The Toronto Reference Library opened in 1977 as the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library. The library operated separately before the amalgamation of the City of Toronto and surrounding boroughs in 1998. The reference library was formally amalgamated into the new Toronto Public Library in 1998, after the old municipalities of Metropolitan Toronto were dissolved, and amalgamation of the new City of Toronto. The Toronto Comic Arts Festival Store on the ground floor, originally a pop-up store in 2014, later became permanent as of 2015 Page and Panel not only sells merchandise pertaining to comic books, but also merchandise pertaining to manga, anime, and Japanese video games, primarily from Nintendo franchises such as Mario, Legend of Zelda, Kirby, and Pokémon as well. In 2017, the Toronto Reference Library was used as the filming location for The Weeknd's music video for his song "Secrets."
Building and design
The 38,691 m² five-storey building, designed by architect Raymond Moriyama, opened in 1977 and is the biggest public reference library in Canada. The brick façade of the building was designed creates harmony with the surrounding buildings as well as providing thermal benefits. A curving atrium in the middle of the large library creates sight lines across floors, provides natural ventilation and introduces natural light from its sophisticated skylights. The design of the library was influenced by the hanging garden of Babylon and therefore plants were located around the edge of each floor facing the atrium. However, due to financial constraints, the plants were later removed. The Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library is an event space located on the second floor of the Library. It opened to the public on September 23, 2009. The Salon hosts free literary and cultural programming organized by the library. When not in use for library programs, the Salon is available to be rented for private functions.
Renovation
The Toronto Reference Library's renovation project started in 2010 and was completed in 2014 at a cost of $34 million. The project included the creation of a glass cube at the main entrance facade, a revitalized exhibition gallery space, a special collections rotunda, enhanced research and study areas, and a Balzac's Café by the main entrance. The renovations also featured a revitalized basement section sponsored by the Toronto Star. It contains a collection of recent editions of various newspapers from across Canada and around the world.
Collection
The library's collection is mostly non-circulating, although some materials can be borrowed. The library had 1,653,665 catalogued items in 2010, including 1.5 Million volumes of monographs and bound periodicals; and 2.5 Million other materials including films, tapes, microforms, maps, fine art items, ephemera, etc. The library also has 475 metres of manuscript materials. The TD Gallery is the library's exhibit gallery, and features exhibits of art, books, documents, manuscripts and other items from the collections. The library also has an extensive performing arts collection, including papers and information on many Canadian artists, such as Al Waxman and The Dumbells. The library also has a special collections. Items in the reference library's special collections include:
The Arthur Conan Doyle Collection, devoted to the life and works of the creator of Sherlock Holmes, is housed in a room built to look like Holmes's study at 221B Baker St. The collection exists since 1969, when the library purchased around 200 books about Holmes from a collector named Arthur Vincent Baillie.
The Baldwin Room, a collection of books, pamphlets, periodicals, manuscripts, broadsides and printed ephemera, maps, newspapers and historical pictures relating to Upper Canada and to early Toronto. This collection is named for Robert Baldwin, a leading political reformer in Upper Canada and pre-Confederation Premier. However it also includes a Canadian historical picture collection illustrating the history of Canada, originally donated to the library in 1910 by John Ross Robertson, founder and publisher of the Toronto Telegram and a major philanthropist of Toronto's Hospital for Sick Children, which now contains thousands of historical paintings, drawings, prints, photographs and postcards.
The Genealogy and Local History Collection, whose strength is Canadian content but which also includes numerous resources for Great Britain, Ireland and the United States.
The Map Collection of current and historical maps, atlases, gazetteers and cartography resources is international in scope. Some of the resources it includes are: maps of Toronto from 1788 to the present, Toronto fire insurance plans and Goad maps and atlases, as well as current and retrospective topographic and photo maps of the Toronto area.
The Art Room containing rare books, photographs, posters and manuscripts, including important costume design and sheet music collections.
Services
The library's hours of operation are weekdays 9:00am – 8:30pm, Saturday 9:00am – 5:00pm, Sunday 1:30pm – 5:00pm. Like all libraries in the Toronto Public Library system, the reference library offers free wireless Internet, as well as computers that can be used free of charge. Many of these public computers are located on the main floor, but they are also available on all floors including the basement. The Digital Innovation Hub, provides access to more advanced software and staff assistance for a small fee. Services provided at the library include:
