The Edmonton Public Library turns 100 in 2013! Novelist, journalist, and Edmontonian Todd Babiak tells the story of EPL's birth and coming of age within the bustling narrative of the growth of city and province. Rich with anecdotes and historical photos, records of personal conversations, and tales of expeditions to branch libraries, Just Getting Started immerses readers in a personal journey to the heart of culture in one of Canada's biggest cities. Babiak's history is one-of-a-kind; it reads like a novel, mirroring the institution it commemorates. Edmontonians, librarians, politicians, and historians may glimpse themselves within these pages; all will see how vital a successful public library is to reflecting the needs and aims of a diverse population.
Authors
- Bibliography, etc. Note
- Includes bibliographical references (pages 341-342) and index
- Control Number Identifier
- CaOOCEL
- Date published
- 2013.
- Description conventions
- rda
- Dewey Decimal Classification Number
- 027.47123/34
- Dewey Decimal Edition Number
- 23
- Distributor
- Canadian Electronic Library (Firm),
- General Note
- Issued as part of the desLibris books collection
- Geographic Area Code
- n-cn-ab
- ISBN
- 9780888648150 0888648154
- LCCN
- Z736 E36
- LCCN Item number
- B32 2013eb
- Modifying agency
- CaBNVSL
- Original cataloging agency
- CaOONL
- Physical Description | Extent
- 1 electronic text (xiv, 359 pages)
- Published in
- Beaconsfield, Quebec
- Publisher or Distributor Number
- CaOOCEL
- Rights
- Access restricted to authorized users and institutions
- System Control Number
- (CaBNVSL)slc11340331 (OCoLC)900562353 (CaOOCEL)446515
- System Details Note
- Mode of access: World Wide Web
- Transcribing agency
- CaOONL
Table of Contents
- Front Cover 1
- Title Page 4
- Copyright 5
- Dedication 6
- Epigraph 8
- Contents 10
- Acknowledgements 12
- Foreword | Linda C. Cook 14
- 1 Without a library, is a city a city? 18
- 2 Permanence and maturity and pride 26
- 3 The richest man in the world 32
- 4 A repository for Edmonton-ness? 42
- 5 A big city negotiation 46
- 6 Above the liquor store and meat shop 56
- 7 Edmonton's acropolis 72
- 8 "We're bigger than out buildings" 84
- 9 Tough times in the "Rome of the West" 98
- 10 From the library to the street - and the legislature 104
- 11 A firecracker of a man 114
- 12 The violinist with a broom 126
- 13 A centre of culture 132
- 14 Gourlay's error 138
- 15 Call me Bill 148
- 16 The first branch 152
- 17 That tiny Carnegie library on the hill 164
- 18 The fight against the fleshpots 172
- 19 Mid-century modern 182
- 20 Sex 194
- 21 The Carnegie of Edmonton 198
- 22 The dominion of the mall 206
- 23 You're our expert. Build the library. 210
- 24 Big Brother in Edmonton 220
- 25 That brilliant, sunny Saturday afternoon 226
- 26 Then the Sixties happened 234
- 27 Phantom Edmonton 238
- 28 All it needed was a lava lamp 244
- 29 Something called "Alberta culture" 250
- 30 An off-season Santa Claus 258
- 31 Freedom of expression 262
- 32 Lougheed, Trudeau and the busiest library on the continent 266
- 33 Public libraries are going to die 276
- 34 Someone fabulous 280
- 35 Free to all 286
- 36 The girl from Bonnie Doon 294
- 37 What is the opposite of threadbare 298
- 38 The mayor who changed everything 306
- 39 How to be an Edmontonian 310
- 40 A terrible shame to lose a reader 318
- 41 To launch a new generation of readers 328
- A Timeline of the Edmonton Public Library 330
- Notes 344
- Select Bibliography 358
- Index 360
- About the Author 377
- Other Titles from University of Alberta Press 378
