Our History

The Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives has been serving the community of Athabasca and the surrounding area for 78 years.

Founded in 1946, the library was at that time named the Athabasca and District Public Library and following its official opening day of January 15, 1947, it was housed in a corner of the town hall. The first librarians were Mrs. Nancekevill and Mr. Evans, who served the library for 34 and 8 years respectively. Membership fees were set at $1.00 per calendar year for adults and $0.50 for children. The library was only open two afternoons a week, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Wednesdays and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Saturdays.

1953 was a busy year for the library. It was this year that the first inquiries into the library joining a regional system started. The library did not join a system at this time; however, it did move into the new town hall (now the location of Verhaeghe Law Office).

Story hour was first introduced to library patrons in 1955 and helped boost membership numbers, particularly amongst the children.

In 1957 the board was approached to take responsibility of caring for all the material of The Historical Society. The board agreed to collect and care for historical materials. This was the unofficial start of the Athabasca Archives. Some of the historical material was used at the 1958 Fair to create a Historical Corner, which drew a great deal of interest.

The library experience financial hardships in 1960 and it was because of this that membership costs were doubled to $2.00 per person. A lending program was also developed with the Richmond Park School and records indicate that 50 to 60 books were being lent out to the school at a time. It was at this time that talks were held about the library possibly moving to a room in the Community Centre. In the end the library moved to the Community Centre in 1961 after Town Council approval.

In 1970 the library moved once again. A discussion about having the Brick School or Stucco School (our present location) become a new library, a fine arts centre, historical museum and ceramics centre was floated in 1968. This idea was not carried out, but due to lack of space in the Community Centre, the library was forced to find a new home anyway. In April 1970, the library settled into its new space, this time in the provincial building (the current site of the Athabasca Liquor Store.)

There was another talk of the library moving in 1977 when it was suggested that the library occupy the Stucco School. The talk of a move became a reality when the board was notified that the provincial building was no longer available. The board asked for two rooms in the Stucco School and were granted what are currently the circulation desk area and adult fiction section. In 1978 renovations were started with the help of government grants. The library contents were moved in February of 1979. The official opening was held on April 7, 1979. In December of that year, the library expanded into a third room (the present children’s room) to accommodate the Archives. Over the next 10 years the library would expand into other rooms of the Stuccco School, eventually occupying the entire space.

1988 saw the death of Alice Donahue on February 13. For the previous 42 years she had served as secretary and sometimes treasurer of the library board and had only missed three meetings in that time! To recognize her dedication to the library, the name of the library was changed to The Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives.  

In 1995, the library moved into the digital age with the purchase of its first computer. The board also invested in Winnebaggo Library Software so that the library holdings would be stored digitally on a computer instead of on the card catalogue.

In 1997 the library celebrated its 50th anniversary with various celebrations held throughout the year.  

In late 1998, the library board made the decision to join the Northern Lights Library System. In terms of patron access to holdings, cost savings, and resource savings, the library received huge benefits.

The fall of 2000 saw the library connected to the internet for the first time. This provided a much-needed free service to not only members of the library, but members of the community at large.

In 2008 the library board formed a committee with the intention of building a new space for the library. Discussions and plans for a new building continued for the better part of a decade, reaching a peak in 2013 when the board had a needs assessment completed. Unfortunately, due to many factors, talks about a new building fizzled out around 2016.

In November of 2022, the Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives celebrated its 75th anniversary with an open house for community members. Many people attended the open house to learn about the library and its impact on the Athabasca region throughout the years.

In February of 2023 the Friends of the Athabasca Public Library Society was founded as a fundraising arm of the Alice b. Donahue Library and Archives. 

A special thank you to Robert Tannas for his research into the history of the Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives. This history was written using facts found in his compiled history titled: Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives History 1947-2010. Without his long-time dedication to the library board and love for libraries, the Alice B. Donahue Library and Archives would not be what they are today.