat and microfilm service, and (b) the appointment of a board or committee... to investigate thoroughly the practical details of the proposed library, its organization, its book stocks, its major functions, the type of building best suited to its performance, and the legislation needed to implement this master plan."
Watson Kirkconnell and A.S.P. Woodhouse, The Humanities in Canada (Ottawa: Humanities Research Council of Canada, 1947), p. 165-166.
1948 June – The Joint Committee on the Library of Parliament addresses recommendations to the House of Commons:
"That as a first step towards the creation of a National Library, the planning of a Bibliographic Centre be commenced by the selection of a competent bibliographer and secretary; and that this matter be referred to the Secretary of State, with the recommendations that a special committee be set up to supervise such work; and that sufficient funds be supplied to meet necessary expenses".
Canada. Parliament. House of Commons, Votes and Proceedings, 20th Parliament, 4th session, no. 104 (11 June 1948), p. 564.
1948 September – The government appoints Dr. W.K. Lamb as Dominion archivist and authorizes him to prepare the way for the establishment of a national library.
1948 November 24 – The Cabinet approves the appointment of a National Library Advisory Committee to consider the formation of a bibliographic centre. Members are appointed within the next few weeks.
1949 The government sets up the Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences to examine and make recommendations regarding the eventual character and scope of the national library. Rt. Hon. Vincent Massey is the Chair.
1949 August – The Canadian Library Association submits a brief on the "eventual character and scope" of the national library to the Massey Royal Commission.
1950 May 1 – The government establishes the Canadian Bibliographic Centre under Dr. W.K. Lamb and the National Library Advisory Committee.
1951 The Massey report (Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters, and Sciences) recommends the government take action without delay:
It noted "that a national library finds no place among the federal institutions which we have been required to examine is a remarkable fact which has been the occasion of much sharp comments during our sessions. Over ninety organizations have discussed this matter, some in great detail, urging that what has been called a ‘national disgrace’ be remedied."
Canada. Royal Commission on National Development in the Arts, Letters and Sciences, Report (Ottawa: King’s Printer, 1951), p. 101.
1952 May 20 – Prime Minister St. Laurent introduces Bill No. 245 regarding the establishment of a National Library.
He stated that "one basic objective of any national library, I think, is to become the most comprehensive library in the world on its own country. It is proposed that Canada’s national library should try to reach that objective."
House of Commons Debates: Official Report, 21st Parliament, 6th session, vol. 1 (20 May 1952), p. 2373.
May 27 – The bill receives its second and third readings.
June 18 – The National Library Act receives Royal Assent.
December 22 – The National Library Act is proclaimed.
1953 January 1 – The National Library Act comes into effect and Dominion Archivist W. Kaye Lamb adds National Librarian of Canada to his title. The Canadian Bibliographic Centre is absorbed by the new National Library of Canada.
Source: This article is based on research documented in The Canadian Bibliographic Centre: Preparing the Way for the National Library of Canada, prepared by Carolynn Robertson. Ottawa: National Library of Canada. August, 1999.
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Publications Issued by the Canadian Bibliographic CentreDuring its short lifespan, May 1, 1950, to December 1952, the Canadian Bilbiographic Centre issued a number of publications. It is interesting to note that in those early days the staff was very much aware of the need for bilingual presentation and content. The Centre’s publications included both current and retrospective bibliographies and were produced in collaboration with organizations that had already been providing some bibliographic coverage of material published in Canada. As the Centre grew and developed, it began assuming an increasingly important role in the bibliographic control of what is now called the Canadian published heritage. "The Canadian catalogue, 1950". – Bulletin – Ottawa : Canadian Library Association. – Vol. 6, no. 6 (May 1950) – vol. 7, no. 5 (March/mars 1951). This 1950 catalogue was published in six parts. Canadian graduate theses in the humanities and social sciences 1921-1946 = Thèses des gradués canadiens dans les humanités et les sciences sociales 1921-1946. – Ottawa : Government of Canada, 1951. – 194 p. This compilation was a joint enterprise of the Dominion Bureau of Statistics and the Canadian Bibliographic Centre. Canadian index to periodicals and documentary. – Edited by Dorothy B. Chatwin. – Vol. 4. – Ottawa : Canadian Library Association, in cooperation with the Canadian Bibliographic Centre, 1952. – 216 p. Canadiana. – Ottawa : Canadian Bibliographic Centre, 1951-1952. – v. Published semi-monthly from January to November 1951 and then monthly. First issue dated January 15, 1951. A check list of Canadian imprints 1900-1925 = Catalogue d’ouvrages imprimés au Canada, 1900-1925. – Compiled by Dorothea D. Tod and Audrey Cordingley. – Preliminary checking ed. Ottawa : Canadian Bibliographic Centre, Public Archives of Canada, 1950. – 370 leaves. Source: This article is based on research documented in The Canadian Bibliographic Centre: Preparing the Way for the National Library of Canada, prepared by Carolynn Robertson. Ottawa: National Library of Canada. August, 1999. The National Library Advisory CommitteeThe National Library Advisory Committee was approved in November 1948, and most of its members were appointed within the following weeks. The Advisory Committee held its first meeting in March 1949. Under the strong leadership of Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, the Committee met at regular itervals, issued progress reports and formulated numerous recommendations to ensure progress towards the creation of the Canadian Bibliographic Centre and a national library. The following were the members of the Committee: The Honourable Thane A. Campbell, Chief Justice of Prince Edward Island Dr. C. Lindsay Bennet, Dalhousie University Dean Alfred G. Bailey, University of New Brunswick L’Abbé Arthur Maheux, Université Laval Paul Houde, Montreal The Reverend A.-M. Morisset, Ottawa Dr. W. Stewart Wallace, University of Toronto Elizabeth Dafoe, University of Manitoba Samuel R. Stephens, Moose Jaw Mrs. Frank J. Conroy, Edmonton Edgar S. Robinson, Vancouver F.A. Hardy, Parliamentary Librarian, Secretary Dr. W. Kaye Lamb, Dominion Archivist, Chairman All but two of the members, Dr. C. Lindsay Bennet and Samuel R. Stephens, continued to serve when the Advisory Committee was replaced by the National Library Advisory Council. The Advisory Council was established on December 22, 1952, at the time of the proclamation of the National Library Act. |