The Hellenic Library of Montreal, officially the Hellenic Cultural Centre and Library of Montreal (in French: Bibliothèque et centre culturel hellénique de Montréal) is a non-profit and non-political organization that aims to maintain a collection of books and other documents for the intellectual and cultural development of the Greek community, as well as the collection and preservation of archival material related to Hellenism in Montreal, Quebec, and Canada more broadly.
The Hellenic Library of Montreal was created in the 1950s by Greek immigrants who used to exchange Greek books among themselves to keep their connection to their homeland and their language alive.
The Library was incorporated as a non-profit organization in January 1974. Since then, the Library has maintained close ties with the Hellenic Community of Greater Montreal (HCGM), but always remains an independent organization.
Since 1982, the Library has been housed on the 3rd floor of the HCGM building at 5757 Ave. Wilderton, Montréal, QC, H3S 2K8. The HCGM offers this space free of charge and also partially supports the Library financially and logistically.
The Library holds approximately 20,000 books, collected almost exclusively through donations. Its collection also includes rich archival material from the Greek community, consisting of newspapers, albums, pamphlets, photographs, etc.
Currently, the Library is not open to the public. Since 2023, a modernization effort has begun, undertaken by a team of McGill University students under the guidance of Professor Anastassios Anastasiadis. The collection (books, archives, albums, and photographs) needs to be sorted, catalogued electronically, and organized accordingly. Additionally, part of the archives must be digitized to prevent the destruction of the originals.
The entire project is coordinated by the Library’s new Board of Directors, which was formed in 2022 and has developed an action plan for modernization. The immediate goal is to proceed with the classification and cataloguing of the Library so that it can open to the public by the end of 2025 or the beginning of 2026.
For this modernization project, the Library began a fundraising campaign in August 2023. Many Canadians of Greek descent, as well as the HCGM, responded positively. By creating its own resources, the Library also hopes to seek grants from governmental and non-governmental organizations.
The ultimate goal is for the Hellenic Library of Montreal to become an important cultural hub for the Greek community, to serve as a guardian of our intellectual heritage, and to promote the dissemination of knowledge.
More information
For questions and financial or material donations, please contact the Hellenic Library of Montreal by email ([email protected]), Facebook (Bibliothèque hellénique de Montréal), or by mail at: Bibliothèque et centre culturel hellénique de Montréal, 5757 av. Wilderton, Montréal, QC, Canada H3S 2K8.
