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Imagine you are stranded on a desert island with only one book to read. What book would you want with you?

Danya's answer: Sula by Toni Morrison.

What story of friendship would you want on a desert island?

A heritage gem with literary stained glass by a legendary Canadian studio. Name that branch. Go! 👇

📸: @concretelibraries

Can you read this? 👀

Sent from what is now Canada, this 1836 letter features cross-writing. The technique involves writing both horizontally and vertically to reduce the number of sheets of paper used—saving costs on paper and postage.

The original letter is on display (alongside a reproduction you can get your hands on) in our free exhibit all about handwriting—now in its final five days. Visit now.

✍️ Loops, Swoops & Curlicues: A Legacy of Handwritten History
📍 Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street)
📅 Closes May 10, 2026
🎟️ Free

Can you read this? 👀

Sent from what is now Canada, this 1836 letter features cross-writing. The technique involves writing both horizontally and vertically to reduce the number of sheets of paper used—saving costs on paper and postage.

The original letter is on display (alongside a reproduction you can get your hands on) in our free exhibit all about handwriting—now in its final five days. Visit now.

✍️ Loops, Swoops & Curlicues: A Legacy of Handwritten History
📍 Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street)
📅 Closes May 10, 2026
🎟️ Free

Can you read this? 👀

Sent from what is now Canada, this 1836 letter features cross-writing. The technique involves writing both horizontally and vertically to reduce the number of sheets of paper used—saving costs on paper and postage.

The original letter is on display (alongside a reproduction you can get your hands on) in our free exhibit all about handwriting—now in its final five days. Visit now.

✍️ Loops, Swoops & Curlicues: A Legacy of Handwritten History
📍 Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street)
📅 Closes May 10, 2026
🎟️ Free

🏆 Bridlewood branch wins a Design Excellence Award!

The Ontario Association of Architects recognized the relocated space in Bridlewood Mall for its outstanding design. Many thanks to Ken Fukushima Architecture and David Fujiwara Architect.

“This project promotes adaptive reuse by repurposing an underutilized commercial space to create needed, inclusive, and adaptable community space,’’ according to the project team. “The vertical solar panel installation with integral programmable LEDs creates a visual reference to rows of books and the power of books, with the books opening up at night into a dynamic dreamscape. The interior is inspired by great spaces of historic libraries and from community history.”

Located in the L'Amoreaux neighbourhood, this is the fourth incarnation of the ever-evolving branch. Tomorrow marks 50 years since the first location opened as part of Scarborough Public Library (last image). It was one of the five new branches opened by the former library system between 1972 and 1977 to serve a surging population. All five locations were in shopping malls or plazas in an effort to place libraries where people gathered.

Have you ever visited one of our branches in a mall or plaza?

📸 Doublespace Photography

@oaarchitects @BridlewoodMall

🏆 Bridlewood branch wins a Design Excellence Award!

The Ontario Association of Architects recognized the relocated space in Bridlewood Mall for its outstanding design. Many thanks to Ken Fukushima Architecture and David Fujiwara Architect.

“This project promotes adaptive reuse by repurposing an underutilized commercial space to create needed, inclusive, and adaptable community space,’’ according to the project team. “The vertical solar panel installation with integral programmable LEDs creates a visual reference to rows of books and the power of books, with the books opening up at night into a dynamic dreamscape. The interior is inspired by great spaces of historic libraries and from community history.”

Located in the L'Amoreaux neighbourhood, this is the fourth incarnation of the ever-evolving branch. Tomorrow marks 50 years since the first location opened as part of Scarborough Public Library (last image). It was one of the five new branches opened by the former library system between 1972 and 1977 to serve a surging population. All five locations were in shopping malls or plazas in an effort to place libraries where people gathered.

Have you ever visited one of our branches in a mall or plaza?

📸 Doublespace Photography

@oaarchitects @BridlewoodMall

🏆 Bridlewood branch wins a Design Excellence Award!

The Ontario Association of Architects recognized the relocated space in Bridlewood Mall for its outstanding design. Many thanks to Ken Fukushima Architecture and David Fujiwara Architect.

“This project promotes adaptive reuse by repurposing an underutilized commercial space to create needed, inclusive, and adaptable community space,’’ according to the project team. “The vertical solar panel installation with integral programmable LEDs creates a visual reference to rows of books and the power of books, with the books opening up at night into a dynamic dreamscape. The interior is inspired by great spaces of historic libraries and from community history.”

Located in the L'Amoreaux neighbourhood, this is the fourth incarnation of the ever-evolving branch. Tomorrow marks 50 years since the first location opened as part of Scarborough Public Library (last image). It was one of the five new branches opened by the former library system between 1972 and 1977 to serve a surging population. All five locations were in shopping malls or plazas in an effort to place libraries where people gathered.

Have you ever visited one of our branches in a mall or plaza?

📸 Doublespace Photography

@oaarchitects @BridlewoodMall

Imagine you are stranded on a desert island with only one book to read. What book would you want with you?

Tessie's answer: A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara (@hanyayanagihara).

What very sad book would you want on a desert island?

This National Volunteer Week, we’re celebrating our incredible volunteers. 💙

From supporting adults on their literacy journey to helping seniors build confidence with technology, they make a real difference every day. They also nurture young readers and help teens give back to their communities.

Last year, our volunteers gave over 52,000 hours—helping build a kinder, brighter, more resilient Toronto.

Thank you—you truly make a difference.

#NationalVolunteerWeek #NVW2026 #IgniteVolunteerism

This National Volunteer Week, we’re celebrating our incredible volunteers. 💙

From supporting adults on their literacy journey to helping seniors build confidence with technology, they make a real difference every day. They also nurture young readers and help teens give back to their communities.

Last year, our volunteers gave over 52,000 hours—helping build a kinder, brighter, more resilient Toronto.

Thank you—you truly make a difference.

#NationalVolunteerWeek #NVW2026 #IgniteVolunteerism

This National Volunteer Week, we’re celebrating our incredible volunteers. 💙

From supporting adults on their literacy journey to helping seniors build confidence with technology, they make a real difference every day. They also nurture young readers and help teens give back to their communities.

Last year, our volunteers gave over 52,000 hours—helping build a kinder, brighter, more resilient Toronto.

Thank you—you truly make a difference.

#NationalVolunteerWeek #NVW2026 #IgniteVolunteerism

Edgiest artform of all time? 🤔

Fore-edge paintings date back centuries and became popular in 17th- and 18th-century England. Often concealed with gilded edges, the hidden images didn’t always relate to the book’s contents. They were applied by hand to fanned pages—sometimes after a book’s creation—for the sake of artistry, ownership or identification.

We preserve these five books in our Arthur Conan Doyle Collection (devoted to the creator of Sherlock Holmes) and Special Collections in the Arts (includes holdings devoted to the artistry of books).

Anyone can request them in the Marilyn & Charles Baillie Special Collections Centre on the 5th floor of Toronto Reference Library. 👋

***

1️⃣ The Works of Alfred Tennyson, Poet Laureate (1882)

2️⃣+3️⃣ Sherlock Holmes: Selected Works (1997)

4️⃣ The Poetical Works of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (1893)

5️⃣ A Catalogue of the Contents of Strawberry Hill (1842) [fore-edge painting depicts Strawberry Hill estate]

#ForeEdgePaintings #BookArt #SpecialCollections

"Toronto Public Library, Believe in Yourself!" 🥹💙

Welcome home, Jeremy Hansen. That was one for the books.

We’re still so grateful for your visit last November to our Cedarbrae branch, where you spoke to over 90 Grade 3 students and teachers from Cornell Junior Public School. It’s something they’ll never forget.

#ArtemisII #CanadianAstronaut #NASA @CanadianSpaceAgency @AstroJeremy

"Toronto Public Library, Believe in Yourself!" 🥹💙

Welcome home, Jeremy Hansen. That was one for the books.

We’re still so grateful for your visit last November to our Cedarbrae branch, where you spoke to over 90 Grade 3 students and teachers from Cornell Junior Public School. It’s something they’ll never forget.

#ArtemisII #CanadianAstronaut #NASA @CanadianSpaceAgency @AstroJeremy

"Toronto Public Library, Believe in Yourself!" 🥹💙

Welcome home, Jeremy Hansen. That was one for the books.

We’re still so grateful for your visit last November to our Cedarbrae branch, where you spoke to over 90 Grade 3 students and teachers from Cornell Junior Public School. It’s something they’ll never forget.

#ArtemisII #CanadianAstronaut #NASA @CanadianSpaceAgency @AstroJeremy

From stacks to streets 📚🏙️

Get instant access to What I Know About You this April!

The debut novel from Éric Chacour is available as an ebook and audiobook all month without holds or waitlists. Read or listen in English or French.

The book is available from libraries across Canada as a part of One eRead Canada. Join the virtual bookclub @OneeReadCanada or read along with friends and family from anywhere in Canada.

Borrow a copy today through Libby, OverDrive or Cantook Station.

#OneeReadCanada #UnLivrelCanada

We’re expanding our collection with movies and TV series that aren’t available on DVD, including:

A Big Bold Beautiful Journey
The Brutalist
A Complete Unknown
Nomadland
Sing Sing
Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere
WandaVision
The Zone of Interest

Discover more than 200 titles now available on Blu-ray.

Which will you watch first?

Toronto Reference Library, but make it 1994 💾☎️

Fashions may have changed but our largest branch remains a key hub for research and respite—everyone’s welcome to study, work or relax in the iconic destination designed by Canadian architect Raymond Moriyama.

#90s #TorontoHistory

📼 Clips from a commercial by TPL uploaded via The Tape Keeper on YouTube