MacTier History

The library was born in the mid-sixties in a building adjacent to the school which at the time was a combination laundry-mat and an electrical store owned by Fred Rickets. In the mid seventies the library moved to a room in the MacTier Public School where it stayed until 1977 when the current portable opened on August 1, located on High Street beside the Muskoka Station Store.

The open hours of the library commenced with two evenings per week and has increased over the years to 20 hours in the winter months and 25 hours in the summer months which includes one evening and Saturday mornings.

In 1999, the Township of Georgian Bay applied for a Superbuild grant to build a new library in MacTier. This application was not successful and the library in the school portable carried on.

The major goal of the Library Board, 2004-2006 was to raise the capital to build a much needed new facility. In 2004, The Friends of the MacTier Public Library were formed to assist the Library Board with fundraising of the capital required to build a new library.

The Ontario government announced the Rural Ontario Infrastructure Grant in December 2006. On December 21, 2006, Library Board Chair Robert Byrnes did a presentation to Council to request the the Township submit a grant application on behalf of the Library Board. Other projects were presented to Council from Township Departments. In January 2007, Council decided to support the MacTier Public Library Project the grant application was submitted. On April 2, 2007, Council announced that the Ontario Government had approved the grant application and the Township would be awarded $500,000.00 to build the new library.

The Friends, the Staff and the Library Board raised approximately $200,000 from Foundations, personal donations and fundraising. This money was used to assist the building project and purchase all of the new furnishings for the new facility.

A Building Committee was formed and a Project Manager was hired. An RFP was sent out by the Township for a design build project. Quinan Construction Company was hired in December 2007 and the construction commenced in June 2008.

The beautiful 2500 square foot new library opened its doors for the official opening on October 25, 2008.

The Friends mission is to enhance and support the extension and improvement of the programs, services and resources of the MacTier Branch of Georgian Bay Public Library and to assist in raising community awareness of the public library.

The Friends meet approximately three times per year and are always looking for additional members. There is no cost to join. If you are interested in joining and or learning more about the Friends of the MacTier Library sign up for email updates by clicking the link below.

Signup form for the Friends of the MacTier Library