In the 1960s the West Vancouver Library had the reputation for being the busiest per capita lending library in Canada. At the same time, the municipality was alleged to have the highest liquor consumption per capita. Living in West Vancouver, Sally Carswell recounted the development of library service in West Vancouver over a 70-year period to mark the West Van Memorial Library's 40th anniversary with Fulfilling A Dream (Corporation of the District of West Vancouver, 1990). Born in 1917, Carswell also wrote The Story of the Lions Gate Hospital: The Realization of A Pioneer Settlement's Dream, 1908-1980 (Sally and Keith Carswell, 1980). She and her husband moved to West Vancouver with two young children in 1958. She became one of the original students at Capilano College in 1958, later completing a history degree at UBC.

[BCBW 1995] "Local History"