Relax & Play

Open from early until late, seven days a week, our beautiful sky-lit two-story Atrium acts as a meeting place in Uptown Saint John.  It’s the perfect place to take a break from shopping, grab a bite at our food court meals-to-go or four unique restaurant dining rooms or pubs, relax with friends or connect to our free Wi-Fi to spend a few quiet moments alone. Our Atrium and stage is host to festivals and events year round, such as the annual Sea Glass Festival, Five Festive Fridays, Uptown Sparkles, and Saturdays with Santa, as well as job fairs and non-profit events.

The Saint John Free Public Library, on the second level, is celebrating its 140th year this year!

The indoor fountain is surrounded by seating and live plants. Close your eyes, make a wish, and toss your coins in. Twice a year, Market Square donates the proceeds of the coins collected in the fountain to a local charity.  We are thrilled to give back to our community.

Overlooking the Atrium in Market Square, the Saint John Free Public Library offers something for everyone. The library provides access to a municipal collection of more than 215,000 items in its three branches and a provincial collection of more than 1.8 million items. We offer many programs and services ranging from storytime to public lectures. Some of our services provided are reference, inter-library loans and free public access computer workstations.

The Library’s goal is to encourage children, students, adults, seniors and parents to visit often to borrow books and attend free programs. The branch offers everything from computer training sessions, knitting programs for kids, genealogy resources, as well as the latest bestsellers and classic novels.

For out-of-town visitors there is free WiFi and computers to check your email or conduct research. Our library staff will be happy to help all visitors with any of our services.

Genealogy Research is a breeze with our extensive print and mircrofilm resources including Vital Statistics, books on genealogical research, family histories, newspapers and historical scrapbooks.

Come and relax in our comfortable lounge – Henry Meinhardt Memorial Reading Room – visitors will find magazines and 20 different newspapers from New Brunswick and elsewhere.

Located on the second and third floors in the Market Square complex, our library offers fantastic views of the Saint John Harbour, as well as paintings, sculptures and wall hangings by well-known Saint John and New Brunswick artists. The library has free computer access through WiFi or 22 public access computers.

The Special Collections Room is an authentic re-creation of a 19th century Victorian salon. The focus of the collections is on New Brunswickana, Canadiana, and local history materials. An extensive collection of southern New Brunswick newspapers are available on microfilm.

The Saint John Free Public Library is the oldest public library in Canada, founded in 1883.

Phone: 506-643-7220

Childrens’ Dept: 506-643-7239

Email: sjfpl@gnb.ca

Website: saintjohnlibrary.ca

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sjfpl

Hours: 

Monday: 10:00  a.m. – 5:00  p.m.

Tuesday: 10:00  a.m. – 5:00  p.m.

Wednesday: 10:00  a.m. – 8:00  p.m.

Thursday: 10:00  a.m. – 8:00  p.m.

Friday: 10:00  a.m. – 5:00  p.m.

Saturday: 10:00  a.m. – 5:00  p.m.

Sunday: 10:00  a.m. – 5:00  p.m.

As of January 2022, the Boardwalk area is closed to the public for the refurbishment project of the waterfront area.

For information on the Fundy Quay Project, call the city of Saint John at 506-658-2869.