Toronto Public Library

Enjoy the last weeks of summer with these sun-sational reads! ☀️📚

Find the perfect book(s) to read whether you're on the beach, in a backyard, at the cottage or on a campsite.

Discover hot books for sunny days 👉https://ow.ly/tLSl50STeio

Do you have a French-language reader at home? Have them join our French Reading Challenge for a chance to win a prize! Kids ages 12 and under are encouraged to join the TD Summer Reading Club and tell us about all the books they read. Each book read equals a contest entry! Multiple entries are allowed. Enter by August 31, 2024.

L'un de vos enfants aime t il lire en français? Si c’est le cas, invitez-le à relever le Défi de lecture en français et à courir ainsi la chance de gagner un prix. Nous encourageons les enfants de 12 ans ou moins à devenir membres du Club de lecture d’été TD et à discuter de tous les livres qu’ils auront lus. Ils peuvent concourir de nouveau après avoir lu un nouveau livre. Le Défi prendra fin le 31 août 2024.

Learn more/en savoir plus 👉 https://ow.ly/GeSe50STiBO

Browse our digital magazine rack 24/7!

Find hundreds of new and popular magazines from Canada and around the world. Access them anywhere, any time.

Flip through our selection: https://ow.ly/f4BY50SOaQS

Some things can’t be borrowed to take home. 😉

For Simcoe Day, we’re sharing these swords that belonged to John Graves Simcoe (1752–1806).

Simcoe was the first lieutenant-governor of Upper Canada (now Ontario) and passed legislation that led to the eventual abolition of slavery. He also founded and named York, which is now Toronto. (He used an English name instead of existing Indigenous naming.)

These swords are part of our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana at Toronto Reference Library. One of the world’s largest research collections of Canada’s past, it’s available to the public seven days a week. Learn more: https://tpl.ca/baldwin

🎨 Our Arts Mentor in Residence, artist and educator Kathryn Adams, is here to help artists thrive! Join her for free workshops and consultations focused on the business of being an artist throughout August and September at our Gerrard/Ashdale branch. Learn more at https://tpl.ca/artir

Have you read the one about zombies at Christmas?

Or the employee whose consciousness was uploaded to a work chat?

If these sound like hilarious premises to you, then check out more recommendations for a book with dark humour: https://ow.ly/QA9v50SMveG

Discover the 13 books nominated for the 2024 The Booker Prizes. Chosen from over 150 submissions, this year's longlist features the best in literary fiction from new voices and Booker Prize veterans. Add the nominees to your to-be-read list today 👉 https://ow.ly/8JG850SPqxj

Take note! All library branches will be closed on the following dates for the Civic Holiday:

➡️ Sunday, August 4
➡️ Monday, August 5

Access ebooks, audiobooks, emagazines and other digital resources any time and from anywhere, even when we're closed 👉 https://ow.ly/bLXu50SPu85

During Emancipation Month in August, celebrate the many contributions of Black Canadians. Learn, reflect and engage in the ongoing fight against anti-Black racism and discrimination. Explore our Emancipation Month reading list: https://ow.ly/4wrv50SNpsE

Get ready to cancel your plans, because these page-turners are peak summer! 🏖️ 📚 😎

Find new mysteries, thrillers and romance books that you won't be able to put down: https://ow.ly/Po6450SMnvg

Is your car making a funny noise? Not quite sure where to find the spark plugs? Want to check for information about recalls?

Avoid costly trips to the mechanic with the help of Chilton Library's manuals and videos.

Turbo charge your knowledge: https://ow.ly/5Bxq50SCj73

Which sister is really The Good Sister? You start off reading about a close sisterly relationship before the novel takes wild turns!

Hmm, and I always wanted a sister....

-Despina, Branch Head

Borrow The Good Sister: https://ow.ly/6pse50SCCFM

Virtual reality before virtual reality. 🥽

Here’s an animated stereograph card showing University of Toronto around 1903. When you look through a stereoscopic viewer, binocular vision combines two slightly offset images to give an illusion of depth.

Millions of stereo views were created between 1840 and 1930. Despite being a solo viewing experience, stereo-viewing parties were common back in the day.

James Esson (1853–1933) was one of a small number of Canadian photographers to produce stereoscopic views. We preserve 84 of his stereo views and hundreds more on the 5th floor of Toronto Reference Library.

Can’t make it in? Browse 500+ stereoscopic photos on our Digital Archive: https://digitalarchive.tpl.ca/search/*/objects?filter=mediumAAT%3AStereoscopic%20photographs

🗣️ Extra! Extra! Read all about it! 📰

Stay up to date on the latest local and international news with PressReader. Access more than 7,000 newspapers and magazines on any device — without pesky paywalls.

Start reading past the headline: tpl.ca/pressreader

Everyone's a winner with these recommended books about playing games!

Find books that will make you want to grab a controller, roll the dice or declare checkmate: https://ow.ly/K2go50SBFmX

Every summer, Lucy visits her best friend on the east coast and accidentally falls in love with her friend's brother. It's the perfect summer read.

-Nisha, Librarian

Borrow This Summer Will Be Different: https://ow.ly/RGC350SBy7X

Expect the unexpected in our latest exhibit. Discover an eclectic array of art, archives and artifacts from our world-class special collections. You’ll be amazed by the gems preserved in our vaults!

✨ Selections from our UNESCO-recognized archive of the first Canadian-born Black physician
✨ Newly-donated 16th-century map ("Tabula Novarum Insularum")
✨ Royal Doulton jugs shaped like Sherlock Holmes characters
✨ Handwritten speech by community leader Jean Lumb on the perseverance of the Chinese people in North America
✨Original illustrations for children's books by Sydney Smith and Ashley Barron, plus interactive magnet cats by Louis Wain

Visit the Unexpected Treasure exhibit: https://ow.ly/soMI50SzH6y

📍 Toronto Reference Library
🎟️ Free
📅 Until September 15

Give your regards to Broadway, the West End, Stratford and more! 🎭

Find recent and archival theatre productions from around the world — all free to watch with a library card.

Don't wait in the wings! Start watching today 👉https://ow.ly/QCCn50Szanf

👻 A young girl interacting with the spirit world.
🤼 Two friends performing illegal wrestling moves on each other.
🔪 A murder in the Yukon.

Head north of the 60th parallel by reading a book set in the Canadian Territories: https://ow.ly/F3F450Sy3VA

Got a free day with the kids? Spend it reading these books about summer recommended by our children's librarians!

Beach you can't read just one: https://ow.ly/YEtg50Sz41t

Happy Place is funny, romantic and emotional!

Recommended if you like love (platonic, romantic and familial), fun in the sun and all the routines, memories, jokes and dramas from a longstanding friend group.

-Lara, Librarian

Borrow Happy Place: https://ow.ly/iQeY50Sxhvb

What new books do you feel like reading this summer?

Crave something cool yet steamy? Check out The Au Pair Affair.

Think about the Roman Empire everyday? Read Fall of Civilizations.

Want lies and secrets? Add What Have You Done? to your TBR list.

Find these and more: https://ow.ly/Rb2w50Sx0OS

Make long drives more enjoyable with downloadable audiobooks for children, teens and adults.

You'll be sad to reach your destination with books this good: https://ow.ly/YLs250SorHR

📚 Breaking book news 📚

Along with the City of Toronto, we're excited to announce the longlist for the 50th anniversary of the Toronto Book Awards. Congratulations to all the talented authors! 🎉

Browse the longlisted titles 👉 http://tpl.ca/tba

🎟 Explore more at the Royal Ontario Museum! Special exhibits are now included with tpl:map reservations. And there are extra passes to book each month! Enjoy more art, culture and nature from around the world and across the ages 👉 tpl.ca/map

Carry your commitment to freedom of expression! These limited-edition totes are available at all branches for $5 each while supplies last. Choose from three bold statements to express yourself. Oh, did we mention there's an interior pocket perfect for carrying your phone, keys and – most importantly – library card?

Get yours before they're gone! ⌛

🍁 Unofficial Heritage Minute: this original fabric badge adorned a small number of Canadian-born troops during the Prince of Wales’s procession to Toronto in 1860 — possibly the first time maple leaves were worn as a national symbol of Canada.

To our knowledge, no image of this badge has ever appeared online… until today.

The 22 Canadian-born troops in attendance either wore this badge pinned to their uniforms or they put natural maple leaves in their buttonholes. The decision to wear the maple leaf came out of a heated discussion on what emblem was fitting for Canadian-born attendees. (The English-born wore roses and the Scottish-born had thistles.)

While the maple leaf had previous ties to Canada, a 1918 newspaper article contends that it was this 1860 event in which the maple leaf was first officially recognized as Canada’s emblem.

Donated to us in the 1970s, this priceless badge is seen here in a custom encasing with a transparent protective barrier.

We preserve this item in our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, a research collection of over a million primary sources from Canada’s past: https://tpl.ca/baldwin

Thanks to everyone who cheered us on at the Toronto Pride Parade today! Along with Toronto Public Library Workers Union Local 4948, we proudly marched to highlight materials with 2SLGBTQ+ content that have been challenged or banned. We're committed more than ever to protecting these diverse and important stories — and your freedom to read 'em. ✊ 🏳️‍🌈 📚

Books are wonderful ways to build empathy, and reading with your child can bring home a message of unconditional love and acceptance. This , discover rainbow reads for kids that celebrate 2SLGBTQ+ families, inclusivity and self-expression:

🌈📚 tpl.ca/readingwithpride

On this day in 1987, thousands of Torontonians, along with representatives from 26 Ontario communities, marched on Church Street in support of gay rights.

And this Sunday, June 30, we're marching in the Pride Parade to highlight books that have faced challenges or bans due to 2SLGBTQ+ content. Let’s stand together to ensure all stories are protected — today and every day. ✊ 🏳️‍🌈 📚

See you there!

📸: David Cooper, Toronto Star (preserved in our Baldwin Collection of Canadiana)