In May 1908, Calgary City Council appointed the first Calgary Public Library Board of Trustees with the mandate to fund, build and operate Calgary and Alberta’s first public library.

Financed by the Carnegie Foundation and The City of Calgary, Central Park Library opened in 1912 with a collection of 5,000 books and magazines.  Today, it stands as Memorial Park Library, a recognized Calgary and Alberta historic site.

Until 1963, Memorial Park was considered the main branch and headquarters of a growing library system.  It was also used extensively as a cultural resource by arts groups and played an important educational role in the city, including hosting university classes prior to the opening of the University of Calgary.    

The current Central Library was built in 1963, and an addition was added in 1974.  It was built to serve a city population of 400,000.

Fast Facts

• Calgary Public Library is the second largest public library system in Canada and the sixth largest in North America
• More than 500,000 Calgarians have a library card
• The system includes 17 community branches, with three more in the planning stages
• The Library delivers over 8,000 community programs annually