30 An off-season Santa Claus

Chapters in this book

1. Frontmatter i
2. Contents ix
3. Acknowledgements xi
4. Foreword xiii
5. 1 Without a library, is a city a city? 1
6. 2 Permanence and maturity and pride 9
7. 3 The richest man in the world 15
8. 4 A repository for Edmonton-ness? 25
9. 5 A big city negotiation 29
10. 6 Above the liquor store and meat shop 39
11. 7 Edmonton’s acropolis 55
12. 8 “We’re bigger than our buildings” 67
13. 9 Tough times in the “Rome of the West” 81
14. 10 From the library to the street— and the legislature 87
15. 11 A firecracker of a man 97
16. 12 The violinist with a broom 109
17. 13 A centre of culture 115
18. 14 Gourlay’s error 121
19. 15 Call me Bill 131
20. 16 The first branch 135
21. 17 That tiny Carnegie library on the hill 147
22. 18 The fight against the fleshpots 155
23. 19 Mid-century modern 165
24. 20 Sex 177
25. 21 The Carnegie of Edmonton 181
26. 22 The dominion of the mall 189
27. 23 You’re our expert. Build the library 193
28. 24 Big Brother in Edmonton 203
29. 25 That brilliant, sunny Saturday afternoon 209
30. 26 Then the Sixties happened 217
31. 27 Phantom Edmonton 221
32. 28 All it needed was a lava lamp 227
33. 29 Something called “Alberta culture” 233
34. 30 An off-season Santa Claus 241
35. 31 Freedom of expression 245
36. 32 Lougheed, Trudeau and the busiest library on the continent 249
37. 33 Public libraries are going to die 259
38. 34 Someone fabulous 263
39. 35 Free to all 269
40. 36 The girl from Bonnie Doon 277
41. 37 What is the opposite of threadbare? 281
42. 38 The mayor who changed everything 289
43. 39 How to be an Edmontonian 293
44. 40 A terrible shame to lose a reader 301
45. 41 To launch a new generation of readers 311
46. A Timeline of the Edmonton Public Library 313
47. Notes 327
48. Select Bibliography 341
49. Index 343
50. About the Author 360