Vancouver Island Regional Library

The Vancouver Island Regional Library(VIRL) is the fourth-largest library system in British Columbia. It serves more than 430,000 people on Vancouver Island, Haida Gwaii (formerly Queen Charlotte Islands) and the Central Coast (Bella Coola) through 38 branch libraries and a books-by-mail service. Administrative offices are located in Nanaimo. Vancouver Island Regional Library opened its doors in 1936 as the Vancouver Island Union Library; it was the second regional library in North America.