William Barker McEwan

Dunedin's first Public Librarian, who served from 1908 to 1933, was born in Edinburgh, Scotland, on 17 December 1870.

William Barker McEwan had been Chief Librarian of the public library in Stirling, before immigrating to New Zealand. He secured the post of Public Librarian in Dunedin in late May 1908, inheriting an empty shell of a building with which to create a public library. Six months into the job he opened the reading room with a range of periodicals and newspapers, and began purchasing books to stock the Library, furniture and fittings, and recruiting staff. The library opened to the public in 1909 with 2,700 reference books, and in 1910 McEwan opened the Children's Library, with the Adult Lending Library opening a year later with 7,000 volumes of books available to borrow.

By March 1911, with the help of a book committee, he had added nearly 2000 titles to the collections, and by 1912 an extra wing was built to accommodate the growing collection. His reputation led to the establishment of the McNab collection in 1914, presented by Dr Robert McNab, and further significant collections including a rare archive of First World War troopship magazines and the Alfred and Isabel Reed collection of donated books, as well as Reed's own range of autograph letters.

During his 25 years of service McEwan established public lectures, literary events and a series of local history publications. He was a founder member of the Libraries Association of New Zealand, and established the School Library Service supplying books to schools in Dunedin City. By the time of his death in 1933, the Dunedin Public Library collection had grown to more than 50,000 volumes.