[1] The son of stonemason William McEwan and Mary Barker, William Barker McEwan was educated at a George Heriot's School and was apprenticed to bookseller Robert Somerville of Stockbridge.
After working in Auckland and Westport, McEwan took up the role as Dunedin city librarian in 1908.
This total included private collections donated to the library for public use by Alfred Hamish Reed and Robert McNab.
In addition to his work as city librarian, McEwan was a founding member of the Libraries Association of New Zealand.
A lover of Scottish literature, McEwan was president of the Dunedin Burns Club for five years.