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Ajax Library 1952-57 AJAX PUBLIC LIBRARY The Ajax Public Library was opened on December 13, 1952, and its establishment was mainly due to a determined group of citizens, ably led by Mr.John Cameron. Contributions towards the cost of its establishment came from citizens and from industrial and commercial enterprises in the town. Residents of Ajax have good reason to be grateful to those people and to members of the Library Board who have, since that time, striven to maintain and improve the library service until it will now bear comparison with any in the country serving a similar population. In December, 1952 the population of Ajax was 4,057 and the Library opened with a stock of 1,175 volumes, and some idea of the way in which the Library has more than kept pace with the town's growth may be gained from the fact that, for the 1957 population of about 6,000, the stock totaled some 6,500 volumes. For 1953, the first full year of operation, the circulation was 24,797 volumes. By 1956 this had increased to 31,708 volumes. The original accommodation used for the Library was in a very few years totally inadequate for the growing stock and circulation, so that in January, 1956 the Library moved, which provided more space for the stock and for the comfort of readers. It was a light and airy building, cheerfully decorated, and since only wall shelving was used, gave an air of freedom and space. This latter, unfortunately, was shortly to be minimised when the growing stock necessitated the use of island bookcases. Tables and comfortable chairs were provided for the leisurely selection of books and for the habitual browser. That the Library was appreciated and was fulfilling its purpose was evident from the number of readers on the register. These totalled 3,137 and a surprising feature of this membership was that more than half of them were junior readers. As a result of this large proportion of juniors, work with children became a special feature of the Library's activities, nearly half the total stock consisted of children's books, and children were responsible for well over half of the total circulation. To encourage their interest in books and reading, Story Hours or Puppet Shows, presented by Miss Margaret Woodhouse and her helpers, were regularly given on Saturday mornings during the winter months to the younger children. A special section of books for teen-age readers was established, made possible largely by a generous donation for books from the Ajax Kinsmen Club in 1956. It is worth mentioning here that assistance in cash or in kind was also received from other service clubs of Ajax, including the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, and the I.O.D.E. Adult services included a selection of over 1,700 non-fiction books, a similar number of modern and classical fiction, and a small but growing reference section consisting of encyclopedias and quick-reference books. In the realm of art, the Library was the home of regular exhibits of art work from the schools of Ajax and by members of the Ajax Art Society. Despite the obvious success of the Library to 1957; there were no feelings of complacency in the minds of the powers that were, nor, it was hoped, in the minds of the public in general. The Library Board, under the keen and energetic chairmanship of Dr.Glyn Jones, and with the professional guidance of the Librarian, Mr. John Vickers, was determined to expand and improve the library service along with the anticipated growth of the town of Ajax, and to strive to keep in the forefront of public library development in Canada. Given the necessary support, mainly financial, of the Council and the public, the Board was confident of success. Courtesy of Ajax Library. Picture caption: Members of the first Ajax Library Advisory Board pictured here in 1952 were, Back Row, L to R, Paul Corbett, John R. Sherburne, Ian Hamer. Front row, L to R, Teresa Falby, John Cameron, Chairman and Miss June Munro, first librarian. (photo courtesy of Ajax Library). Ajax Administrator David Lowe DAVID LOWE — AJAX ADMINISTRATOR David Lowe, Ajax Town adminstrator, arrived in Ajax to take up his duties on October 1, 1973. This was also the year that the Durham Region was born, with the resulting upheavel of transferring many of the town's responsibilities to the Durham Region. One of the first tasks that faced the new administrator was to plan and install a complete re-organization of the town's municipal staff. This restructuring, while a mammoth undertaking, was successfully completed without overly much disruption. Within the restructuring, Mr. Lowe introduced a new responsibility to the councillors To ensure proper communications and political input to the town departments, Dave suggested to the Mayor and Council that each councillor be responsible to Council for one of the town's departments. The councillor for his designated department would then be responsible to the Picture caption: David Lowe council for any political input and would report back to council. He would also be responsible for the concerns of the councillors regarding that department, and communicate with the appropriate person to have the political concern cleared up. Dave specially noted that the emphasis on the department by the politician was political, and that they should not interfere with the administration. This has worked very well for the town and has greatly assisted in better understanding between the staff and the council. Dave firmly believes that the esprit de corp that exists between the council, staff and residents has been brought about, to a great extent by this type of communication. Dave's job as administrator carried the responsibility of co-ordinating the various departments through the directors of the various departments of the town, with planning, recreation and works being the main three. He has to deal with the union negotiations and with public relations. Most of the public relations is handled by the clerk's department, with which Dave works very closely. He is the advisor to the councillors and mayor, and often has to act the part of a referee between them and the public. One of the major concerns of the town after regionalisation was the obtaining of industrial growth which the tax structures of any growing municipality requires to stay stable. It was the general concensus of the council that the town was NOT getting their share of this industrial commercial development. After discussions among themselves, the mayor and Dave met with various developers who were involved in the town and discussed the problem with them. The result of this meeting can be seen today in the large industrial building erected by George Wimpey Canada Limited south of Bayly Street. Wimpey is responsible for the Duffin's Bay residential development west of Harwood Avenue. This had brought to the town a large increase in population. Dave is especially pleased with the cooperation that they have received from Wimpy in this area. As was mentioned previously, Dave works very closely with the staff, and when seeking information about various other activities and fields of interests, he refers to is very competent directors.