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Timaru Library History

1862		First Reading Room opened in the School House, Barnard Street. It was open daily from 5.00 to 10.00pm and on Saturdays daily from 10.00am to 8.00pm. English and Colonial papers were provided, and a select library of books for the use of members.
1870		1 July opening of the Mechanics Institute (Public Library) which created by an addition on an existing building, on the south side of North Street, which aimed to provide a Library, Reading Room and News Room.
1880		29 October – total destruction of the Mechanics Institute building when it was burned down during the holding of a church bazaar. A new building was erected on the same site at a cost of £1,400.
1905		Scheme for a Municipal Library was set afoot by Mayor James Craigie. The subscribers to the Mechanics Institute agreed to present the old building and its contents to the Council if it established a Municipal Library in a new building.
1906		Timaru Public Library Act was passed to enable the Council and the Trustees to use the proceeds from the sale of the buildings and land of the old institute to be spent on books.
1909 Top of Page		4 June – Official opening of Timaru Public Library on the present Timaru District Council site. The Library was built with a £ 3,000 grant from Carnegie Corporation (Andrew Carnegie) of New York and was designed by Walter Panton. It was built in Oamaru Stone. The condition under which the money was given was that the reading rooms should be open to everyone and that the lending library should be free to ratepayers of the borough. The Borough Council, however, considered that everyone who paid rent was indirectly a ratepayer, and it was decided the library should be free to both rentpayers and ratepayers. The Timaru Library is believed to be the first in the Dominion for which this concession was made.
1959		Timaru celebrated 50 years of Public Library service – in the first 50 years more than 10,000,000 issues have been made.
1965   Top of Page		Proposal for a new library, estimated to cost £184,000 was approved by the Timaru City Council – subject to a ratepayers poll on a loan to finance the building. The library was to be erected on block of land on corner of George and Barnard Streets, however the Local Authorities Loans Board refused the Timaru City Council’s application for sanction to raise the loan.
1979		7 May – Current library was opened on Sophia Street. It was designed by Miles, Warren and Mahoney and opened by Sir Keith Holyoake.
1989		Timaru City, Temuka, Geraldine Boroughs and the Strathallan County amalgamated to form the Timaru District and the Timaru District Libraries was born

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