Tower of books in the main branch of Toronto Public Library
I had heard about the privatisation of Toronto Public Library and Kerry @Pickle Me This brought to my attention the petition organised to save it.
You might wonder how this concerns me since I don’t even live in Canada. You probably already know the answer to this: I always feel concerned by anything connected with Canadian literature.
When I went to Canada last year, I visited a couple of the branches of Toronto Public Library. I also did some research in their catalogue and they have amazing resources. I was surprised by the welcome and help I received when I explained my interest in making some photocopies of certain books they hold. Unfortunately, I did not have enough time, but my intention is to go back next year. This might not happen…
I also follow what the Toronto Public Library does and they organise many literary events. It would be such a dramatic loss for the community.
I consequently went to sign the petition. It is actually a template letter with a box for additional comments, so I was able to explain why a person living in Ireland wants to show her support. I really hope it can be saved from privatisation. Imagine the impact this would have on literacy… If you also feel concerned, follow this link.
C'est la vie! 
5 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 25, 2011 at 4:55 pm
Zhu
Oh no!
I find libraries in Canada awesome, free Internet, lots of new books, great services for newcomers, kids etc. Let’s not change that! I’m Ottawa’s library biggest fan.
July 28, 2011 at 7:52 pm
Stefanie
Oh that’s terrible news! There have been a number of libraries in the U.S. where the operations were privatized because the private company said they could run them for less. So all the employees get fired and then if they want jobs in the library now run by the private company, they have to take a pay cut. Thanks for the petition link. I hope the campaign succeeds!
August 1, 2011 at 3:50 pm
Jen
Oooh book sculpture!
I love Canadian libraries. Japanese libraries are okay, but nowhere near the quality of Canadian libraries. Partly I think that is because of the qualifications of librarians, here it is just a certificate that you get by taking a test, rather than a degree. Maybe!
I wrote a letter. The new Toronto mayor says many things that concerns me, I hope that he doesn’t succeed in this as well.
August 3, 2011 at 12:05 pm
Jules
THANK YOU! It’s nice to see someone outside the country promote this. TPL is the largest library system in North America, and one of the mos efficient, it provides so many services, all free and the new city councillors want to downsize it to to save a few bucks. What they don’t seem to realize or maybe it’s that they don’t care, is that shutting down these libraries means, all those people who use the library for educational services etc, will be put on them to do something. The one city councilor actually stated that there were more libraries in his ward than Tim Horton’s (coffee/dougnut chain in Canada). Sad, so sad. But thank you for posting this, we need the message to reach as many people as possible.
August 7, 2011 at 1:15 am
Melwyk
Thanks for posting about this! I’m not sure that privatizing public libraries is even legal here but that is another whole story. It is quite alarming how libraries are being attacked all over North America — a very short-sighted political view, in my opinion.