Wed Dec 5, 2012
Local News

Five things we learned about the Toronto Public Library system

Released last week, the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives’ report about the state of the Toronto Public Library system, entitled The Great Equalizer, offered a wealth of information about where and how millions of Torontonians get their information. But beyond the many reasons for governments to maintain funding support for the TPL, the report put libraries in some intriguing context. Here are a few thoughts.

» Libraries are more popular than Canada’s Wonderland. In fact, the 19 million visitors to our libraries in 2011 was more than the number of people who visited Toronto’s 10 biggest arts and entertainment attractions combined, including TIFF, the AGO, and the CN Tower.

» The most popular days for borrowing materials are Tuesday and Saturday. Reasons for the latter are obvious, but we’re not really sure about the former.

» They’re doing more with less. Staffing levels are 25 per cent lower than in 1992, yet the TPL had more users than ever in 2011.

» Libraries served 73 per cent of the 99 per cent. Nearly three quarters of Torontonians visit the library, and usage doesn’t vary too drastically by income—only a few percentage points for people below $30,000 all the way to $99,000.

» The TPL is cheap. It only costs each taxpayer a mere 17 cents a day.

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Rachelle

I’m not sure if this was an isolated incident, but I was at the Toronto Reference Library the other day and the wireless internet was insanely slow. Is that a regular occurence there? Just wondering!
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3:14 pm on December 5, 2012

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Julian

You forgot the most important thing:

You can watch porn and gamble on their computers.

I caught an older man watching porn a few weeks ago and the manager of the Central Library wrote in an email to me that they did not have filters to block porn.
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2:10 pm on December 5, 2012

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Liz

If you complain to staff, they are supposed to speak with the consumer of porn. The idea is that the person is impeding your ability to enjoy the library.
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2:28 pm on December 5, 2012

David Vereschagin

Many library branches are closed both Sunday and Monday, making Tuesday the first day after the weekend to be able to get in.
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12:57 pm on December 5, 2012

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Bilton

Though, according to the report, Mondays are almost as busy as Fridays.
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1:22 pm on December 5, 2012
amyj

I work at a TPL branch and have noticed Tuesdays being particularly busy; it seems to have crept up over the years I’ve been there! I think some people reserve Mondays for other beginning-of-the-week errands or feel they’re avoiding the crowds by waiting to come in on a Tuesday. A lot of our patrons have their “day” to visit and are very faithful!
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2:23 pm on December 5, 2012