George Anderson
SASKATCHEWAN LIBRARY TRUSTEES' ASSOCIATION
Honorary Life Membership
In Recognition of
George Anderson
Few public figures command such a breadth of appreciation and respect from people as does George Anderson. His imprint on library development in Saskatchewan spans thirty years and will be written into the permanent records. He has always made certain that his objectives were the things the people wanted in library development. By investigating and pleading with firmness he has contributed as a library trustee. He is respected for his wisdom by town and rural officials. A man of infinite ability at school and in public life, he believes "it is the amount of interest and involvement which determines the measure of success, and the degree of progress attained by the library system."
In 1947 he was first appointed to the Melfort Library Board. The library was located in a small, poorly lighted space over the entrance to the old Town Hall. The book-stock numbered less than one thousand and consisted chiefly of adult fiction and a few children's books. The book-stock had deteriorated badly during the depression and war years and the Board discussed the purchase of some reference books and non-fiction, but adult novels were much cheaper. At that time, the Melfort Library was on its own and was financed by the town with a little help from the provincial government. The yearly budget was approximately $500. Today the Melfort library has nearly 20,000 books as well as magazines, records, tapes, pamphlets and other reference material.
While the collection was improving the location of the library was changed at least four times. Finally, in 1974 the library moved into its own building. This building, which George Anderson helped to plan, is considered one of the outstanding branch libraries in any of the regional library systems in Saskatchewan.
George Anderson was a part of the campaign to get Melfort into the Regional Library system. The promotion started in 1947 and the vote of the citizens of Melfort in 1949 established it as one of the charter municipalities in the North Central Saskatchewan Regional Library. From that time on, Mr. Anderson's involvement began going further afield than the local branch. He served as Melfort's representative on the Regional Library Board until last year, and was Vice-Chairman of the Executive Committee for most of those years. He also served as Chairman of the Melfort Library Board.
He helped Melfort's library grow from a small town library into a major branch of the first regional library on the prairies. He played a major role in the development of the North Central Saskatchewan Regional Library, now the Wapiti Regional Library, from a small Region serving some 37,000 people to one with just over 110,000 people in its service area.
In 1971, the Saskatchewan Library Trustees Association was formed and Mr. Anderson became a charter member and served on its executive from its beginning. For a term he was President and automatically became a member of the Canadian Library Trustees Association. He served for two years as Treasurer of the national body.
Over the years, George Anderson has voluntarily spent countless hours of his days and evenings working for the betterment of library services., locally, regionally, provincially and nationally.
He has our respect and sincere gratitude for his leadership. He will continue to have both.
In recognition of his distinguished record in library development in Saskatchewan, the Saskatchewan Library Trustees Association confers this Honorary Life Membership on George Anderson.
Prepared and read by Mrs. Marion Sherman, C.M., 1978