The Stampede Parade 1912
	The Stampede Parade 2012

As you are no doubt aware, both Calgary Public Library and the Stampede are celebrating their centennials this year.

Calgary in 1912 must have been quite a town. The pride and optimism that fueled calls for a public library for this fine city also found expression in the Calgary Stampede. This is a dichotomy that continues to define Calgary to this day. We know how to celebrate our origins in the rural and ranching communities and the rugged entrepreneurs that started the city and we also value our more refined cultural institutions like libraries. (Not that we’re that refined – if you saw us in the parade then you saw what I mean. Library employees can Yahoo with the best of them). Our library has one of the highest per capita usage levels in North American and our Stampede is the Greatest Outdoor Show on Earth. We certainly don’t do things halfway.

Forest Lawn residents followed their little community library to the Calgary Public Library system when the town was annexed in 1962 and have been following it ever since. This branch is home to many a new family moving to Calgary and its diversity is certainly one of its strengths. Memories of the wonderful staff struck a chord during Calgary’s most recent mayoralty campaign when future mayor Naheed Nenshi recounted the story of wanting to borrow more than the limit of books and how the staff helped out by bending the rules a little bit for him. Forest Lawn continues to sow seeds for the future by establishing the “Encana Book’n Worms Community Garden” for Calgary Public Library’s centennial. This garden honours Calgary Public Library’s first chief librarian, Alexander Calhoun, who initiated the Vacant Lots Club, which sustained many during the depths of the depression.

Find more pictures of this well loved branch in the Calgary Public Library Archives.

Forest Lawn Library, exterior view 1980s

100 years young! We're having a great time celebrating our 100th Birthday and we want to share some more birthday wishes. Here's one from Calgary East MLA Moe Amery.

“This impressive piece of oil-boom architecture is the closest thing in Alberta to a pharoah’s tomb” wrote Calgary Herald columnist Patrick Tivy on the opening of this landmark branch in 1985.

A big branch with a small branch feel, Fish Creek became overwhelmingly popular in the community, serving a population the size of Saskatooon by 1994. Many families have grown up with the branch over the years. Some of the children who attended Storytime as babies have since come back as teens to work for the branch as pages. Truly ageless... just like the pharaohs!

Fish Creek Library under construction, 1985

The Library Scavenger Hunt will launch tomorrow morning (Saturday June 9th) at 11:00 a.m. at the Crowfoot Library!

What better idea for a summer staycation than a city-wide library scavenger hunt? As the Calgary Public Library celebrates its 100^th anniversary, it is anything but old. Join us this summer for an adventure like no other library experience. Calgary Public Library will be hosting a summer-long scavenger hunt which will get you geo-caching and visiting our branches, as well as some surprise destinations.

This exciting family-friendly program will continue as an ongoing staycation option for Calgarians through the end of 2013. Just borrow a GPS unit at your local branch to find special caches placed throughout the city. We'll have a total of 16 initial caches, and this number will grow each month with the addition of new locations.

Using the units as your guide, you will move around the city answering questions, finding clues and solving riddles on your own or with your family or friends. Cache prizes will be available at each site, and you could win an amazing grand prize drawn at the end of this summer-long adventure.