Imagine my surprise. I had just finished creating a 'word cloud' of some of my favourite French philosophers using a free website called Wordle (see image above). I wanted to accompany the image with a post paying homage to the liberty of French ideas – spurred by the recent tragic terrorist attacks in Paris. Then […]
The Treasures and Good Book Sale is back September 17-19, 2015, after two years. The Friends of the Toronto Public Library, South Chapter have gathered thousands of high quality donations. They've sorted, sifted and priced a wide array of art and photography books, first editions, author signed copies, rare and out of print books. There are also unusual […]
A red maple leaf against a blue sky. A quintessential Canadian symbol, and one recognized throughout the world. Even the least patriotic Canadian can’t help but see it and know it marks the place they call home. The Canadian flag as we know it is only 50 years old this week. It came into being […]
Did you know that 'most humans on the planet now live in cities and over the next few decades, another quarter to a third of the world will join them? This urban migration marks the most decisive social and cultural shift since the Enlightenment'. “We will end the century as a wholly urban species,” […]
The City Planning Department is updating Toronto’s Official Plan. What is an “official plan”? In Ontario the Planning Act requires municipalities to have an Official Plan. The Official Plan is a legal document approved by Council that describes policies and objectives for land uses and how and where the community should grow. The Official Plan […]
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 […]
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 […]
The revitalization of Regent Park has had lots of media coverage – the good, the bad, and the ugly. Once hailed as the model of modern urban development, changes in the population, planning theories and social needs over the past 60 years has resulted in a re-invention of an established and unique neighbourhood. Come listen and […]