Written by Beau Levitt
Calgary’s Story Librarian

Hi! My name is Beau Levitt, and I’m the Calgary’s Story Librarian at Calgary Public Library’s Central Library. Before I started this job I was a public librarian in Toronto for about 20 years, and for the last six of those years I worked in the Special Collections & Rare Books room at the Toronto Reference Library.

*Pictured: Happy Halloween! Beau in the historical newspaper storage room at the Toronto Reference Library, a few Halloweens ago.*

A few years ago, my wife was hired as a tenure-track professor at the University of Calgary. We moved out here, and I was pleasantly surprised when Calgary Public Library saw fit to hire someone who had just moved here from Toronto to oversee Calgary’s Story. But enough about me; what, you may be asking, is Calgary’s Story?

Calgary's Story, presented by local history enthusiasts Walt and Irene DeBoni, is the current name of the Local History department previously located at the old Central branch. It’s up on the fourth floor at Central Library and consists of physical collections, online resources, displays and programming on topics relating to the history and development of Calgary and southern Alberta, including the region known as Rupert’s Land and the Northwest Territories prior to 1905, when Alberta became a province of Canada.

Calgary’s Story is located on the fourth floor at Central Library. Photo: Calgary Public Library.

In addition to books (fiction and non-fiction), the collections also include maps, microfilm, magazines, ephemera, vintage media formats including VHS tapes and vinyl records, genealogical resources, and historical directories. There are also a large number of postcards and photographs which have been digitized and made available for viewing via the Williams & Harris Shared History Centre on Calgary Public Library’s website.

Here at Central Library, I’m a Librarian but also a Supervisor, so on any given day about half of my time is spent in meetings, answering emails, and attending to paperwork, scheduling, payroll, and project management.

I also assist with answering local history-related reference questions submitted by members of the public, which can be very interesting work. Some of the topics I’ve recently helped patrons research have been a 1974 shooting in Red Deer, the name and location of a dimly-remembered campground outside of Calgary a patron visited as a child, a 1913 visit to Calgary by a British poet and writer named Rupert Brooke, and helping someone locate the issue of the Calgary Sun in which they were featured as a Sunshine Girl. The most common requests are from people searching for obituaries, birth notices, and other genealogical information.

One aspect of my job includes collaborating and consulting with other staff members who spend the bulk of their time directly assisting members of the public, so I often tour the building to speak with them, get their feedback about how things are going, and provide support as needed. Among other things, this always gives me an opportunity to enjoy the gorgeous views this building’s architecture provides.

Another aspect of working here I really enjoy is the opportunity to view and work with the vintage and historical materials held in Calgary’s Story. I’m a bit of an ephemera nerd, so my favourite area of Calgary’s Story is the pamphlet collection, which contains a wide variety of materials including menus, calendars, flyers, posters, advertisements and, yes, pamphlets. One of the most noteworthy items is the program from the very first Calgary Stampede in 1912, back when it was held in early September rather than July, as it is now.

Program from the very first Calgary Stampede in 1912. Image: Beau Levitt.

I’m a big music fan as well so I really enjoyed leafing through issues of Iconoclast, a zine from 1980 covering the Calgary punk rock scene. The pamphlet collection also includes a lot of vintage Calgary Public Library material, including this poster on the other side of the 1977 Annual Report, and this flyer announcing the opening of the Nose Hill branch in 1988 (all pictured below).

One of the most common questions I get is “What’s the oldest item in Calgary’s Story?” The answer is An Account of Six Years Residence in Hudson's-Bay, From 1733-1736, and 1744 to 1747, by Joseph Robson, which was published way back in 1752.

*An Account of Six Years Residence in Hudson's-Bay, From 1733-1736, and 1744 to 1747*, by Joseph Robson, published 1752. Image: Beau Levitt.

Calgary’s Story also includes the Vintage Media Lab, which can be used by patrons to watch movies from the Library’s collection on VHS and DVD, or listen to CDs and vinyl records.

Calgary’s Story Vintage Media Lab. Image: Beau Levitt.

I’m a record buff, so I like flipping through the Calgary’s Story vinyl collection, which isn’t large but includes some interesting albums and singles, including “The Lake Louise Love Theme,” by Richard Harrow.

The Calgary’s Story vinyl collection. Image: Beau Levitt.

The Vintage Media Lab also includes a working film projector, which we sometimes use for impromptu screenings of “Boom Town, Boom Town,” a ‘70s-era educational film about life in Fort McMurray.

The Vintage Media Lab also includes a working film projector. Image: Beau Levitt.

Lastly, I also contribute to displays featuring collection items from Calgary’s Story, showcased in these glass cases pictured below. The current displays feature vintage cookbooks, items related to education and schools in Calgary, and programs and other promotional items for the Calgary Flames and Stampeders.

That’s pretty much a typical day in the life for me here at Calgary’s Story! I hope that you’ll join us here at Central Library to tour the area, view some of the amazing artifacts the collection holds, and maybe do some research. Calgary’s Story holds a wealth of information about topics like the story of Indigenous peoples of the area and Treaty 7, the background of families and individuals who lived here in the past, the history of houses and buildings in the city, and many other interesting subjects relating to the history of Calgary and southern Alberta!

Guest Blog: A Day in the Life of Calgary's Story Librarian