Library

It’s great to have a church library here at St. John’s. The books are mostly geared to church subjects, not always available in a town public library. It is a nice place to go to just browse, find material for a devotional or other things. We are really lucky to have a library at our church. The role of our library at St. John’s is to provide material to teach, challenge and expand horizons as we grow in our Christian faith. To this end, in 1992, over twenty books were added to the collection to augment the wide range of material presently available. Circulation records indicate an increase in both adult and youth reading activities over the past year.

Such was not the case many years ago when the late Rev. Jack Cooper asked Helen Cushnie to organize a few books, which had been neatly numbered, and to establish a small library. At that time the Sunday School library was separate as was the W. M. S. material. Helen integrated the collection, using the Dewey Decimal System, and over the years, with the valued assistance of many people, had built an enviable library which now holds over 1,800 books. We are grateful to her for all she had done as Librarian Emeritus. Her dedication and extensive knowledge was invaluable and will always be remembered and appreciated.

Of great assistance to the library has been a gift which was part of the legacy of the late Mrs. Margaret Wilson. Recent renovations to the library were made possible by a portion of this gift which the Trustees transferred for this purpose.

A generous donation from the UCW together with money allocated in the church budget provided funding for the library in 1992.

We look forward to the congregation’s continued interest in the library and use of its holdings in the year ahead.

History
In 1972, we had, as a great many churches did, an eclectic collection of books and Christian Education Resources on shelves in the Christian Education office. Florence Balderston, who was looking after Christian Education at the time, recruited Grace Hardy and Lillian McKay to organize and catalogue the material that was there.

In 1973, it was decided to move the library from the C. E. Office, where access was somewhat limited and book browsing not all that easy, that the library should be located in a small room off of Lusk Hall.

By 1975, under the leadership of Ethel Morrison, there was a reorganization of the Library space and an effort was made to have the members of the congregation make more use of the resources and books.

In 1977, a long time member of St John’s, rejoined the congregation after a stay in St. Catherines, and took over as the librarian, Helen loved books; her apartment on Pine Avenue had books on every table and often on the chairs! She took over at a time when there many seminars and resources were available on how to organize and manage church libraries and Helen attended many of them. With her library budget, Helen made many buying trips to the United Church Book Room. She was deeply involved in the running of the Library for fifteen years. (attached is the reporting the Church Annual Report of 1992, by Betty Canavan, who worked with Helen for many years and took over the library in 1992.) I’m sure Betty will have many stories to tell about the library for she has been part of it for a long time, as librarian and Helen’s right hand worker, looking after things as Helen read the books!

Librarians, past and present
Although there has been a Library of sorts at St. John’s since the mid 1950’s, it was Helen Cushnie who established our present library collection in the 1970’s. Helen and her husband, Wells, had been members of St. John’s since 1946 when they moved to Oakville. Both were teachers, but as was the custom of the time, Helen stayed at home and raised their five children, Mary, John, Scott, Anne and Victoria.

Music and learning were important elements of the Cushnie family life. Helen was an accomplished pianist and taught music in her home for many years. In 1958, with Wells’ encouragement, Helen began to take courses at McMaster University. When Wells died in 1964, she attended full-time and earned her honours degree in Philosophy and Religion in 1966.

Helen was an active member of the W.M.S. (Women’s Missionary Society) and later the U.C.W. She was a faithful member of the choir and played the organ whenever the regular organist was absent. But her lasting gift to St. John’s was to organize the church Library, a task in keeping with her talent and her passion. She was a tireless worker in the Library until about 1993 when Betty Canavan took over the position of Librarian.
Helen died April 27, 1997, and it was at that time that the Library was designated the Helen Cushnie Library.

Our church Librarian between 1988 to 2005, Betty Canavan, began her career as a bilingual secretary in Montreal.

After marrying Ross Canavan in 1948 and raising four children, Joan, Glen, Janet and David, she attended Sheridan College to study Library Techniques as a full-time student. She soon found employment at a Toronto law firm from 1983 to 1988.

Upon retirement, she volunteered to help Helen Cushnie in the church Library. This soon became her responsibility as Helen’s health began to fail. She found her years in the Library rewarding and enriching. She particularly enjoyed the children who visited her each Sunday in the Library, children who are now young adults, themselves.

Each Sunday and Wednesday, Betty could be found in the church Library. While Ross attended Lunch Bucket Club or went to choir practice early on Sundays, she was faithfully working in the Library, keeping the contents in perfect order. She made many wonderful friends while serving in this capacity.

In 2003, Vivienne Minstrell took over as Librarian. However, she moved away from Oakville about a year later, so Betty took over once again, until a new Librarian was found. Her years of service to our church community have been a gift to all.