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[Bookplate for Mechanics' Institute of Moodyville]

In black ink, a decorative border surrounds text printed in a variety of fonts and hand written notes. The paper is highly mottled, possibly the result of mold.

Mechanics' Institute of Moodyville

Still Image

Mechanical institutes began in the 1820's in Edinburgh to promote education among workers in technical fields. Services included reading rooms, lending libraries, lectures, and even musical soirees and exhibitions, as in Montreal's Mechanics' Institute. As their institutional popularity declined, many mechanics' institutes were closed or integrated into the public library system. Formerly, they were located across Canada, and particularly throughout Ontario. Today, the Atwater Library of the Mechanics' Institute of Montreal is the last mechanical institute in Canada. The town of Moodyville was established on the banks of the Burrard Inlet in the 1860's as a logging town and the site of the Moodyville Sawmill Company, later becoming part of the City of Vancouver. The sawmill closed in 1901. In 1869, 17 Moodyville residents joined together to found the Mount Hermon Masonic Lodge just north of the mill. The lodge was also home to the Mechanics' Institute, and included a library, reading room, and a place for performance and community gatherings. The library was one of the first two libraries on the Burrard Inlet, the other being the Hastings Literary Institute located in what is now the Granville area in Vancouver.
References:
1) Edwards, Gail. A Library At the End of the World: The Moodyville Mechanics' Institute Library and Reading Room. Library History Interest Group, Canadian Library Association Annual Meeting, Calgary, Alberta, June 1995.
2) 'The Town'. Moodyville: A Lost Community. Accessed 7 December 2011 <http://www.cnv.org/moodyville/moodyville2.html>.
3) Vancouver Public Library. 'Library History: New London Mechanics Institute / Hastings Literary Institute, Vancouver Public Library'. Accessed on 7 December 2011 <http://www.vpl.ca/about/cat/C401/>.
4) McCord Museum. 'Moodyville: Legend and Legacy, North Vancouver Museum and Archives.' Accessed on 7 December 2011 <http://www.musee-mccord.qc.ca/scripts/viewobject.php?section=false&Lang=1&tourID=VQ_P2_15_EN&seqNumber=0&carrousel=true>.

RBSC Bookplates

2012

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