In 1965, a group of concerned Côte Saint-Luc citizens got together to lobby for a public library in the area. As a result of their report, the CSL City Council hired a librarian, Eleanor London, to set up whatever vision of a library she wanted.

With a $17,000 book budget, 4,322 square feet of space, 3,000 books, six staff members, and the dream of being the cultural, educational, and community centre for Côte Saint-Luc, the library finally opened its doors in 1966. The citizens got more than they had hoped for; a few pencils, a telephone, and a desk eventually grew into the most innovative and well-equipped library on the island of Montreal.

In its “temporary” location on the second floor of the busy and noisy Côte Saint-Luc Shopping Centre, this library was unlike any other in many ways. By 1969 it had (and still has) the longest opening hours of any other library in the country (10 a.m. to 10 p.m. every day). Members could talk without whispering, sit on the floor, and even listen to LPs. It was a “people’s library” in every sense and far, far ahead of its time.
By 1970, with books lining window sills, the library was bursting at the seams. It had nearly doubled in size to 8,000 square feet by slowly taking over space from vacant offices located on the second floor until none remained. All the while, the library was buzzing with activity and moving forward with a teen film series, storytelling in the parks, and a brand new Shut-In program.

The Côte Saint-Luc Library offered a variety of services and activities in the late seventies and early eighties, including telephone reference, autobiographical writing workshops, puppet-making and folk concerts. It also had the biggest international phone book collection in Montreal, and in this regard essentially served as a branch of Bell Canada. With such a flourish of innovation and growth, expansion was imminent.
Until 1978, library membership was free for all. Due to a strained budget, a $20 non-resident fee was implemented, causing a sharp reaction from the public and dividing the City Council. By 1982, new membership was restricted to the residents of Côte Saint-Luc, a decision that endured until the municipal mergers in 2002.

Head Librarian Eleanor London created an extensive report in 1980 detailing her vision for a new facility. Plans were underway, and construction for the multi-million dollar Library/City Hall complex began in 1985 on Cavendish Boulevard and was completed on July 11, 1986 when the new library first opened its doors for business. Several months later in September, the official launch celebration created quite a buzz in the area, and hundreds of Côte Saint-Luc citizens gathered under a clear sky to watch the ribbon-cutting.
At 23,000 square feet, the area had almost tripled in size, but it didn’t just gain spatially. The library’s Audiovisual Department was born, with videos and audiocassettes (and soon thereafter, CDs) introduced into the collection. For the first time too, individual movie-viewing was offered. Another important building feature was an auditorium big enough to hold larger-scale events. A lush outdoor garden served as a venue for the extremely popular and fondly remembered outdoor concerts as well.

In the late eighties, two of the library’s beautiful spaces were named after individuals who contributed something to the lives of the residents. In 1987, the library honoured the late William E. Kesler, one of the city’s former councillors, by naming the audio-visual space after him. Two years later, the Natural History Museum was officially dedicated to Nat Levine, who donated the remarkable shell and butterfly collection housed there.

Throughout the course of the nineties, the Côte Saint-Luc Library followed tech trends, upgrading computers with a range of software, and providing Internet access to members by 1997. The library’s first website, which began construction a couple of years before, was also launched, making it one of the few Montreal libraries to even have one.

In the first week of 1998, the city was struck by an Ice Storm that shut everything down – everything, that is, except the library. Thanks to a generator and an “essential service” designation, it served as a shelter for residents and remained open for the entire duration of the storm.

By 2001, Côte Saint-Lucers were preoccupied with the Montreal Megacity debates, fearing for their independence and for their library, whose membership would be open once again to all island residents. That fall, the beloved library was officially renamed the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library, a tribute to the woman who built it up from nothing and served as its Chief Librarian.

The City of Côte Saint-Luc was swallowed up by Montreal against its will on January 1, 2002, becoming part of the borough of Côte Saint-Luc-Hampstead-Montreal West. At the same time, the library had lost the book-buying grant from the Quebec Government. During the next four years, about 15,000 non-residents joined the library, which got subsumed under the Recreation Department. After 36 years of dedicated service to the people of CSL, Eleanor London retired in June, to be replaced by Lisa Milner, Division Chief of Culture, Libraries, and Social Development.
In 2003 a greatly awaited change occurred: the automation of the library’s catalogue, which took place in gradual steps. During the next couple of years, the library also introduced new formats to the collection, including audiobooks on CD and DVDs, in addition to graphic novels. System-based services, such as online and telephone renewal were added, as were helpful databases.

Dramatic changes to the fee and fine structures were implemented in 2005. Fines were raised for the first time ever – to 25¢ for books. A membership fee of $5 also took hold, with a $1 charge for movie rentals.
In June 2004, Côte Saint-Luc residents voted to demerge, and in November 2005 they elected the present Council, with Anthony Housefather as mayor. On January 1, 2006, in accordance with the will of the people, the City of Côte Saint-Luc was reborn. CSL residents once again returned to the library and went from making up 33% of the memberships in the borough years to over 90% afterward. Non-residents who wished to join the library now had to pay a substantial membership fee. For the first time ever, a councillor (Steven Erdelyi) was mandated with a library portfolio to ensure that citizens “got their library back”, and he created a Library and Culture Committee to further this end.

Major renovations to the library began in February 2006, which included plans for a café, one circulation desk instead of three, a huge and centralized Audiovisual Department, an outside book drop, a study room, and a new carpet. In keeping with the theme of rejuvenation, a new Director of Library Services, Tanya Abramovitch, was appointed, and the library broke off from Recreation.

History is sure to be made in this next phase of the Eleanor London Côte Saint-Luc Public Library’s life—what could be dubbed “Library 3.0”. In 2016, for the library’s 50th anniversary, CSL residents will be able to look back at the previous decade as a golden age.