Vancouver Public Library facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Vancouver Public Library
Established	1869
Location	Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Branches	22
Collection
Items collected	business directories, phone books, maps, government publications, books, periodicals, genealogy, local history
Size	2.6 million
Access and use
Circulation	9.5 million
Population served	631,486 (2016)
Members	427,975
Other information
Budget	$43,559,151 (2012)
Staff	1011

The Vancouver Public Library (VPL) is the main library system for the city of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. It's a busy place! In 2013, over 6.9 million people visited the VPL. They borrowed almost 9.5 million items, like books, e-books, CDs, DVDs, newspapers, and magazines.

With 22 locations and online services, the VPL helps nearly 428,000 people. It is the third-largest public library system in Canada.

What the Library Offers

The Vancouver Public Library has a huge collection of books and digital stuff. You can find information about your community there. The library also has fun programs for kids, teens, and adults. They even deliver books to people who can't leave their homes.

You can also get help finding information and using special online databases. If a book isn't at VPL, they can often get it from another library for you.

One Book, One Vancouver

"One Book, One Vancouver" was a special city-wide book club. The Vancouver Public Library organized it. Library staff would choose one book for everyone in the city to read and discuss. This program ran until 2010.

Here are some of the books that were chosen:

• 2002: The Jade Peony by Wayson Choy
• 2003: Stanley Park by Timothy Taylor
• 2004: The Corporation: The Pathological Pursuit of Profit and Power by Joel Bakan
• 2005: Obasan by Joy Kogawa
• 2006: There is a Season: A Memoir in a Garden by Patrick Lane
• 2007: My Year of Meats by Ruth Ozeki
• 2008: The Five Books of Moses Lapinsky by Karen X. Tulchinsky
• 2009: The Crazy Canucks: Canada's Legendary Ski Team by Janet Love Morrison
• 2009: The Farm Team by Linda Bailey
• 2010: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy by Douglas Adams

Library History

The story of Vancouver's library started in 1869. A man named J.A. Raymur created the New London Mechanics Institute. It was a place with a meeting room and library for mill workers. Soon after, it was renamed the Hastings Literary Institute. This institute lasted until Vancouver became a city in 1886.

After the Great Vancouver Fire in 1886, 400 books from the old institute were given to a new place. This new place was called the Vancouver Reading Room. It opened in December 1887. People also knew it as the Vancouver Free Library.

By the late 1890s, the library was getting too crowded. At this time, a rich American named Andrew Carnegie was helping cities build libraries. In 1901, Vancouver asked Carnegie for money to build a new library.

The Vancouver Carnegie Library was finished in 1903. It was the main library until 1957. Today, it's a community center.

Andrew Carnegie agreed to give $50,000 for a new library. But Vancouver had to provide the land for free and $5,000 each year to run it. People argued about where the new library should be. Finally, they voted, and the spot was chosen at Hastings and Westminster (now Main) Streets.

The building was designed by George Grant. It had a grand style with a dome and a fancy roof. Inside, there were wooden walls and floors. It had special rooms for ladies and children, a chess room, and a lecture hall. The library opened in November 1903. This old building is now a community center for the Downtown East Side.

VPL moved its Central branch from the Carnegie Library to 750 Burrard Street in 1957. This building was the Central branch until 1995.

The Vancouver Public Library stayed at the Hastings and Main site until 1957. Then, a new main library opened at 750 Burrard Street. The library moved again in 1995 to its current location at Library Square (350 West Georgia Street). This new main branch opened in Downtown Vancouver on May 26, 1995. It cost about $106.8 million to build.

Library Leaders

Here are some of the people who have led the Vancouver Public Library over the years:

• George Pollay (1887-1890)
• James Edwin Machin (1892-1910)
• Alfred E. Goodman (1910)
• Robert Waite Douglas, City Librarian (1911-1924)
• Edgar Stewart Robinson, Director (1924-1957)
• Peter Grossman, Director (1961-1969)
• Morton P. Jordan, Director (1970-1978)
• George C. Wootton, Director (1980-1983)
• Aileen Tufts, Director (1984-1987)
• Madge Aalto, Director (1988-2003)
• Paul Whitney, City Librarian (2003-2010)
• Sandra Singh, Chief Librarian (2010-2018)
• Christina de Castell, Chief Librarian (2018-present)

Library Branches

Children at Kitsilano Branch Library, which opened in 1927.

The first permanent branch library opened in Kitsilano in 1927. Sixteen years later, in 1943, the second branch, Kerrisdale, opened. More branches have opened over the years. The newest branch, Terry Salman, opened in 2011. Today, the Vancouver Public Library has 22 branches all over the city.

The entrance to the Kensington branch. Kensington is one of 22 VPL branches.

Since 2013, all VPL branches are open at least Tuesday through Sunday. The main library, called the Central Branch, is in downtown Vancouver. It's the biggest branch.

The Kitsilano branch is the oldest still-operating branch. The Renfrew Branch has the most books, with 325,000! It's also one of the largest branches in size.

Here's how many books (approximately) each VPL branch has:

Central Branch: Library Square

The Central branch of Vancouver Public Library is located in Downtown Vancouver.

The Central Branch of the Vancouver Public Library is part of a big project called Library Square. It takes up a whole city block in Downtown Vancouver. The library building is a nine-story box of books and services. It's surrounded by a cool, round wall with reading and study areas. Bridges connect these areas over bright, open spaces.

The building looks a bit like the ancient Colosseum in Rome! Inside, a glass wall lets you see into a big open area. This area is like a grand entrance to the library.

The VPL Central branch has a glass wall inside that looks over a large open area.

Library Square is next to the Central Branch. It's a public space surrounded by streets like Robson Street and Homer Street. Other important buildings are nearby, like Canada Post and the CBC Regional Broadcast Centre Vancouver.

Building Library Square was the biggest project ever for the City of Vancouver. People voted in 1990 to build it. The design by Moshe Safdie was chosen because it was unique and exciting. Construction started in 1993 and finished in 1995. After the new library opened, 800,000 more people visited it in just one year!

Besides the library, the building also has an office tower, shops, restaurants, and underground parking. The library building has a beautiful rooftop garden. This garden is open to the public. It was expanded and reopened in 2018.

How to Get There

You can get to Library Square by bus. Routes like the #5, #17, and #20 pass nearby. The closest SkyTrain stations are Granville, Vancouver City Centre Station, and Stadium–Chinatown Station. They are all just a few blocks away. Library Square is also great for cyclists, with bike racks available.

Seen in Movies and TV

The Central Branch building is so cool that it has been used in many movies and TV shows!

• Scenes from The 6th Day were filmed here. It was shown as the headquarters for a cloning company.
• Parts of The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus were filmed in the entrance hall.
• TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and Caprica also filmed scenes here.
• A shootout scene in Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever happened inside and outside the building.
• The museum scenes in Mr. Magoo were filmed in the entrance hall.
• The Fringe Division headquarters in Fringe were filmed inside and outside the building.
• A scene from This Means War (film) was filmed outside in Library Square.

You can find more movies and series filmed at the library on IMDb.

Quick Facts

Here are some interesting facts about the Central Library building:

• It has 9 stories.
• It covers about 37,000 square meters (398,000 square feet).
• Books and other materials move around the building using special conveyors.
• There are over 51 kilometers of cables inside the building!
• It has seating for more than 1200 people.
• There are over 700 parking spots and bike racks.
• The top two floors, which used to be leased by the government, are now part of the library. They have meeting rooms, study areas, a roof garden, and exhibition space.
• The building cost about $107 million Canadian dollars.

Image Gallery

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  Overview of library interior

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  Lower Level Children's Library

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  Level 3 Computer

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  Level 4

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  Level 6 Map Collection

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  Roof Garden opened in 2018

See also

In Spanish: Biblioteca Pública de Vancouver para niños