The Fernie Heritage Library began as a reading room in 1899. Today, the library is located in the magnificent former Post Office and Customs House, constructed in 1908. The library has seen great growth and experienced many relocations during that time.
A brief history of the library (adapted from (
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1899: A Reading Room for Fernie: The Fernie Public Library started back in 1899. The supporters secured a room in the Farquharson’s Hall and in a few months the reading room had become a reality. The new reading room was a place where people could spend their evenings reading papers, magazines and writing letters. Soon, the reading room was also lending out books. The Crowsnest Pass Coal Company paid all expenses involved with starting the reading room.
1911: Plans were made to secure a better library facility for the citizens of Fernie. It was proposed that the new library be set up in the basement of the Knox Presbyterian Church. By 1912, this library was in operation. Library subscriptions cost $1 per year at that time. Each new library subscriber was given the privilege of selecting one new book they would like secured for the library.
1920: Formation of the Fernie Library Association under the provincial “Public Libraries Act.” Fernie was the 9th community in BC to form such an association. However, the association struggled and after eight years it ceased to exist.
1945: A Library in the High School. Mr. Sidney Crookes, then the principal of the Fernie School, investigated the possibility of forming a community library. It was discovered that the Fernie Public Library Association had never formally been dissolved. The Public Library Commission of the Provincial Government was willing to grant $200 to the library association provided it would be matched by an equal grant from the City of Fernie. In October of 1945, the library opened to the public in the hall of the high school. By the end of 1947, the library had a total of 878 books.
1952: The Library Moves. The library moved into two rooms above the Fernie Post Office in 1952. Grants were raised at that time to $300 a year from the Public Library Commission and matched by the City of Fernie. At the time, the library was operated by volunteers and was only open for six hours a week. The library contained over 3200 books and membership was free. In 1958, over 10,000 books were circulated from the Fernie library.
Years later, the Post Office building would undergo an extensive renovation and become the Fernie Heritage Library.
1966: Plans for a New Library. In 1962, the East Kootenay Associated Libraries was formed with headquarters in Cranbrook. One of the aims of this organization was to help small libraries in the area exchange books in order to increase the amount of books available to all the libraries in the region. These libraries were allowed to keep some of these exchanged books permanently. The library board desired to build a new building or remodel an older one into a new library. Financial considerations made this impossible until the Fernie Public Library was chosen as a Centennial project for 1967.
1967: Centennial Library becomes a Reality. The Centennial funding was approved and the construction of the new library went ahead. The City of Fernie donated the downtown lot for the new library and the library board continued to raise the additional money needed for the project. After several months of construction, the library moved to the new building on June 23, 1967, much to the relief and joy of the library board.
1977: Centennial Library Addition. Thirteen years later the Fernie Centennial Library celebrated the opening of a spacious new extension to their building.
1999: The Fernie Heritage Library. The restoration of the Fernie Heritage Library was almost complete when a tourist pleaded with head librarian Diane Sharp for an impromptu tour. Sharp, though tired from a day of applying final touch ups to the 90-year-old former post office, acquiesced. Gratified by the quality of the work and its fidelity to the building’s original elegance, Swiss visitor Larry Palmer thanked Sharp for the tour with a $100 cash donation to the restoration fund.