The Law Society’s Library
As a part of its mandate to ensure legal services are delivered by competent and ethical lawyers, the Law Society of Manitoba (LSM) has maintained a collection of relevant legal texts since its creation in 1877. However, it wasn’t until 1881 that LSM established its first library in earnest. A small collection books belonging to the prothonotary Daniel Carey were the first entries in the library’s catalogue.
William Leggo earned ten dollars a month to look after the collection until a permanent librarian was appointed. In 1883, W.A. Taylor became the first full-time employee and librarian for the Society and held the position until 1914.
A second Winnipeg law library located MacIntyre Block at 416 Main Street was proposed in 1895, however the proposal was turned down in a six to one vote of the Law Society’s Benchers. Branch locations were set up in Portage La Prairie and Brandon for those practising outside the city, with Minnedosa, Dauphin and Le Pas added in the following years.
Construction of the steel-framed Law Courts finished in 1916. The new courthouse building on Kennedy Street became home to the Law Society and Great Library. Manitoba Law Library, as it is now known, maintains its tenure as the library in the old courthouse to this day.
By 1946, there were an estimated 25,000 books available at the Great Library, which included a rare first edition of Commentaries on the Laws of England by Sir William Blackstone (1765) – which still resides in the library today.
The Government of Manitoba Steps In
“[T]he Great Library was run by the Law Society and we transferred funds to the Law Society, in a sense, as our share of the operation and the Law Society itself kicked in money that was assessed against the practising fees of each individual member. It seemed to us that there was a duplication of service, of staff, and that in order to have a unified library service with the appropriate controls, the ability to use modern technology, we ought to take all of the library resources, particularly one which is situated in our law court, and administer it centrally through the department.”
Legislative Assembly of Manitoba, Hansard, 33rd Leg, 1st Sess, Vol. XXXIV, No. 70B (19 August 1986), p. 3144 (Hon. R. Penner).
In November of 1985, the Government of Manitoba and the Law Society of Manitoba signed a memorandum of agreement, passing stewardship of the library from the Law Society to the Government.
Manitoba Law Library Inc.
The Law Society of Manitoba resumed ownership and maintenance of the Great Library in 1999. This was due in part to the concerns of the profession and the growing costs associated with maintaining a high-quality legal library.
More coming soon. Thank you for your patience.