Orientation tours of the Toronto Reference Library are offered to groups upon request. There is much to learn about the TRL, including its history, its design, the services it offers and, most importantly, its outstanding collections. A walk-about of the library can be tailored to groups with specific interests, or follow a proscribed overview, department […]
The first in a series of exhibits of art work and photography from the Canadian Historical Picture Collection features Canadian landscape artist George Harlow White (1817-1871). His drawings show us how the towns and countryside of Ontario looked in the late 19th century. Here are a few images of the pencil on paper drawings […]
The Miniature Book Society holds an annual competition inviting book artists from around the world to submit their work to a panel of judges. Color photographs of each book are published online in the Miniature Book Society's Competition Exhibition Catalogs. Winners and contenders for the 2010 Distinguished Book Awards are now posted on the MBS […]
Ontario College of Art & Design students visited the Toronto Reference Library this month for a guided tour of the Conservation Lab and Special Collections . Professor and book artist, George Walker, arranges tours for students of his book binding and book arts classes so they can see how book design has developed over time. Students meet in […]
The Bootmakers of Toronto held their annual Blue Carbuncle Awards Dinner on January 29th at the Toronto Lawn Tennis Club. The Bootmakers celebrate the life and work of Arthur Conan Doyle and his famous character, Sherlock Holmes. Arthur Conan Doyle Collection curator Peggy Perdue, and Special Collections staffers Susan Murray and Bob Coghill attended the event […]
Dancessence – Winner of the Independent Publishers 2010 Outstanding Book Award Photographer, Hal Eastman, captures the essence of dance movements without the harshness of flash photography in this limited edition book by Peregrine Images. Artist Tony Calzetta's book, Acts of […]
On January 29th, at Fort York, two of Toronto's top chefs, Ted Corrado and Scott Vivian, will compete by preparing recipes using local ingredients. The recipes will each feature a secret 1812-era ingredient. That got me wondering what those secret ingredients could be. The Toronto Reference Library has 19th century Canadian cookbooks with recipes and […]
Did you know that orphaned boys as young as 7 years of age could be hired out to work in the late 19th century ? And that a third of their wages could be used to pay for their keep in the Toronto Boys' Home? The Boys' Home 2nd Annual Report, 1861. BR […]
The User Education Department of the Toronto Reference Library offers a workshop to help you use its collections and services. The workshop is divided into two parts: Research Skills Part I is an orienation to the library system in general, and a detailed history and overview of the Toronto Reference Library in particular. How to […]