Cambridge Military Library

Cambridge Military Library is a library building in Royal Artillery Park in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada which was built in 1886. The building was created to house the garrison library collection, which had been moved from various locations in the city since its creation in 1817. It is the oldest non-university public library collection in Canada. (When the library was established, there were still no bookstores in the Atlantic region.)^[1] This building was the social and literary centre of military Halifax. In 1902, the officers of the garrison requested the library be named after the Prince George, Duke of Cambridge.

History

Along with Dalhousie College, Lord Dalhousie established the book collection with the Castine Fund, established from the fortune taken from New Ireland (Maine) during the War of 1812. Dalhousie housed the collection in "The Seedsman's House" on Spring Garden Road, and it was later moved to building in the Glacis Barracks, on the north side of the Halifax citadel. It was later moved to a building on Water Street before being established in its current location.

The original membership of the library in 1818 included:

By 1835, the library included the best works published in the English language. In the 1860s the library holdings were considerably augmented by a very valuable collection of books transferred from Corfu, which had originated from the Garrison Library at Messina in Sicily in 1810. By 1886, by the time the Cambridge Military Library was built, the library collection totaled 3,000 volumes.

Commemoration

On October 29, 1934 a tablet was unveiled by Lt. Gov. Walter Harold Covert. The historic importance of the library is reflected in those who attended the ceremony:

Premier Angus MacDonald
Halifax Mayor Edward Joseph Cragg
Chief Justice Gordon Harrington
Frank Patterson,
Dr. Carleton Stanley
Harry Piers
Commander Leonard W. Murray
Mr. D.C. Harvey
Frederick Henry Sexton
Colonel Eaton (Annapolis)
General Foster (Kentville)
Brigadier General Halfdan Hertzberg
Lt. Col. H.T. Goodeve
Band of the Princess Louise Fusiliers

References

^ MacAlister, Sir John Young Walker; Pollard, Alfred William; McKerrow, Ronald Brunlees; Francis, Sir Frank Chalton (January 28, 1895). "The Library". Oxford University Press – via Google Books.
^ Marshall, John (January 28, 1835). "Royal Naval Biography; Or, Memoirs of the Services of All the Flag-officers, Superannuated Rear-admirals, Retired-captains, Post-captains, and Commanders, Whose Names Appeared on the Admiralty List of Sea Officers at the Commencement of the Present Year, Or who Have Since Been Promoted; Illustrated by a Series of Historical and Explanatory Notes ... With Copious Addenda: Commanders, flag-officers, captains". Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown – via Google Books.

Sources

Shirley Elliott. A library for the garrison and town: A history of the Cambridge Military Library, Royal Military Park, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Wolfville, Nova Scotia. 1989.
Cambridge Military Library Royal Artillery Park of Halifax NS and GOC Residence
Early Libraries In Halifax, by Karen Smith; NSHS, Journal #7 (2004); pp. 15.
Rules and catalogue of the Halifax Garrison Library: with a list of the subscribers. 1835