The municipally-run Montreal Public Libraries Network (as distinct from the provincialBibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec, which is also located in Montreal) includes 67 libraries, including 44 libraries in the city ofMontreal and 12 branches in other municipalities on the Island of Montreal. There are several additional branches which are privately funded public libraries within the system and which require a nominal membership fee.
Montreal Mechanics Institute was one of a series ofmechanics' institutes that were set up around the world after becoming popular in Britain. It housed a subscription library that allowed members who paid a fee to borrow books. The mechanics' institutes libraries eventually became public libraries when the establishment of free libraries occurred.[1]
