Thunder Bay Public Library
The Thunder Bay Public Library serves the citizens of Thunder Bay, Ontario, Canada and surrounding areas. Services Information and reference services Access to full text databases Community information Internet access Reader's advisory services Programs for children, youth and adults Delivery to homebound individuals Interlibrary loan Free downloadable audiobooks History The library got its start when the Port Arthur Library opened a Mechanics' Institute in the schoolhouse in 1876. Membership fees were $20.00 for life or $2.00 per year. The present building at 285 Red River Road opened on June 1, 1951 as the Port Arthur Public Library. Library services for Fort William began in 1885 when Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR) employees opened a bath, along with a smoking and literary room, with a library attached in the Round House at West Fort William. Fees were $1.25 per year for CPR employees; non-employees were required to pay $1.25 for use of the tub. With the assistance of a $50,000 grant from the Carnegie Foundation, the Fort William Library moved to its new location at 216 South Brodie Street in 1912, with Mary J. L. Black as the librarian (who served from 1909 to 1937). The Fort William Library saw its first