Our History

According to Leduc Reflections, the pictorial history of Leduc, "the public library was an integral part of the community from its first organization in 1912 when Karl Martin was the first librarian and the library was located in J. Mundy's office." Despite this early role of the library in Leduc, there is no recorded history of library services for the next 34 years.
 
In 1946, the Leduc Women's Institute decided to investigate the possibility of re-establishing library services in Leduc.  The following is a summary of the Leduc Women's Institute's involvement with the Leduc Public Library, as presented by Mrs. Haddie Fjell in May, 1983, at a ceremony commemorating Kathleen Henderson's and the Women's Institute's role in the history of the Leduc Public Library:
 
At our October meeting in 1946 it was decided we should have a library in Leduc. On a motion made by Mrs. Bradbury, seconded by Mrs. Huston, Mrs. Henderson was to look into the details of starting a library. In January 1947 an empty house on main street owned by Mr. Davis was rented for $5.00 a month. The Lions Club of Leduc made and donated shelves. 24 books were purchased for $2.50. 300 books were purchased from Mrs. Morton, President of the Vegreville Woman's Institute for $15.00. The first library board consisted of Mrs. Robberts, Mrs. Kropp and Mrs. Henderson. On May 20th, 1947 we moved to Meadowbrook hall.  In 1951 it was decided by the library board to purchase an old street car, it was painted and contained 970 books. The Town Council thought the street car was an "eye sore" so they gave us space in their new town hall in 1956. In 1962 the control over the Leduc library was passed from the Leduc Women's Institute to the Town Council. The Women's Institute spent $3,200.00 on the library in 15 years of operation. A plaque was placed in the library by the Town Council to commemorate our gift to the community. The Leduc Chamber of Commerce presented the W.I. with a certificate of merit.
 
At the time that the library was donated to the Town of Leduc, it was housed in the southwest corner of the Town Hall, on 47B Street. By 1963 the library had outgrown its corner and was relocated to temporary quarters in the Leduc Fire Hall and later moved back to the Town Hall in 1973.
 
In May 1983, the City Council passed a motion to commence planning for a new facility in Alexander Park.  The library was located in the north wing of this new building called the Civic Centre until its move in February 2015 to a new facility still located in Alexandra Park.