Brussels Public Library
402 Turnberry Street, Brussels, Ont.
( Built: 1909 - 1910 )
Brussels has the distinction of being one of the smaller communities to have a Carnegie library. Andrew Carnegie was a Scot who made his fortune in American steel. When he sold his company in 1901, he turned to charitable works, among them the funding of library buildings around the world. Between 1901 and 1915, 111 Ontario communities received library grants out of a total of 125 given in eight provinces of Canada. Five communities in Huron County received grants, Brussels being one of them.
John Leckie, the Reeve at the time, introduced the idea of a public library for Brussels in 1906. The village’s library board received a Carnegie grant of $7,000. After some initial controversy over the choice of a site, a lot at the corner of Turnberry and Mill Streets was purchased for $375. The plans of a Stratford architect, Mr. Ireland, were accepted May 26, 1909 and by December 30th the building was complete enough to house a meeting of the library board. Brussels Public Library was opened on January 14, 1910.
Library service in Brussels has its origins, as do many libraries in Ontario, with the Mechanics’ Institute libraries of the mid-1850s. The Mechanics’ Institute Library & Reading Room in Brussels was incorporated in 1874. It was a subscription library that in 1880 cost the subscriber $1.00 a year. A financial report for that year shows there were 28 subscribers and 572 volumes.
Photo Above: The Brussels Post of December 8, 1910 boasted "Brussels possesses the neatest and most modern library in five counties." Today, the library is still an important part of the community.
After the passage of the Free Libraries Act in 1882, many municipalities across Ontario provided public, but not always free, library services. However, not many libraries actually had a permanent building to call home. The Carnegie grant program gave communities the chance to apply for monies to build a library, provided they contributed an annual sum of 10% of the grant received toward support of the library, as well as a piece of land on which to build. James Bertram, Carnegie’s private secretary, ran the grant program and it was he who dealt with the voluminous correspondence from the various library boards.
The design of the libraries was not dictated by the Carnegie grant program, but many common elements appear, for example, an exposed basement, a centrally located main entrance, classically columned porticos and a symmetrical arrangement of windows. Brussels Public Library is one of only six in Ontario to have a corner entrance, a feature deemed extravagant by the frugal Mr. Bertram.
The Brussels Public Library has become a fixture in the community. Over the years it has provided space for activities other than library services. The Red Cross made its home in the basement during WWII. In addition to library service there were, and are, story-time programs and a community room used for a variety of public functions.
The Brussels Public Library is now a Level 2 Branch library of the Huron County Library system. Some of the modern services it provides are Internet access and an automated circulation service.
Unfortunately, Brussels Public Library is in peril. Current library standards require full accessibility; in this case, an elevator is needed. Also required is a minimum of 2,500 square feet of display space, 1,000 square feet more than the library has available now. So today, the municipal council is struggling with the financial quandary posed by these standards.
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