Serie UKC.LIB.12 - The new Library & Archives building

The Library was founded in 1799 through the efforts of Charles Inglis, first Bishop of Nova Scotia and founder of the University.

When King's was established in 1789, the Board of Governors collected funds for a Library, but it was not until a decade later that efforts were made to obtain books. The Board entrusted the money to alumnus John Inglis, son of the Bishop (and later Bishop himself), who sailed to England in 1800 to purchase books. He assembled books worth over £1250 and was promised further gifts once potential donors were satisfied that there was a real connection between the College and the Anglican Church. Through John Inglis' efforts, the nucleus of the collection was accumulated by 1802: books in classics, history, foreign languages, literature, the natural sciences and theology.

While in England, John Inglis also pursued a Royal Charter for King's, which was drafted in May 1802 and arrived in Aug 1802 with news of a grant of £1000 from Parliament. Once the Charter was in force, supporters circulated a printed plea for support of the young University: "The original character of the Institution was preserved by the Charter, which was henceforward to be its fundamental law. The connection with the Church was secured. The Archbishop of Canterbury, through whom all that had been effected in England for its welfare, had been obtained, was made its Patron, with the power of a negative on all Statutes, which may be regarded as the key-stone of the connection between the College and the Church. The Bishop of the Diocese was also appointed Visitor of the College; and it is well known to be the first duty of the Visitor, to take care that the intentions of the Founder are always preserved inviolate."

In Windsor, the early collection was housed in a room on the cast end of the main building, below what is now called North Pole Bay. The first recorded circulation transaction was on 20 Sep 1857. When Convocation Hall was constructed in 1858, the Library and Museum moved to the second floor. When the University moved to Halifax in the 1920s, the Library was installed on the third floor of the main building.

The University's first recorded Librarian was Benjamin Gerrish Grey. The University hired its first professional Librarian, Rebecca Nash, in 1963. Librarians have consisted of either Professors receiving honoraria for additional responsibilities or other staff performing Librarian duties.

Plans for a new Library building evolved during the 1980s, and fund-raising for it became a University bicentennial project, "A Rare Find." The University's first building dedicated solely to the Library and Archives was opened on 14 May 1991.

More information on the history and structure of the University of King's College Library can be found in the finding aid linked below.