Winnipeg’s Carnegie libraries

Of Winnipeg’s 20 public libraries, the stateliest are the St. John’s branch and Wolseley’s beloved Cornish branch. I don’t find it difficult to remember to whisper in these two branches - their character lends them to quiet.

This could be because they are Carnegie libraries - legacies of Andrew Carnegie’s immense philanthropy in the early 1900s.

Carnegie, an American businessman who made his fortune in the steel industry, donated libraries all over the world, including 125 in Canada.

His contribution to communities (especially in Ontario small towns) was enormous, and his influence on libraries equally as important - Carnegie is responsible for a modern-day library patron’s ability to browse the books; prior to his open stack concept, one would have to request material from the librarian.

However, the two remaining Carnegie libraries in Winnipeg - the third closed in 1994 and now houses the City of Winnipeg archives - are battling uncertain futures. The price of keeping up 100-year-old buildings and the desire to redesign libraries to accommodate the growing number of computers and programs put them in peril.

While the buildings will likely never be torn down (Cornish is a designated heritage site, although St. John’s is not), their futures as bastions of quiet study and reflection are uncertain.

Despite the changing face and use of the modern public library, those with rich history should remain open and preserved as sites of education and literacy - and as a reminder that a library was once a place of esteemed quiet.

You can contact Heritage Winnipeg through their website. Information about Winnipeg’s two Carnegie libraries can be found here, or by visiting them in person.