Aalten Library

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Hofstraat, Hogestraat & Lage Blik, Aalten

The history of the library in Aalten begins in 1894. In that year, the Aalten branch of the Christian workers’ union Patrimonium already began lending books to members. It was, therefore, not yet a public library. At the end of 1893, P.W.J. Krijnen placed an appeal in De Standaard to donate books for the library. Krijnen was a teacher and lived in the Hoekstraat.

Agricultural Library

In the Netherlands at that time, libraries and reading rooms were established in several places, usually organised according to the prevailing social and religious beliefs of the day.

In 1922, the Coop. Boerenleenbank in Aalten founded an Agricultural Library for members of the bank and the agricultural association. The aim was to provide the agricultural section of the Aalten population with the opportunity to increase their knowledge. How long this library existed and what happened to its collection is currently unknown to us.

Patrimonium

In 1926, the first stone was laid for the Patrimonium building on the Hofstraat. The Christian folk library was located at the back of that building.

On 6 December 1960 Dagblad Tubantia reported:

On 10 December, the new Christian library in Aalten, furnished according to modern requirements, will be officially opened, and the new lending system will be introduced under the guidance of qualified library technical staff. This marks the end of an era in which much hard work was done to provide Aalten with good library facilities.

The Christian Folk Library „Patrimonium” has been active in this field for many years and has seen this work grow into a significant cultural contribution to the community in Aalten. The book loans, rising from 8,400 in 1951 to around 30,000 in 1960, speak volumes. The foundation board was mindful of this development and recognised that the existing provision had become insufficient to meet the ever-increasing interest. The board turned to the Central Rural Library for Gelderland.

The C.P.G. carried out the coordinating work and, after the board of „Patrimonium” had decided to erect a new building, was able to furnish the library according to the requirements set out in the national subsidy conditions. Because the library can now fully meet the requirements with its new setup, it can make use of the services of the Central Rural Library.

Relocations

In the early 1990s, the Aalten library moved to a new building at Hogestraat 10. Above the library, the Albert Heijn supermarket was located. The differences in elevation in the centre of Aalten made it possible for both the library and the supermarket above it to have their entrances on the ground floor, the latter at the higher-situated De Hoven.

In 2021, the library moved again. This time from the Hogestraat to a building on the Lage Blik, where the Aldi supermarket was previously located.