A Book in Every Hand: Public Libraries in Saskatchewan

The challenges of establishing a system of libraries to serve the far-flung, mainly agrarian populace of Saskatchewan were large indeed. In an engaging, personal narrative style, Don Kerr utilizes public meeting accounts, official reports, interviews, and personal experience to document the struggles, the triumphs, and the challenges.

Beginning with the cpr libraries and the “Mechanics and Literary Institutes” that predated public libraries, he charts the province’s progress through travelling and “open shelf” libraries to the development of the provincial library, and then the groundbreaking interconnected regional library system.

It took strong people to make it all happen, and A Book in Every Hand notes and celebrates major players in Saskatchewan’s library history – librarians, politicians, civic leaders and bureaucrats. Names such as Angus Mowat, Marian Gilroy, Frances Morrison, Jesse Bothwell, Mary MacIssac, Alice Turner, Pat Cavill, Carlyle King, George Meadow, Ron Yeo, and numerous others.

The text is supplemented by 50 historical photographs, and also includes a special section of colour photographs featuring existing Saskatchewan heritage libraries of architectural significance.

Don Kerr is the author of five books of poetry, seven plays, a short fiction collection, a teen fiction novel, and non-fiction books on politics and the history of the city of Saskatoon. He served on the Saskatoon Public Library Board for 11 years, and as chair for five of those years. He was the first chair of the Saskatoon Heritage Society and the first chair of the Saskatoon Municipal Heritage Committee. He is currently the elected Saskatchewan governor for the Heritage Canada Foundation.