The International Day of Peace was established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. Two decades later, in 2001, the General Assembly unanimously voted to designate the Day as a period of non-violence and cease-fire. I'm a Quaker (The Religious Society of Friends) and central to our faith is the The Peace Testimony. I was fortunate as […]
Arr me hearties! September 19th is one of my favourite days on the calendar: International Talk Like A Pirate Day! The day was originally started in 1995, by friends John Baur and Mark Summers, otherwise known as Ol' Chumbucket and Cap'n Slappy. It was mostly a joke amongst friends until 2002, when Dave Barry, a […]
The 2022 Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) takes place from September 8 to 18 once again with a combination of in-person and selected digital screenings. Browse the film schedule for titles from around the world from series including Contemporary World Cinema, TIFF Docs, and Gala Presentations. Scan’the streets of Toronto for a glimpse of Oprah, […]
Every September UNESCO celebrates International Literacy Day. This worldwide celebration and recognition of literacy is on Thursday September 8, 2022. It’s an important day each year to recognize the significance of literacy skills in our lives. We recently updated our Adult Literacy website, particularly to highlight our services to adult learners and the Adult Literacy […]
"Should art be unique or infinitely reproducible?" wondered German philosopher Walter Benjamin pictured here in 1928. Image used on a creative commons license from Wikipedia. New technologies are sometimes met with resistance. This is because they change the culture around us. In the early 20th century, the German cultural critic Walter Benjamin argued that mechanical […]
Detail from The Cat Scouts, by Jessie Pope, illustrated by Louis Wain. Approximately 1916. Tricksters. Familiars. Helpers. Criminals. Suburban dads. Fluffy little babies. Hiss-torically, cats have played every pawsible role in children’s books. Our new exhibit, Adventures in Catland, runs from August 2 to October 14, 2022 at the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books (located […]
They say never to judge a book by its cover, but who are we kidding? Cover art and illustration are gateways into story, beckoning to us from across the crowded shelves. The Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation & Fantasy is celebrating artists in a new exhibit, Drawn from the Imagination: Artists and Illustrators of […]
You cannot go wrong with a good toy. Toys are simple pleasures. They inspire learning even if they are as simple as a block or as complex as a Rubik's cube. They are information in a format other than a book. Their messages are of texture, construction, kinetic energy, relationships, and silliness. Toy access is […]
Posted on behalf of Kendra C. (Content Warning: this blog mentions suicide, death, and systemic violence) August 10th is internationally recognized as Prisoners’ Justice Day (PJD). PJD is a day to remember people who have died preventable deaths in prison. It is also a day to show solidarity with those who organize against inhumane conditions […]
It's summertime and, for many Torontonians, that means spending more time outside! And what better way to enjoy the company of friends and family outdoors than around a roaring campfire? Whether you're off to a cottage, a campsite or staying at home this summer, get your marshmallows ready because it's time to make s'mores and […]