Appendix A - History of Greater Victoria Public Library

Appendix A - History of Greater Victoria Public Library

The Public Library By-Law, 1902 was enacted by the Council of the Corporation of the City of Victoria upon acceptance of a donation of $50,000 from Mr. Andrew Carnegie where it was also approved to erect a Free Public Library upon municipal land located at the corner of Blanshard and Yates Streets.

In 1966, it was agreed in principle to enter into a new inter-municipal library agreement to replace, what was was up to that point, an arrangement whereby the Victoria Public Library contracted out services to other municipalities in the Greater Victoria region.

In 1974, the library became a registered charity under the legal name of Greater Victoria Public Library Board. The charity's board of trustees currently consists of 21 individuals consisting of 19 Board Trustees appointed by Municipal Councils, in accordance with subsection 4.9 of this Agreement and 2 ex officio members: 1) The library's CEO (who acts as secretary to the Board) and 2) The library's Director, Finance and Facilities (who acts as treasurer to the Board).

A Greater Victoria Public Library Board ("Board") was established in accordance with provincial legislation, the Public Library Act (1994) and the intermunicipal agreement, signed in 1993 and an Addendum, signed in 1995 to cover the bridging period for the West Shore Communities.

Up until this time, GVPL consisted of four municipalities: the City of Victoria, the Districts of Saanich and Oak Bay, and the Township of Esquimalt. With the addition of the West Shore Communities (Cities of Langford and Colwood, Districts of Metchosin and Highlands) in 1996, the library then consisted of 8 municipal partners.

The District of Central Saanich and the Town of View Royal joined in 2002, resulting in the 10 municipal partners that are still parties to the Agreement today.

The Board also provides services to the communities of Willis Point, Durrance, and Malahat, under separate agreement, and members of the Esquimalt, Songhees, Tsawout, Tsartlip and Beecher Bay Bands, all of which are not included in the service area as per the Library Operating Agreement.

Appendix A - History of Greater Victoria Public Library - Continued

According to the Library Operating Agreement, branch buildings are provided by the municipalities.

In 1998, the four municipalities that comprised GVPL, Victoria, Saanich, Oak Bay and Esquimalt, purchased a strata lot which became the Central Branch from a provincial crown corporation, the British Columbia Building Corporation ("BCBC"). BCBC transferred title of the property on the condition that the buyers granted it an option to purchase the property and a right of first refusal to purchase the property. BCBC no longer exists, but the rights it held are now controlled by the province. If the owners sell the property, or it ceases to be used for library purposes, the province may acquire the property for a price (determined by a formula) that is well below market value. The disparity between market value and the formula grows every year.

The 1999 Library Operating Agreement outlined that Victoria would be the sole contributor to the Central Branch strata and maintenance costs in order to fulfill its obligations to provide branch premises. Saanich, Esquimalt and Oak Bay fulfilled their obligations to provide premises through branches located within their own municipalities. On December 14, 2007, the Town of View Royal fulfilled its obligation to provide a branch premises by acquiring an interest in the Central Branch strata lot, and contributing to the Central Branch strata and maintenance costs along with Victoria.

The current owners on title to the Central Branch are the original four owners and View Royal. Current contributors to branch strata and maintenance costs are Victoria and View Royal.