Celebrating 100 Years of the Nelson Public Library
Guest Curator: Anna DeGrace
The Nelson Public Library examines its own evolution in this, its centenary year, in partnership with The Nelson Museum, Archives, & Gallery. Turning Pages: Celebrating 100 Years of the Nelson Public Library runs September 12 to November 22, where a century of reading, public programming, galloping technology, and an expanding societal role is chronicled through timeline, text, historic images, illustrations, and audiovisual components. Documenting these changes in a comprehensive exhibition allows us to celebrate how far we’ve come as well as offer a thoughtful lens to the future.
As an institution, libraries began as an exclusive gateway to collection of books, uneven in both content and access. Yet, it would evolve into something much more inclusive. Today, the Nelson Library embraces its role as a barrier-free community resource, social hub, and information provider and navigation service. Both the Museum and Library aim to be players in the societal narrative by enabling learning opportunities about culture, decolonization, and all the different ways humans co-exist. In today’s narrative, everyone is welcome, books and collections are but a part of the story, and the library or museum are seldom quiet places. It is through an understanding of the past that we examine our potential, which is why the Nelson Public Library centenary exhibition offers a rich opportunity as they craft the next chapter.
This project is a partnership with the Nelson Public Library and guest curated by Anna DeGrace. Research and development for the exhibition will support the production of a companion history book, available free of charge to museum and library archives in BC.
See Also
Astrid Heyerdahl Intro: Evolving Together, From Collectors to Community Hubs