History of the Westlock Municipal Library. (Power Point Presentation from Open House on July 6, 2011).

 Westlock grew from the modest farming community of 1912, adopting its name from two of the local landowners, William Westgate and William Lockhart. The community had developed into a village by the close of the First World War in 1918, complete with a railway station, grain elevator and bank. The first permanent redbrick schoolhouse was opened in 1925 and served as the centre for education and literacy in the community; teachers maintained small individual collections of books in their classrooms for curriculum support that included items that could be loaned to the student’s families to promote ongoing reading skills.
The village continued to expand through the 1930s while much of North America was struggling through the Depression years; school collections remained a valuable resource for local families in providing reading materials, but there was no designated library to serve those in the community without school-aged children.
In May of 1945, at the conclusion of the Second World War, the community opened its first Public Library. The Westlock Community (public) Library was located in a small vacant shop on Main Street and was open to the public two days a week. The first Librarian, Mrs. Hide (1945-49), operated the Library as a volunteer service to the community. Within two years Westlock was designated as a Town based on population and essential services, including the Library. A small group of local residents offered support in selecting books for the collection, but space in the Library was so tight that cataloguing and story-time programs had to be done from Mrs. Hide’s living room.

In 1949, Mrs. Kemp, the china & gift shop owner adjacent to the Library, offered to help manage the increasing public demand for Library services. The collections expanded into the neighboring shop and public hours were expanded to three days per week. The Library took over the shop when Mrs. Kemp retired in 1951, but room for expansion remained an issue. Mrs. Bentley (Librarian from 1951-58) carried on with operations and organized volunteers to help maintain the Library. The Town offered Mrs. Bentley a modest honorarium to compensate for the many volunteer hours required to keep up with demand.
In October 1957,the first Town-appointed Library Board was formed to provide direction and governance; the key order of business was relocating collections to a facility that would sustain growth. The Library was granted space in the old School Division Office; the School Division built a small attached annex to house curriculum collections. School collections were maintained in cooperation with the Public Library, but they remained separate entities. The collaboration formed a lasting relationship that still thrives in the current joint-use facility agreement between Westlock Libraries and Pembina Hills Regional School Division.
When Mr. H.P. Raymont took over operation of the Library in 1958 he pressed to expand operating hours to four days per week with an increase in the Librarian’s honorarium as compensation. Mr. Raymont (Librarian from 1958-66) recognized the need to recruit an organized volunteer group to help sustain operations and maintain the ever-growing collections; this group became known as the Operations Committee.

The Operations Committee included volunteers from the Ladies Book Club, the Home & School Association, and the Kinettes group, and they took on such tasks as dusting shelves, mailing over-due and hold notices, book selection, mending and labeling. In the early 1960s the Government reorganized distribution of grant monies available to libraries and, following recommendation from the Board, the Operations Committee began looking at options for generating revenue through fundraising; this was an early version of the current Friends of the Westlock Public Library Society. The Library began accepting memorial donations of books and money in 1963 to bolster collections. Memorial books remain valued treasures in the Library providing an enduring legacy for the community as well as a commitment to literacy and local culture.
By 1964 the collections had expanded beyond the capacity of the old School Division building, despite having taken over the annex several years before when the academic collections moved to the new School Division Office. The Library Board appealed to the School Division to re-unite the academic and public collections and was granted space in the south wing of the Division Office. In response to the expanding mandate, the municipality approved administrative wages for the Librarian with extension of hours to five days per week.

Shortly following the move, the Board changed names from Community to Municipal Library to reflect the expanding diversity of services beyond the borders of the Town of Westlock, including School Division curriculum support. Both Public and academic collections were managed byMrs. Rudy Engler (Librarian from 1967-77) with a modest salary shared by the Library Board and the School Division.

Partnership and sharing with local and regional schools has always existed, to a degree, but the change to Westlock Municipal Library allowed increased government financial support.The increase in funding was welcome and afforded for many improvements, but the School Division Offices could not spare room for Library expansion without encroaching on their administrative space.

The Westlock Municipal Library Board, under the leadership of Bob Edgar and Dorothy Woodman, petitioned the Town for a larger and more versatile facility closer to the downtown area. In 1973 the Library moved into the basement of the new Town Office Building. Over the next 18 years the Library developed a reputation as a cultural centre offering expanded children’s programs, hosting art exhibits, and sponsoring social events; Librarians included Mrs. Gans, Mrs. Chvojka, Mrs. Hathaway, Mrs. Pratt, and Mrs. Favreau. This was also a time of development for the Library’s organization and governance; in 1985 the Board developed its first policies and Bylaw.
Community growth has, historically, been reflected in the expansion of the Library, particularly in relation to local and regional education demands. In 1990 the Westlock Elementary School moved into a new facility; the old vacant building was an ideal space for the Library: close to Town centre, adjacent to major thoroughfares, and in an older yet sustainable structure that allowed room for expansion. Classroom walls were removed to create a large open area in the north wing of the old school, and in May of 1991 the Library moved into the new space under the direction of Carolyne Musterer (Librarian from 1991-1999).

In 1999 the Library Board seized upon an opportunity to extend its service access points by returning to its grassroots in school-based libraries; the Board entered into collaboration with Westlock County’s smaller rural school-housed libraries in Fawcett, Jarvie, and Vimy. The new Library Director, Lisbeth Booth (Librarian from 1999-2009), applied her legal background in preparing the draft Joint-Use Agreement with the School Division for co-housed collections in school facilities. This agreement is still in effect today, despite the closure of the Vimy School and the redistribution of its collections in 2008
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The move to expand service points into Westlock County was a mitigating factor in approaching the County Municipal Council to request contribution to the Libraries operating budget. Prior to 2006 there had been no provision in the Alberta Libraries Act to allow for inter-municipal boards; several rural libraries in the province were tinkering with agreements to combine resources for cost sharing but, in September 1999, Westlock County and the Town of Westlock established the Westlock Intermunicipal Library Board. The innovation of an Inter-municipal agreement pioneered by Westlock, and several other library boards in the province, set a standard that resulted in amendments to the Libraries Act to allow for such collaborations.

Ms. Booth was also instrumental in officially establishing the Friends of the Westlock Public Library Society as a registered charitable group in 2001. The Friends mandate as a fundraising organization acted as a support to the Board’s Finance and Advocacy committees; however, the Friends were not answerable to the Board and operated on a separate budget. The Friends initiatives included special projects and programs, grant application submissions, fundraising activities such as raffles, casinos, and book-sales to raise money for many of the Library’s capital improvement projects. In 2007 the Friends spearheaded a project to establish a separate space within the Library for Board meetings and special programs; the project included the construction of administrative office space and a Board Room. The Friends projects also included replacement for all shelving within the Westlock Municipal Library and, most recently, the establishment of a lounge area including a coffee bar to create an open and welcoming space for the general public.

Between 2008 and 2011 the Town of Westlock contributed to the Library’s sustainability by providing extensive facility maintenance and renovations; these changes have greatly impacted functionality and ambiance in the library. In 2011 the Pembina Hills Regional Division supported and assisted in the complete renovation and upgrades to the Jarvie Public Library; a similar upgrade in the Fawcett Public Library is being planned for 2012.
Westlock Intermunicipal Library Board hired its first Master’s level Librarian, Doug Whistance-Smith, in 2009. The priority of activities has been the completion of projects initiated by Ms. Booth, as well as lobbying for increased municipal funding to support staff wage increases and benefits to meet provincial industry standards.
The Westlock Libraries continue to be responsive to community needs by planning and implementing the development of new programs, expanding outreach activities, enhancing library services, enhancing information technologies and literacy programs, and continuing to foster community agencies collaborations and partnerships.
A new vision for the Westlock Libraries promises to guide future development of library and information services in an evolving electronic environment: “Building relationships by connecting people to the informational, inspirational and educational resources for a growing and dynamic community.”