The Niagara-On-the-Lake Public Library
1800 to 1848
Pages
Origin of the Niagara LibraryRules and first subscribers1800 to 18481848 to 1900Niagara Mechanics' Institute1900 to 1998Expansion work at the Court House in 1973Once Upon 200 Years - Bicentennial Celebration1998 to presentOn August 15, 1800, Heron and another leading subscriber by the name of Martin McClellan, were appointed to collect subscriptions and order books. The Library's initial selection, comprising some 80 works, many on religion and history, received on March 2, 1801, were soon made available for circulation among the initial subscribers.
From the outset, the Niagara Library appears to have been housed in the homes of various subscribers, including Andrew Heron, who, at different times, served as librarian, treasurer, and secretary. Under Heron's management, the collection of the Niagara Library was steadily enlarged. By 1805, the number of volumes had risen to 344, which included a large selection of works on religion and morality, literature, history, geography and travel. The collection had been opened to non-subscribers as well as Niagara area subscribers. That same year, the 49 volume collection of the Niagara Agricultural Society, containing many specialized works, was added to the Niagara Library. In exchange for the books, the Society members were given borrowing privileges in the Niagara Library.
The Library operated successfully until the War of 1812. By mid-November of 1812, the collection had grown to 827 volumes. Wartime conditions in 1813 and 1814 however, forced the cancellation of regular subscribers' meetings and between June and September 1813, when the American Forces occupied Niagara, (then known as Newark), the military borrowed books from the Library. Many other volumes were lost, stolen or destroyed by the time the American troops withdrew and burned the town in December 1813.
Although the annual meetings resumed in 1815, by 1818 membership and financial support for the Library had seriously declined. The Niagara Library ceased operations in 1820. Its holdings of some 200 books were incorporated in the new subscription library begun in November, 1818 by Andrew Heron, a bookseller and publisher of The Gleaner and Niagara Newspaper. In return for relinquishing the collection, the Niagara Library subscribers were granted the use of Heron's new library for a period of three years. The subsequent history of the Niagara Library and Heron's library is uncertain, although both appear to have been sold or dispersed.
From the outset, the Niagara Library appears to have been housed in the homes of various subscribers, including Andrew Heron, who, at different times, served as librarian, treasurer, and secretary. Under Heron's management, the collection of the Niagara Library was steadily enlarged. By 1805, the number of volumes had risen to 344, which included a large selection of works on religion and morality, literature, history, geography and travel. The collection had been opened to non-subscribers as well as Niagara area subscribers. That same year, the 49 volume collection of the Niagara Agricultural Society, containing many specialized works, was added to the Niagara Library. In exchange for the books, the Society members were given borrowing privileges in the Niagara Library.
The Library operated successfully until the War of 1812. By mid-November of 1812, the collection had grown to 827 volumes. Wartime conditions in 1813 and 1814 however, forced the cancellation of regular subscribers' meetings and between June and September 1813, when the American Forces occupied Niagara, (then known as Newark), the military borrowed books from the Library. Many other volumes were lost, stolen or destroyed by the time the American troops withdrew and burned the town in December 1813.
Although the annual meetings resumed in 1815, by 1818 membership and financial support for the Library had seriously declined. The Niagara Library ceased operations in 1820. Its holdings of some 200 books were incorporated in the new subscription library begun in November, 1818 by Andrew Heron, a bookseller and publisher of The Gleaner and Niagara Newspaper. In return for relinquishing the collection, the Niagara Library subscribers were granted the use of Heron's new library for a period of three years. The subsequent history of the Niagara Library and Heron's library is uncertain, although both appear to have been sold or dispersed.
Niagara-on-the-Lake Public Library 1800-1988. A brief historic sketch Details
