"Children who read good books usually behave better, and have good manners": The Founding of the Notre Dame de Grace Library for Boys and Girls, Montreal, 1943

The founding of the Notre Dame de Grace Library for Boys and Girls in Montreal in 1943 provides a unique and interesting case study in Canadian library development. It was founded and operated by an umbrella group of local community organizations, using money raised locally, initially to combat a perceived rise in juvenile delinquency during the Second World War. The arguments made in favor of the library by the general public and the organizers were widely reported in the local press. The documentary record provides a rare account of the beliefs held about the efficacy of reading and libraries to shape children, a neglected aspect of children’s library development in Canadian historiography. Introduction In 1942 a number of community groups in the Notre Dame de Grace district of Montreal came together to discuss a matter of great common concern. The Second World War had been raging for three years, and many felt that one of the major consequences of this on the home front had been a rapid increase in juvenile delinquency. Frightened by newspaper reports of increases in youth crime in Britain, the United States, and Canada, including incidences occurring locally that were being reported in the weekly district paper the Monitor, over forty groups joined together to create the Notre Dame de Grace Community Council. The community council was formed to tackle youth crime and other problems. Their first major undertaking was to raise funds to open and run a library for local children and youths up to age sixteen. After much effort and support from “Children who read good books usually behave better, and have good manners”: The Founding of the Notre Dame de Grace Library for Boys and Girls, Montreal, 1943