Collection search - The Peterborough Mechanics' Institute fonds [textual record]

Record information – Brief
1
The Peterborough Mechanics' Institute fonds [textual record]

Hierarchical level:

Fonds

Date:

1868-1940.

Reference:

R11786-0-4-E, LMS-0210

Type of material:

Textual material

Found in:

Archives / Collections and Fonds

Item ID number:

3672274

Context of this record:

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The Peterborough Mechanics' Institute fonds
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Record information – Details

Fonds includes:

1 lower level description(s)
View lower level description(s)

Date(s):

1868-1940.

Place of creation:

Ontario

Extent:

1 m of textual records.

Language of material:

English

Scope and content:

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Fonds contains the minutes of meetings, proposals for programs, courses, lectures, acquisition data and records of the Institute's operation, physical operation of the library, financial information and correspondence. Also included are ephemera such as lecture advertisements, 19th century booksellers' catalogues, assorted circulars, invoices, etc.

Provenance:

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Peterborough Mechanics' Institute

Biography/Administrative history:

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Peterborough Mechanics' Institute : The Peterborough Mechanics' Institute, later the Peterborough Public Library in Peterborough, Ontario, began as a subscription library and reading room operated by the local Mechanics Institute. The Institute provided evening classes, lectures and library facilities to support the technical education and spiritual growth of working-class men. Robert Romaine, editor of the Peterborough Review, held the job of librarian and by 1858, the collection contained 950 books and a weekly circulation of 100 newspapers and periodicals to 140 subscribers.

In 1868, the Ontario government offered grants to chartered mechanics' institutes and the Peterborough Association applied for and received official incorporation. To be eligible for government funding, institutes were required to maintain significant scientific and technical collections and to provide evening classes and lectures. "Light" publications, such as works of fiction, were not considered eligible acquisitions, and were purchased with monies raised from local sources. By 1888, the library of the Peterborough Mechanics' Institute maintained an extensive and varied collection of more than 5 000 volumes and 40 periodicals for the use of its 350 members.

In 1880, administration of mechanics' institutes, previously within the Bureau of Agriculture, was taken over by the Department of Education. In 1883, the Ontario Free Public Libraries Act enabled the conversion of many larger Mechanics' Institutes into public libraries. Additional legislation in 1895 allowed the change in title, and the Peterborough Mechanics' Institute officially became the Peterborough Public Library.

Finding aid:

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Textual records (Paper) Finding aid available. Available in reference room. (90: Open)

Container note(s):

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1 : 1995-05
2 : 1995-05
3 : 1995-05
4 : 1995-05
5 : 1995-05
6 : 1995-05
7 : 1995-05
8 : 1995-05

Source:

Private

Former archival reference no.:

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LMS-0210

Other accession no.:

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1995-05 LMS
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Conditions of access:

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Textual records

[Consultation90 Open]

LMS container [LMS-0210 1995-05] 1--8

[Consultation 90 Open]

Terms of use:

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Copyright varies. The recipient of copies is responsible for determining whether material is subject to copyright and whether use of it does or does not constitute an infringement of copyright under the Copyright Act. Credit Library and Archives Canada.

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Date modified:: 2024-07-24