There were no balloons, no cake cutting and no cheering crowd when the Bracebridge Public Library opened 100 years ago. That’s an oversight the library staff will attempt to rectify this year when they host a year-long celebration to commemorate the building’s centennial.

As part of those celebrations, local author and historian Dr. Patrick Boyer has been commissioned to author a history of the library, which will receive its official launch on March 29.

Boyer recently sat down to discuss his forthcoming book and the library’s significance to the community.

“Bracebridge has always had a very strong book culture,” said Boyer. “It was settled later than other parts of southern Ontario and many educated people came up in those early days.”

Boyer, whose book is titled Local Library: Global Passport, said the Bracebridge library was around well before it was established at its current home at 94 Manitoba St.

“The library is actually one of the oldest institutions in Bracebridge,” he said. “The first library opened in 1874. That’s the year before the village was even incorporated.”

In those days, the library changed locations continually as it outgrew various sites. The library operated above several shops and offices in the downtown, said Boyer, and even found a home in the old town hall for a brief period.

All of that changed in 1908 with the opening of the Bracebridge Public Library on top of the hill on Manitoba Street.

That new library is just one of roughly 2,800 libraries worldwide, and 111 in Ontario, paid for by Andrew Carnegie. Despite an impoverished upbringing, the Scottish-American Carnegie was an avid reader who eventually went on to become one of the wealthiest men on the planet. He is now best remembered as a renowned philanthropist, having spent roughly $65 million on libraries. That would work out to roughly $1.5 billion by today’s standards, said Boyer.

“It was a huge gift to this community. There’s no way Bracebridge could have afforded it otherwise,” said Boyer. “Carnegie really launched us into a higher orbit.”

Nonetheless, the occasion appears to have been lost on most of the general population.

“Bracebridge must hold the world’s record for opening such an important public building to absolutely no fanfare,” said Boyer. “There was no notice in the paper, no ribbon cutting or speeches. People just gradually realized it was open.”

Boyer said he suspects the understated opening can largely be attributed to the fact that the building had experienced significant construction delays. After receiving a drubbing by the local press and the public at large, Boyer said head librarian Moses Dickie likely wasn’t interested in giving anyone another chance to point out that the opening was far behind schedule.

Despite it’s humble beginnings, Boyer said the library has always been heavily used and a focal point of cultural life.

“The library has had a very dynamic use within the community,” said Boyer. “There have always been things going on like lectures, readings, literary debates and children’s hours.”

Boyer said the number of patrons at the library has remained constant through the past 100 years. Roughly 20 per cent of the population actively uses the facility, a number that mirrors the rest of the country.

By the 1960s the library had again reached capacity, and it was determined to build the first addition.

“The public buildings of the day were strictly functional. There was no heed to the overall design of the town, and no respect for architecture. Many public buildings were in a word, awful . . . and that certainly applied to the library addition,” said Boyer.

The architectural misstep was largely remedied in 1985 when the library again ran into a space shortage. At the time, there was a great deal of debate as to whether to add another addition, demolish the current building and start again or relocate on the outskirts of town.

“They decided to keep it downtown, and they were able to prove that they could expand while still respecting the architecture,” said Boyer. “It maintained a vital presence in the centre of town, both intellectually and physically.”

The new addition, created by architect Brian Chamberlain, reflected the original building and won several awards.

From the advent of the Dewey Decimal System to the complete computerization of the facility, the library has also seen its share of internal changes. The library has had 15 head librarians during the past 100 years, one of whom was Boyer’s own mother Patricia, for whom the children’s department is now named.

With the new emphasis on the library as a place to access the Internet, said Boyer, there’s no reason to believe the Bracebridge Public Library won’t remain the centre of intellectual and cultural life for years to come.