2 



Thousands of questions are constantly rising in all these fields of 

 thought, and books are needed to answer questions, to stimulate enquiry, lo 

 learn from the successes or failures of other cities what we may do. 



If the books demanded were to be had otherwise in Winnipeg, the city 

 certainly would not need to provide them; for books even in private hands 

 are now regarded as in some sense public property open to appreciative 

 readers. But the needed books are not to be found among us. The Provin- 

 cial Library is chiefly legislative, with a certain number of books historical 

 and general. The Colleges have small libraries of books — educational, 

 scholastic and theological. The University professors are very properly 

 clamoring for reference works in science for their use — but their library is 

 in its infancy. All these do not and cannot supply the demands of our 

 Western life; or provide for the well-being of our rapidly developing city 

 and country. 



It lies at the door of Winnipeg to supply the pressing want, expensive 

 though it may be, if it is to be supplied at all. 



OUR PRESENT POSITION. 



The Historical Society, incorporated in 1879, has always stood for the 

 maintenance of a library to supply this want. Early in its history the 

 Society raised from the citizens some $1,600 to make the beginning of a 

 Public Library. The library was maintained in the Society's rented rooms, 

 until 1 888, when an agreement was made between the City Council and the 

 Historical Society to carry on the library jointly in the City Hall. The 

 library, with a small fee of $2 a year from each reader, was carried on until 

 1895, when it became a Free Public Library, the City Council meeting the 

 whole expense. The joint management so continued until 1 904. 



The grant, even after the establishment of the Free Library, was insig- 

 nificant— $2,000 a year, from which salaries and all charges were required 

 to be paid. 



The narrow quarters, and their unsanitary and uncleanly condition, 

 operated much against the library. 



We have in the last few days tranrferred some two thousand of our 

 books — the best selection of them — to the Public Library. 



We speak of the " dust of ages," but if the dust of ages accumulates 

 in proportion to that of the eighteen years since we entered the City Hall, 



