Library history

1890s

The Library’s story is as old as the University itself, dating back more than 100 years to the days of Wesley and Manitoba College. Wesley College created a space for a Library in 1896, and throughout the next half-century the Library would occupy Sparling, Bryce, and Ashdown Halls for various periods of time as the schools consolidated.

1960s

When United College became the University of Winnipeg in 1967, the Library was again in need of space to accommodate students and grow collections.

1970s

Centennial Hall — a megastructure designed to unite six disparate buildings in the heart of campus — was constructed in 1972 and included a new home for the UWinnipeg Library. At the time, the Centennial Hall facility was widely recognized for its open, progressive design elements, and lovingly referred to as the “Library in the Sky.”

1980s

Over the next few decades, the student population steadily increased, and the library collection doubled in size. By 1986, the Chief Librarian reported that the facility’s original capacity — planned to accommodate ten years of growth — had been exceeded. This triggered a long trend of makeshift space projects, though a comprehensive solution was already overdue. Shelving aisles were extended and narrowed, walls were constructed, and a gradual “boxing in” of Library spaces began to reshape the airy, sun-soaked Library into a winding, inaccessible maze. 

2000s

Despite these challenges, the Library remains a central hub for campus activity. Visits to the Library have continued to outpace student growth, and the Library now administers a portfolio that includes the Archives, Art Gallery, Copyright Office, Institutional Repository, and Anthropology Museum, as well as an expanding suite of research services tied to faculty and graduate student support. While it has evolved to become more than a building of books, the Library lives within an aging infrastructure not intended to support modern university life.

Prioritizing sustainability, accessibility, and a future-proofed infrastructure, the Library renewal project is rooted in an Indigenous design mandate that will bring a tangible Indigenous landmark to campus, expand the Library’s ability to innovate, and ensure that Centennial Hall can continue to serve the UWinnipeg community for another half-century.