Celebrate MPL’s 170th Anniversary!
Milton Public Library will celebrate its 170th anniversary in 2025, honoring a long legacy of community service since its founding as the Mechanics Institute and Library Association in 1855. Over the years, the library has transformed from a small rural library into a dynamic community hub with three branches, offering resources that span from traditional books to digital media, educational programs, and cultural events. This milestone reflects the library’s dedication to promoting literacy, learning, innovation, and connection within the Milton community, adapting to new challenges and evolving needs for nearly two centuries.
Join us on Saturday, January 25 as we kick off a year of festivities to celebrate the Milton Public Library’s remarkable 170-year journey of inspiring, educating, and connecting with the community!
MPL 170th Anniversary Launch Celebration Itinerary
Main Library
Hear from our CEO and Chief Librarian, Sarah Douglas-Murray and Mayor of Milton, Gordon Krantz as they kick off the celebrations!
Main Library
Join Rumple and Friends and celebrate MPL’s 170th Birthday in style with a spectacular, family-friendly adventure filled with spellbinding magic and groovy disco moves! This interactive show blends the wonder of illusions with the high-energy excitement of a dance party.
Get ready to be dazzled by enchanting tricks, colorful costumes, and toe-tapping disco beats that will have kids and adults alike grooving in their seats. Perfect for all ages, this show celebrates imagination, friendship, and the joy of dancing!
Magic Show at 1:30 pm and Disco Dance at 2:00 pm.
Main Library
In the town of Milton, a time capsule is discovered which was buried a century ago. Once opened there is a bright flash of light, and suddenly you and your team find yourselves back in time where you must use the items left behind by townsfolk who lived a century ago. Unlock the past to find your way back to the present.
For families with children 9- years of age and older. Please note: Each child requires their own library card to register.
Register for a timeslot by clicking the links:
Beaty Branch
2025 marks the 170th anniversary of Milton Public Library, and we’ve changed a lot since then. Take yourself back through time by taking a picture with our green screen, and choose a background photo from Milton’s history to insert yourself into. Were you there when the Beaty Branch opened in 2009? At our Main Library on Bruce Street before that? Were you there in 1855? Now you are! Photos will be emailed to participants to share, and remember to tag us!
Programs
December 11 – January 9
It is 1855, and the brand new Milton Mechanic’s Institute and Library is finally ready. Are you excited? Who are you? Are you one of the 49 members who registered in the first year? Did you pay your annual dues of 10 shillings (about $106 today), or do you still owe it? Are you going to attend a lecture, or borrow a book, or maybe a magazine? Do you know the first librarian, Mr. James Laidlaw, who has kindly allowed the library to take up part of his shop and be open two days a week.
To celebrate the library’s 170th anniversary, teens are invited to imagine what the library would have looked like when it first opened. Write a short story of no more than 1000 words, and submit it.
You can research what the library was like in our Milton Digital database here. You can find meeting notes on how the people of Milton first set up the library, newspaper articles over time, and some catalogues telling you what books were collected.
See the program page here: https:/beinspired.ca/the-first-library-visit-teen-short-story-contest/
January 17 – February 1, Sherwood Branch
Explore the evolution of technology throughout the ages as part of MPL’s 170th Anniversary celebrations. In partnership with the Milton Historical Society.
January 22, 7:00 pm – 8:00 pm, Main Library
An evening exploring the rich history of arts and culture in Milton and how traditions and cultural movments have shaped our community’s identity over time. In partnership with the Milton Historical Society.
Do you have a special memory at MPL, or would you like to share why the library is important to you? Contribute a short written quote or a 10–20 second video clip by January 20 about how MPL has made a difference in your life. Enter a chance to win a $25 Indigo Gift Card.
