Prime Minister Stephen Harper was in Toronto on Friday to announce some “long overdue” renovations to the city’s main reference library. “Construction plans include a new two-storey rotunda, an expanded new gallery, a spectacular entranceway and new computer work stations,” Harper said.
Harper, accompanied by Toronto Mayor David Miller and federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty, said Ottawa would be contributing one-third of the $9-million.
The main reference library, near the corner of Yonge and Bloor streets, houses the city’s largest collection of books and digital archives.
Source: CBC
UPDATE 10/17 Toronto Reference Library gets $3-million federal boost (via Globe and Mail)
The Toronto Reference Library, to be precise, the heart of a 99-branch public system that has become the world’s busiest on a per-capita basis, with 16 million visitors each year, another 21 million virtual visits, and an annual circulation of 30 million items.
Only the Hong Kong library system, serving three times the population, is busier.
The Toronto Public Library ranks with the world’s great public libraries, and yet it’s different and personal for every user who walks in or clicks in,” said Wendy Newman, a senior fellow at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information.
Despite daily predictions of the death of print, Toronto’s library system has thrived in the digital age, finding its niche where technology, people and conversation intersect.
See Also: Take a Look at the Toronto Public Library Web Site
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