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Halifax City Hall, summer 2014Photo: WayeMason · CC BY-SA 3.0
Libraries · Halifax

Halifax has 18 public library branches

Among them: Bedford Public Library, Captain William Spry Public Library, Cole Harbour Public Library and 15 more. Visits and loans aren’t published as open data in Nova Scotia, so this page has none for Halifax.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Libraries
18
Charities
570
1.1 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

Halifax’s civic life, input by input

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Halifax’s overall grade.
–Library visitsNo open library statistics in Nova Scotia–Charities1.1 per 1,000 · Nova Scotia towns 1.1 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering37.0% of residents · all of Nova Scotia, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

570 registered charities give a Halifax mailing address

That is 1.1 per 1,000 residents, against 1.1 in the typical Nova Scotia town and 1.4 across Canada. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.

Volunteering

37.0%

Statistics Canada puts formal volunteering in Nova Scotia at 37.0% in 2023, somewhere between 34.3% and 39.8%, for every town in the province alike; provinces range from 25.2% to 40.3%.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

The libraries

Halifax’s 18 public libraries

Sorted by straight-line distance from the centre of Halifax.

0.5kmDartmouth North Public LibraryWebsite →3.2kmHalifax Public LibrariesDirections →3.8kmHalifax North Memorial LibraryWebsite →5kmCambridge Military LibraryDirections →5.2kmHalifax Central LibraryWebsite →5.4kmW.K. Kellogg Health Sciences LibraryWebsite →5.6kmKillam Memorial LibraryWebsite →6kmWoodlawn LibraryWebsite →6.8kmKeshen Goodman Public LibraryWebsite →6.8kmBedford Public LibraryWebsite →8kmCole Harbour Public LibraryWebsite →9kmCaptain William Spry Public LibraryWebsite →12kmSackville Public LibraryWebsite →13kmPreston Township Library OfficeWebsite →21kmTantallon Public LibraryWebsite →37kmMusquodoboit Harbour Public LibraryWebsite →38kmJ.D. Shatford Memorial LibraryDirections →53kmMusquodoboit Valley Library OfficeWebsite →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Library locations. The locations come from OpenStreetMap and from Statistics Canada’s cultural facilities list of 2020, public libraries only.

Questions about the library and civic life in Halifax

Does Halifax have a public library?

Yes, 18: Bedford Public Library, Captain William Spry Public Library, Cole Harbour Public Library, Dartmouth North Public Library and 14 more.

Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).