Montreal Public Libraries Network

Montreal Public Libraries Network
Montreal Public Libraries Network
Type	Public library system of Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada
Established	3 November 1902
Branches	45
Collection
Items collected	Business directories, phone books, maps, government publications, books, periodicals, genealogy, local history
Size	3,542,541 printed book (2021)
Other information
Website	https://montreal.ca/en/libraries

The Montreal Public Libraries Network (French: Bibliothèques de Montréal, previously Réseau des bibliothèques publiques de Montréal) is the public library system on the Island of Montreal in Quebec, Canada. It is the largest French language public library system in North America, and also has items in English and other languages. Its central branch closed in March 2005 and its collections incorporated into the collections of the Grande Bibliothèque.

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The municipally-run Montreal Public Libraries Network (as distinct from the provincial Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, which is also located in Montreal) includes 67 libraries, including 44 libraries in the city of Montreal and 12 branches in other municipalities on the Island of Montreal. There are several additional branches which are privately funded public libraries within the system and which require a nominal membership fee.

History

Montreal Mechanics Institute was one of a series of mechanics' institutes that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. It housed a subscription library that allowed members who paid a fee to borrow books. The mechanics' institutes libraries eventually became public libraries when the establishment of free libraries occurred.^[1]