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100â€"yearâ€"old pakville Public Library has its rmots in 1836 reading room The Oakville Public Library is officially marking its centennial, however its history dates back at least another 60 years. William Tassie (1815â€"1886), the town‘s first schoolmaster, established a Public Reading Room in 1936 in a meeting hallâ€"churchâ€"school building which is believed to have stood at the present site of the Central Library. Three years later, a ‘Village Library‘ was established, thanks to a donation of about 100 books from the Wesleyan Methodists. The village library languished under the Methodists, with its largely religious collection, and during the 1850‘s it became a Mechanic‘s Institute, ‘to spread scientific and litâ€" erary knowledge through a reference circulatory library.‘ It was housed in the tower of the Oakville Common School, built just north of the meeting hallâ€"churchâ€"school, in 18 50. During the 1860s, the school library merged with the Mechanic‘s Institute. Again, its ‘fortunes waxed and waned‘ until it became the Oakville Public Library in 1895, thanks to an amendment to the 1882 provincial Free Libraries Act which allowed the use of the term ‘public library.‘ However, it continued to operate as an ‘association library,‘ it‘s service available only to subscribers and it was open one day a week. Annual fees were $1. At the time, the library had 1,300 books. ptember 21, 1994 By the turn of the century, the library moved into two rooms above the Bank of Toronto on Colborne Street (Lakeshore) near Navy Street where it remained only five years until moving again in 1908 to 74 Colborne St. (Lakeshore Road) where it remained for almost 50 years. In 1956, the library moved into the former Post Office building, a stone structure built in 1939 at 216 Lakeshore Road, and two years later, there was talk of expansion. In 1958, with circulation at 200,000 in a town of 10,147 people borrowing from a collection of 33,212 books, the library launched its first Bookmobile. The library moved in 1967 into a new building, Oakville‘s $1 million Centennial project, built on the site of the Oakville Common School (later renamed Oakville Central School), which was torn down in 1960. The presentâ€"day complex consists of the Central Library, a gallery, Centennial Pool, and 10 years later, the Oakville Centre theatre opened in 1977. In 1984, the Central Library building was expanded by 17,000 square feet as a cost of about $2 million. The library added a Shutâ€"In Service for disabled and elderly patrons, in 1972; and White Oaks Branch opened as a new joint venture with White Oaks Secondary School in 1973. And, years later, responding to local demand for more library serâ€" vices in North Oakville, the Glen Abbey branch opened 1990 at the new Glen Abbey Recreation Centre. Its first branch, Woodside, opened in 1962. Following the move to its present quarters, the library added Sunday hours, opened a Toy Library, began lending Talking Books, and in September 1976, Information Central (now Information Oakville), a comâ€" munity information and referral serâ€" vice, was launched. That year, the library received the John Cotton Dan Library Public Relations Award for its community outreach. A new venture was undertaken in 1978, the Radio Reading Service for the Blind was launched at the Woodside library. This radio reading service for the blind and print handiâ€" capped, which beamed across the airâ€" waves of Southern Ontario, may have served as a forerunner of VoicePrint, now broadcasting from the CNIB in Toronto. It succumbed to financial difficulties in March, 1987. In October 1979, Iene Male, head of adult services, was named Librarian of the Year by the Ontario Library Association. Information for this article was researched by librarian Linda Wood, who provided historical background for the Ontario Heritage Foundation plaque, and Barbara Ann McAlpine, local history librarian. The library‘s first public computer centre, Byte Size,‘ a 2,000 square foot centre, opened at Trafalgar Village, in 1983. This firstâ€"ofâ€"aâ€"kind centre proâ€" viding a nonâ€"threatening environment with userâ€"friendly computers, closed the following year when its governâ€" ment funding ran out. Friends of the Library, a charitable organization with a mandate to enhance library services and raise funds, was formed last November. Lewis Rd. and the Q.E.W., South Service Rd., Stoney Creek, Ontario ( Fruitland and Fifty Rd. exits off the Q.E.W. ) Store Hours: Monday to Friday 9 am. to 9 pm. Saturday 9 am. to 6 pm. Sunday Noon to 5 pm. Phone: (905) 643â€"4121 / (905) 560â€"3303. Out of town call: 1â€"800â€"263â€"8575 * 0.A.C. Payment due Oct. 1,1995. No delivery charges, no administration fees. Full details in store. All taxes payable at time of purchase. 25% deposit required on custom orders Celebrate Our 25th Anniversary With Extra Savings Plus No Down Payment, No Interest And No Payments for A Year! FURNITURE A world away from the everyday THE OAKVILLE BEAVER ‘No way‘ you say? Then read carefully: This is a double header, win win, 25th Anniversary Sale Plus No Payment Plan Celebration. Now you can save on our specially priced Silver Anniversary Collection plus make no down payment, pay no interest and forget payments until October 1, 1995. Our No Payment Plan applies to everything in the store. Come celebrate! There‘s just ‘no way‘ you can miss out on this one. "Stoney ~Lréek_ MlSSlSSAEJG-I‘\/%. TORONTO