Although the current interest in boys and reading is most probably fuelled by falling test scores, I want to consider the literacy world that my son finds himself in as an adult male, and the world his son and daughter will face in the near future. When I began researching material in this field, I […]
This May, writer Malcolm Gladwell spoke to over 500 library customers at the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Through social media, he reached another 60,000. This is a recent example of how the library uses social media to offer new opportunities for participation. During the interview, Gladwell said that […]
The well known Canadian architect Jack Diamond is designing the Mariinsky Theatre, the new opera house in historic St. Petersburg. The theatre is the first new home for Russian opera since the age of the czars. Diamond calls the theatre "the crown of his career." Closer to home and more accessible to those of us […]
Growing up in the Jane and Finch community was one of the best things that could have happened to me. The opportunities at my doorstep were just waiting for me to wake up, and go and get them. Every Wednesday evening, my brothers, sisters, and the whole community and I could not wait until the Bookmobile […]
Here are some actual quotes, things I have overheard people saying in my work as a children’s librarian: “Oh, no,” says the father (it is usually a father) to his scowling son, “You can’t read Captain Underpants. Choose something serious.” “Don’t you have something with fewer pages? I don’t like to read,” says the boy […]
I’m Cameron MacKay, Chair of the Toronto Public Library’s (TPL) Strategic Planning Committee. I'd like to quote John Wood, the founder of Room to Read, a charity that’s opened over 7,500 libraries in the developing world, who says that if you get education right, you get many things right: “education has a ripple effect. One […]
Hi, I'm Jane Pyper, City Librarian. It's been an energizing process to work with the Board and staff to develop a vision, themes and goals for the library's new Strategic Plan. We began with research about Toronto, its changing population and needs, as well as the world in which the library is offering service, including […]