Grand Forks library to celebrate 80 years since 1946 opening

GRAND FORKS — The Grand Forks & District Public Library will celebrate 80 years since it opened its doors on Oct. 16, 1946, with an anniversary event next month that will look back at the people and places that shaped the institution.

The celebration runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Friday, Oct. 16, with cupcakes, coffee and a special historical display at the library. Kelsey Ehler of the Boundary Museum & Archives will give a presentation from noon to 12:30 p.m.

The library traces its beginnings to Ray Orser, who organized a meeting in the fall of 1945 and formed a committee to gauge support for a public library in Grand Forks and the surrounding rural district. Twenty-two people signed incorporation papers the following spring, and the Grand Forks Public Library Association received its certificate of incorporation on May 7, 1946.

Its first home was the weights-and-measures room upstairs in the Grand Forks post office, now City Hall. The room rented for $5 a year. Volunteers built bookshelves in the building’s basement and boiler room, while the first collection was assembled largely through donations. The library officially opened Oct. 16.

As use increased, the library moved to a somewhat larger room on the post office’s main floor in 1951. By then, its collection had grown to about 2,000 volumes.

Another move followed in 1964, when a new library space opened as an addition to the museum. That building was eventually outgrown as membership and the collection increased, and the current library building opened March 27, 1982 on property the city had acquired between the post office and museum.

The new building was funded through a provincial Recreational Facilities grant, money from the local slag fund and lumber donated by Pope and Talbot. According to the library’s history, community response to a call for help moving the collection was strong enough that the books were transferred into the new building by 1 p.m. on moving day.

The library received the British Columbia Library Association’s first Merit Award the following year.

Today, the library serves about 9,000 people in Grand Forks, Christina Lake and rural Grand Forks, according to its 2024 provincial grant report. It also reported serving residents from Greenwood and Midway who travel to Grand Forks for services.

Its role has expanded beyond lending books. Current programs include technology help and a community navigation clinic where seniors can get assistance with government forms and benefits. The library also lends items such as radon detectors and bat backpacks through its Library of Things.

Physical books remain heavily used. The library reported circulating nearly 100,000 physical items in 2024, which it described as a record. That year it also completed a $40,000 redesign of its children’s area, replacing furniture and shelving with movable equipment that allowed the space to accommodate larger programs.

The Oct. 16 anniversary display will focus on milestones, people, places and events from the library’s history. The library has not publicly specified the subject of Ehler’s presentation beyond announcing her as the event’s special guest.

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