Abstract

Between 1936 and 1940, the Lady Tweedsmuir Prairie Library Scheme sent approximately 40,000 books to readers in rural areas of the western Canadian provinces of Manitoba, Saskatchewan, and Alberta. Founded and directed by Susan Buchan, Lady Tweedsmuir, the wife of the Governor
General of Canada, after visiting Depression-ravaged Prairie communities, the Scheme received the support of philanthropic foundations in Canada and the United States, the Women’s Institute, women’s service organizations,
and individual donors of books. While the Scheme is mentioned in passing in biographies and local histories, little is known about the scope and scale of its activities or how it was organized or operated. Using primary
and archival sources in Canada and the United States, this paper explores the history of the Scheme and its role in the distribution of books, the promotion of literacy, and the creation of libraries in the Canadian West during
the Great Depression.