Our History

Our library first opened its doors in 1928. At that time, the small library was located in a room within the Wales Hotel on Main Street in Wetaskiwin.

As the library grew, it moved to many other spaces. In 1932, the library was relocated to space in the Criterion Hotel. Seven years later, it once again moved, this time to the newly constructed City Hall. Twenty years later, the Wetaskiwin Public Library relocated to the Wetoka Health Unit building. In 1964, the Library returned to City Hall, but this time was located in the basement. After years of planning and finally settling on a site, the library finally moved into its very own building. In 1982, the Wetaskiwin Public Library first opened its doors in a newly built, stand-alone building. The building, located at 5002-51 Avenue, is where the library still calls home.

The library started out in 1928 with 50 books and just 37 members. Today, there are over 40,000 items in the collection and over 5,000 members. The library has moved from the basic circulation of books in 1928 to the circulation of all types of materials, offering educational programs for children, teens and adults, and free computer and Internet use to the public. The Wetaskiwin Public Library reached a milestone in April, 2006 when all membership fees for residents of the City and County of Wetaskiwin were eliminated! The City of Wetaskiwin Library Board and the generous support of the City of Wetaskiwin Council made this wonderful gift possible.