(Credit: Canada. Wartime Information Board, 1941. Contributor: Alex Colville) (Digitization Poster at: Toronto Reference Library, Baldwin Room – Call Number/Accession Number 1939-45. Industrial production Item 10. L.) On July 16 and beyond, take a moment to reflect upon the contribution of David Alexander “Alex” Colville (Born: August 24, 1920 in Toronto, Ontario; Died: July 16, 2013 in […]
You step into the Atrium of the Toronto Reference Library, you look up marveling at all the space, the levels, the 10 story plus sky-lit ceiling, and then you ask yourself: "how am I suppose to find anything in here?" Locating staff and then telling them that you need assistance is ideal, but consulting wayfinder […]
Bird's-eye view of Toronto, 1893. For description click here. Open in full size Introduction: The explosion of maps on the internet has been made possible, in part, by advances in Geographic information systems, or GIS: the set of tools that capture, store, analyze, manage, and present data that are linked to locations (definition adapted from […]
Join Ryan O'Connor this Tuesday, April 21st from 6:30-8:00 p.m. Toronto Reference Library, Beeton Auditorium for "The First Green Wave: Pollution Probe and the Origins of Environmental Activism in Ontario" Ryan will trace the rise of Toronto's environmental movement through the story of Pollution Probe, one of Canada's pioneering environmental activist […]
Yes, the renovation is finished! This TRL blog has followed the progress and the many changes since October 2010 and now, here is the final Renovation Project Update. An official celebration in late September marked the completion of new study spaces, digital innovations, reorganized subject floors and additional forums for public presentations. Now, with a […]
One of the more unusual collections in the Humanities & Social Sciences Department at the Toronto Reference Library is the Municipal Election Campaign Literature Collection. This primary source collection of pamphlets, flyers, and door hangers put out by candidates running for mayor, alderman (now known as councillor) or school trustee have been collected and preserved […]
Isfahan, Iran: dome of Lutfallah Mosque, c. 1610 Who has not heard of some of the great architectural monuments built in the Islamic world—the Alhambra, the Dome of the Rock, Shalimar Gardens, and the Taj Mahal? There are many more. What role did these masterpieces play in the life of the pre-modern Islamic world? As […]
Heritage is a word that resonates with us on different levels. We use it to refer to our ancestors and ethnic backgrounds, an historic building or cultural property that may have unique qualities of times past, or even something that we want to preserve like a plant or animal – a heritage rose, perhaps. Tuesday evening September […]
The Treehouse Talks are free public lectures that operate on the guiding principle that three people, times three talks, equals a thousand new ideas. This formula is not just encapsulated by their motto – "3 People X 3 Topics = 1,000 Ideas"; it is also demonstrated by the list of speakers recruited by Nicolas Rouleau, the […]
As part of World Pride, please join us at the Toronto Reference Library for: The Rainbow Railroad: Fleeing Anti-Gay Persecution A panel discussion of LGBTQ persecution and the need for asylum rights in Canada Kamal Al-Solaylee, associate professor and undergraduate program director at the School of Journalism, Ryerson University, former theatre critic for the […]