In the province of Quebec, the role of language and religion has been a significant feature in defining nationality, educating the young, and building infrastructures such as libraries. In contrast to English-Canadian provinces, only after 1960 did the government of Quebec authorize public support for public libraries to serve its francophone population. This paper summarizes some of the events that contributed to a slow, difficult development of Quebec libraries. The paper is the result of research conducted during the summer of 2001. In addition to a research review, several interviews were conducted with people involved in library operations. Research questions were: (1) How did the public library system develop in Quebec? (2) Why are there few libraries? and (3) What are the qualifications of the staff? The paper gives a historical overview covering the period 1635 to 2000. It describes the situation in the region of Bas-Saint-Laurent located on the Gaspe Peninsula, and it concludes with some comments concerning the small libraries at Trois-Pistoles and at Saint-Clement which are parts of the Basque division. Appendixes include chronologies of library-related events and a few sample copies of library documents. (Contains 53 references.) (AEF)