Greater Victoria Public Library
| Established | 1889 |
|---|---|
| Location | Victoria, British Columbia |
| Coordinates | 48°25′24″N 123°21′52″W / 48.423277°N 123.364400°W |
| Branches | 10 |
| Collection | |
| Items collected | books, e-books, music, cds, periodicals, maps, genealogical archives, business directories, local history, |
| Size | 970,000 (2008) |
| Access and use | |
| Circulation | 5.1 M (2008) |
| Population served | 300,000 |
| Website | www.gvpl.ca |
The Greater Victoria Public Library (GVPL) is a public library that serves Victoria, British Columbia and the surrounding area.
In addition to services offered at each location, GVPL provides electronic resources (also known as bibliographic databases) to library cardholders through the library's web site. These "E-Resources" include the full text of Canadian newspapers, international magazines (currently licensed through EBSCO Industries), and standard reference works such as the World Book encyclopedia.
Prior to 1864, Victoria was served by at least two small, private lending libraries. In 1858, for instance, The Gazette described a library and reading room opened by a Mr W. F. Herre. This private library, located in the Hibben and Carswell Building on Yates Street near the corner of Wharf Street, was "fitted up in a very neat and comfortable style...". It was, the writer conceded, "yet limited, but so soon as the books can be obtained from San Francisco, [it] will be greatly enlarged." The writer further explained that Mr Herre's library "filled a much needed want of the town".
In 1861, the Victoria Literary Institute was founded. The Victoria Literary Institute's objective as described in its constitution was "the formation of a Library, Reading Room, and Museum; the delivery of Lectures, and the diffusion of Literacy and Scientific knowledge among the people of Victoria." The Institute's shareholder's paid twenty-five dollars as well as a monthly fee of one dollar. Subscribers paid a five dollar entrance fee plus one dollar per month, or they could choose to pay for a lifetime membership at one hundred dollars. The Victoria Literary Institute however was only able to provide a series of evening lectures during the 1861-62 winter before being dissolved in the summer of 1862.
Another early library—that of the British Columbia division of the T. Eaton Company—was started in 1862 by department store manager David Spencer..
On December 16, 1864 the local Mechanics' Institute created Victoria's first community-oriented lending library. Located on Bastion Street, the library's collection included books donated by James Douglas (Governor). The Institute's rooms were "well lighted and warmed, and with their copious supply of reading matter, [formed] one of the pleasantest [sic] places in the city in which to pass a quiet hour."
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