The main source for the following is a talk given by Paula de Ronde at Hart House, August 24, 2009, with research from A Century of Service: Toronto Public Library, 1883-1983, by Margaret Penman (TPL, 1983).

In 1956 Henry Cummings Campbell was appointed Chief Librarian of Toronto Public Library, only the fourth in TPL’s 73 years in existence.

He came to TPL during a time of great change in both the library and the city, and during his tenure of 22 years he oversaw and initiated stupendous change. Listen to this excerpt from the 1963 Board Chairman Theresa G. Falkner report as she observed the “dynamic new climate” of change:

There is electricity in the air. Experimentation is going on. Life is stirring and even trustees feel a certain excitement. The cosmopolitan city has infected the library. There are new librarians and interns who can talk to new Canadians in their native tongues.

The human dynamo generating this vibrating wind of change in the library is Harry C. Campbell. Dr. Sanderson did well to recommend him to the board as his successor. In our Chief Librarian we have a brilliant driving force – fearless, optimistic, and tireless.

And tireless he was. Talking with TPL colleagues since Harry’s death I have heard the following words and phrases: “The Boss, benevolent paternalism, benevolent dictator, dedicated, a librarian’s librarian, had a clear vision of public libraries, internationally renowned, Mr. TPL, indomitable.” Harry was all that and more. His mission was to establish TPL as the cultural and intellectual hub of an expanding, cosmopolitan and ever more multicultural city. He did that with vision, creative thinking, and out-of-the-box innovations while encouraging all to look outward, to embrace the community, and to spread the word of the library as being integral to a civilized society. He had a great respect for the vision, the ideas of his predecessors, and built on that while adding his inimitable touch to library services for all the citizens of Toronto of all ages and strata, all creeds and ethnicities.

It would take forever and a day to list and expound on Harry’s accomplishments at TPL. I have only a few minutes so let me get on with it.

During Harry’s tenure, 10 branches were added plus the Shut-in Service, Film department, Library on Wheels, the Learning Resources Centre, the Marguerite G. Bagshaw Puppetry Collection and Theatre, including the Northern District Library with its Kurzweil reading machines for the visually impaired.

Those were mostly physical additions which would be an enormous accomplishment for any Chief Librarian – but remember Harry was the human dynamo and visionary so let’s look at some of Harry’s visionary services ...

The Foreign Literature Collection was established as TPL’s headquarters for services to new Canadians, renamed the Languages and Literature Centre, and moved to Parkdale Branch. Later a self-instruction centre was established with listening booths, earphones, cassettes, and all paraphernalia needed to learn a language. Patrons could book their booth and time and sit in a sound-proof booth with their headphones and learn a language. In the current lingo: “That was way cool.” (Incidentally, you will hear me going back and forth between Mr. Campbell and Harry. Some years ago Mr. Campbell said to me: “Paula isn’t it time you called me Harry?” I promptly responded: “Yes, Mr. Campbell.” Privately I thought it was akin to calling Miss Winnifred Barnstead “Winnie” or Miss Lillian Smith “Lily” or James Bain Jr. “Jimmy.” Yes, I did call him Harry but in my head and heart he was and will remain Mr. Campbell, Chief Librarian. But back to Harry and TPL.) Under Harry:

• TPL got a Young People’s department with staff chosen to serve the particular needs of teenagers.
• The first and second volumes of the Catalogue of the Osborne Collection of Early Children’s books were published.
• The Metropolitan Bibliographic Centre was established.
• The Central Library Division and various in-depth subject departments were created.
• The first John Masefield Story-telling Festival was held at B&G House and in 1962 the Lillian H. Smith Collection of Children’s Books was established to mark the 50th anniversary of children’s services.

Before amalgamation there was Harry’s vision of fusion. As Chief Librarian Mr. Campbell and the TPL Board were the major players in the formation of the Metro Toronto Library Board and the Metro Reference Library. In 1958 TPL received $25,000 from the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto. By 1967 this grant had increased to half a million dollars and was intended to meet TPL’s cost of operating the Central Library and other services used by non-residents of the City of Toronto. That meant people who lived up the road in North York or over in East York, or across the street in Etobicoke.

In fact it was TPL’s many special collections and the Central Circulating and Reference stock that in 1968 was transferred to MTLB and became Metro Toronto Reference Library at College and St. George (later moved to Yonge and Asquith when the magnificent new building was erected and opened in 1977). If Mrs. Falkner’s Board report was full of hyperbole, new heights were reached in this debate. There was great moaning and gnashing of teeth and dissention in the ranks as we mourned the loss of TPL’s heart, the fantastic special collections built with the blood of the taxpayers of the City of Toronto, lovingly cared for by the best library brains and workers, the custodians of our city’s culture, we were “giving away” the best of TPL, we were being disrespectful to the legacies of James Bain Jr., George Locke, and Charles Sanderson. Oh, they must be turning in their graves, etc., etc. But Harry, our human dynamo, was at work generating a vibrant wind of change.

Under Harry, services unheard of in the library world were initiated. A Coordinator of Community Services was appointed. I remember Doug Stewart, and later myself, touring libraries and attending conferences to explain just what the job was.

There was the Learning Resources Centre, where community groups could borrow (for a small deposit fee) film projectors, screens, cameras, and flip charts, or rent a fully outfitted meeting room.

There was the establishment of the Community Information posts at Parliament Street and Parkdale branches in 1969 with specific information (and staff) geared towards filling the needs of impoverished populations and the general community. All because Harry believed the library belonged to everyone.

There was the Spaced Out Library where Harry negotiated the donation from science fiction (don’t dare call it sci-fi) writer and anthologist Judith Merrill. That’s a story in itself.

Multicultural services were enhanced, had its own department, and became a cornerstone of TPL’s service delivery under Harry, and staff were given a free hand to create and develop library programmes that met the needs of their varied communities. There was massive augmentation of books in many different languages, plus the establishment of the West Indian Collection and the First Nations/Aboriginal Collections at Parkdale and Spadina Road respectively.

Harry deserves all accolades and respect for what he did for TPL, the citizens of Toronto, for libraries and librarianship. There were not many people who could say no to Mr. Campbell. Right until the end he was a library advocate. Was Harry perfect? Of course not! Was he a dedicated librarian? Absolutely! Love him or not you knew he spoke with honesty and conviction and made decisions because he thought they were good for the library and the people in his community. Harry lived to see his vision materialize far beyond his dreams. Consider this progression:

TPL > Harry Campbell > Central Library > Toronto Reference Library > Metropolitan Toronto Library Board > Metropolitan Reference Library > Metro Toronto Reference Library > Toronto Public Library ...

... a complete circle whose administrative offices and reference collections are housed in that magnificent former Metro Reference Library building at Yonge and Asquith. Talk about vision.

Let me use this memorial to urge those with the authority, mandate, the vision to do whatever it takes to etch Mr. Campbell’s name for eternity on some fitting memorial in acknowledgment and appreciation for his enormous contribution to this great city.

Here was Board Chair Theresa Falkner’s last sentence in her report in reference to Chief Librarian Henry Cummings Campbell:

His vigorous leadership is deeply appreciated by the Board.

Let it be so now. Thank you, Mr. Campbell/Harry.

Paula de Ronde is a past President of OLA.