1930-1939

The Depression decade had a significant impact on Weston Public Library. Receipts declined 30 percent, from $4,223.08 in 1930 to a low of $2,914.86 in 1937, when they started to climb back up again. With reduced funding, expenditures also fell. By 1935, librarian Ruth Rothery’s salary was $1,080, 17 percent lower than the $1,308 that she had earned in 1930. Book collections grew much more slowly, increasing only 10 percent during the decade, from 9,716 volumes in 1930 to 10,865 in 1939.

Patronage increased dramatically though. At the end of 1938, Weston had 4,040 registered borrowers, accounting for 89 percent of Weston population of 5,080, although some of them probably come from the surrounding communities where there was little or no library service. For example, Humber Heights School, located on the Etobicoke side of the river, paid $25 a year to use the library. Circulation of books was erratic, with 65,977 circulations in 1930, 81,770 in 1932 and 57,759 in 1937.

In 1934, the library’s annual report noted that the basement lecture hall was used for “literary meetings, a series of mental health lectures, story hours, Girl Guide and Boy Scout Auxiliaries, Young Liberals, Junior Conservatives and C.C.Y.M." (perhaps the Canadian Commonwealth Youth Movement).

The 1938 report stated. “The library is open daily from 2:30 to 5:30 and 7 to 9 in all departments. It is closed for four weeks in the summer for repairs and cleaning. The majority of the books are out in circulation.”