The History of Region of Waterloo Library Headquarters
(this text has been adapted from the articles "Nine branches bring books" by Mary Johnston from the Waterloo Chronicle, May 28, 1975, "Municipally
Speaking" by Ellen A. Poll from the Ayr News, December 14, 1977, the May 1979 - Axis Newsletter "Baden gets library headquarters" from the New
Hamburg Independent, November 16, 1983, "Philipsburg probable site of rural library" from the KW Record, August 29, 1989, "Local firm gets library
contract" by Paul Knowles from the New Hamburg Independent, March 27, 1991, "Waterloo Regional library moves to new headquarters near
Philipsburg" by Vonnie Haner from the Elmira Independent, October 7, 1991, and "New regional library officially opened" by Vonnie Haner from the
Elmira Independent, November 4, 1991)
From December 1956 to December 1962, the Waterloo County Cooperative Library (later to
become the Waterloo Regional Library) rented the basement of the Elmira Library as their first
headquarters. The County Library had expanded so much by 1962 that the basement quarters became
too crowded for efficient service. They relocated their headquarters to a former school near WaterlooWellington Regional Airport.
Originally a one-room school called Riverbank School the library
building was situated south of the entrance to the Waterloo-Wellington
airport. The stone building was replaced by a smaller wooden one in
1870. The old stone school was purchased by the Waterloo County
library board in 1962. A complete remodeling job was carried out,
including a new foyer, an office and a large garage area. Library
headquarters remained there for several years.
Regional library service began in the rural areas of Waterloo County in 1967. Prior to this, libraries in
the various municipalities were maintained by local library boards. Books were provided on an exchange
basis through a county cooperative program. When regional government went into effect in 1973, Bill 167
of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo Act made provision for the continuance of the county rural library
system.
In 1973, Regional Council decided to place the rural library system under the responsibility of the
commissioner of planning, rather than creating a separate department for the library. Bill Thomson, the
commissioner of planning, knew very little about library systems. After assuming library services as part of
his department, he became very knowledgeable and very attached to the rural library system. Thomson
reported to Regional Council through the Library Committee, which consists of one member from each of
the four rural municipalities in the Region (North Dumfries, Wilmot, Wellesley and Woolwich).
Improvements to the level of service and to library facilities have been undertaken since 1967. The library
facilities are the pride of both the local and regional municipalities.
The regional library system operates under two basic principles. The first is that every citizen in the
rural areas has the right to library services - the best library services possible. The second principle is that
the region must try to meet the demands of a fairly small population which is scattered over a wide area,
unlike the concentrated population of the city. Within the regional library system, book sharing is
encouraged and practiced.
A substantial number of books have been purchased by the Waterloo regional library. Almost any
book that is not part of the library collection is available upon request at the local library through the
interlibrary loan system. Books that are not part of the regional library collection in most cases can be
obtained from the Mid-Western library or the National library system. The regional library has purchased
books in the German language. Books in other languages are available upon request from the MidWestern library. The region has a collection of large print books for individuals who have vision difficulties.
Music CDs, videos, family resource kits, and other items are available through the library.
After the Waterloo library system became part of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo's Planning
and Development Department, people often telephoned Waterloo Regional Library Headquarters. They
assumed they were speaking to a staff member of the Waterloo Regional Planning and Development
Library.
In September of 1974, the situation became even more confusing. At this time, the library system
moved its headquarters from the century-old stone school in Breslau to the Regional Planning and
Development offices on the seventh floor of the Marsland Centre in Waterloo. Proximity and membership
in the same department were the only links between the planning department and the library.
During the years 1975-76 regional library staff met with staff from the libraries in the cities of
Kitchener, Waterloo and Cambridge. They worked out reciprocal agreements that allowed library card
holders from within the region to obtain books from any of the rural or city libraries in the region. This
eliminated the necessity of paying a nonresident fee. The agreements were approved by the city library
boards and regional council in 1976. These agreements were certainly a benefit to the rural residents in
the Waterloo region.
The library headquarters office moved its office once again in June 1979. Overcrowded conditions in
the Library and Planning and Development divisions necessitated the move to two former classrooms in
the Alexandra Public School, just down the street. The favourable conditions offered by the Waterloo
County School Board were convenient solution to space problems. The big advantage, of course, was
that they then had space for storage, space for meetings, and space to breathe.
In 1983, headquarters was on the move again. Some wanted the
office to be moved back to the Marsland Centre in Waterloo. Others
favoured the Baden municipal offices. The facilities in Baden were more
than adequate, and the building was on one floor, unlike the Alexandra
Public School in Waterloo. The final decision, with a one-vote margin,
ended with the headquarters on its way to 35 Beck St., Baden.
The stay at the Baden office did not last long. In 1989 it was once
again time for the headquarters to either expand, or find a new home. The township mayors finally felt
that the time had come to build a permanent home for Library Headquarters. Each time Library
Headquarters moved, library service suffered. Planning and negotiating moves, and packing and
unpacking every four to five years was very disruptive. Long-term plans were delayed, backlogs of
materials to be processed developed, programs were curtailed, and money which could have been used
for public library services got spent on moving costs. Furthermore, each time the Library Headquarters
moved, its identity as the rural library service of the Regional Municipality of Waterloo was eroded. It took
a long time to reestablish its identity in each new location.
The township requested that the regional library either buy the building or vacate it. The design of
the building had limitations from the library's point of view. A feasibility study showed that the expansion
of the building and the necessary renovations would cost more than a new building. The Baden office was
poorly insulated, expensive to maintain and the basement was very damp, despite repeated efforts on the
part of the township to rectify the problems. Purchasing or negotiating a long term lease would have
provided a poor return on investment. Maintenance costs and repairs were substantial. In addition, the
building was unable to meet the needs of the library operation at the time - much less the needs of the
future.
Land next to the Philipsburg Yards, about five kilometers northeast of New Hamburg, was
recommended. The Library would build a 450-square-metre (5000-square-foot) office. The library
director's office, a board room, work stations for six employees, a lunch room and book shelves were to
be accommodated under one roof.
In 1991, Nith Valley Construction (a New Hamburg company) was awarded the contract for the new
Waterloo Regional Library Headquarters, with a bid of $356,152. Construction began almost right away.
The total cost of the project, including land purchase costs of $26,000, was $520,000. Funding was
partially raised through the sale of the former headquarters at the Riverbank School near Breslau.
The new Regional headquarters was situated at the core of the rural townships. Increased
efficiency, better service, increased space for more collections, and an improvement in networking were
the main benefits of the move. Purchasing, interlibrary loans, publicity, programming, scheduling, training,
and accounting are done through the regional headquarters.
The new building was officially opened on Wednesday evening, October 30, 1991. An open house
was held during the afternoon to allow the public to tour the new building. Woolwich mayor Bob Waters
said that the Regional Library "has finally found a home for the next century". A plaque to mark the event
was unveiled by the four mayors at the ribbon cutting ceremony.
The branches of the Waterloo Regional Library are so well distributed throughout the county that "no
person has to drive more than 5 miles to a library" (Karin Manley). At the Headquarters building, anyone
with suggestions, questions, or just curiosity is welcome at any time. Books are not loaned to the public at
this location.
The library, now called the Region of Waterloo Library, has added workstations to the headquarters
building for permanent and contract staff. They all work to provide excellent and efficient rural library
service for the residents of the four rural townships of North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot and Woolwich.
If you would like to add to the history of this library, or to correct our information, let us know.