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The '''Old Strathcona Branch''', one of the oldest libraries in [[Alberta]], completed in 1913, was the first library erected in the City of Edmonton.<ref name="Just Getting Started: Edmonton Public Library's First 100 years, 1913-2013">{{cite book|last=Babiak|first=Todd|title=Just Getting Started: Edmonton Public Library's First 100 years, 1913-2013|year=2013|publisher=[[The University of Alberta Press and The Edmonton Public Library]]|page=17-23}}</ref> Nevertheless, the Strathcona Library does have a complex background as to its historical status within the [[Edmonton Public Library]] system.<ref>{{cite book|title=First annual report of the Edmonton Public Library and Strathcona Public Librar|year=1913|___location=Edmonton|url=http://www.ourfutureourpast.ca/loc_hist/page.aspx?id=858070}}{{Dead link|date=April 2020 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> It is located on 104th Street, a block off of [[Whyte Avenue]] in the heart of [[Old Strathcona]]. Situated next to [[Wilbert McIntyre]] Park, the iconic Old Strathcona Gazebo, and the year-round Old Strathcona Farmer's Market, the Old Strathcona Branch is often a central gathering area for much of the local community. During the annual [[Edmonton International Fringe Festival]] in the surrounding area, the Old Strathcona Branch often hosts a large booksale to help shift aging and excess material from [[Edmonton Public Library|Edmonton Public Library's]] circulation.
==History==
[[File:Andrew Carnegie, three-quarter length portrait, seated, facing slightly left, 1913-crop.jpg|thumb|left|upright|The American philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]] had his offer rejected by the library's board]]
In 1897, the Strathcona Library Society was formed, with the idea to build a public library in the young city of [[Strathcona, Alberta|Strathcona]]. In 1910, a petition from citizens was eventually presented to the city council, officially requesting the construction of the library. The city quickly bought up the land for $6,250 from a local farmer, and organized the Strathcona Library Board. The American philanthropist [[Andrew Carnegie]] eventually offered the city $15,000 to build a small, standardized library. However, the board did not feel this would provide the library they were hoping to build, and they declined Carnegie's offer. Costs for the new library were eventually paid for as part of the agreement when Strathcona and Edmonton amalgamated in 1912.<ref name="Herzog">{{cite journal|last=Herzog|first=Lawrence|date=21 October 2010|title=Strathcona Public Library|journal=Real Estate Weekly|volume=28|issue=42|url=http://www.rewedmonton.ca/content_view_rew?CONTENT_ID=2961|accessdate=19 November 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120323145743/http://www.rewedmonton.ca/content_view_rew?CONTENT_ID=2961|archive-date=23 March 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
Construction began in 1912, and the new library was opened on March 13, 1913 by ex-Strathcona Mayor John Joseph Duggan and Edmonton Mayor William Short. Final cost of the library was approximately $27,000. The library was popular upon opening, and boasted an impressive circulation for the size of Edmonton at the time. The first minor renovation was completed in 1948, which converted the original men's-only reading room in the basement into a children's library.<ref name="Herzog" />
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