Toronto Reference Library Revitalization
Toronto Reference Library is being transformed into a library of the future - one that will meet the diverse needs of today's and tomorrow's learners.
Come see the changes we've made, discover our timeless treasures and see what lies ahead.
Check back in early 2012 for:
- More information and photos about the new and renewed library spaces
- How to participate in the re:discover Toronto Reference Library Scavenger Hunt Contest
- How to share your favourite Reference Library stories
- And more
About the Toronto Reference Library Renovation
The Toronto Reference Library is undergoing a five-year $34 million revitalization to better serve our customers. Our vision is to recreate the Reference Library as Toronto's foremost public centre for lifelong learning, the exchange of ideas and community engagement.
Reference Library Renovation Quick Facts
- A 5-year, $34 million project, set to be completed in 2012
- Funded by the City of Toronto, the Government of Ontario, the Government of Canada, and the Toronto Public Library Foundation's re:vitalize Campaign
- The project is scheduled to be carried out in phases; the Library will remain open through all stages of construction
Renovation Project Features
Key elements of the Library's $34 million revitalization project include:
- Glass Entrance Cube, Yonge Street Façade Expansion and a Revitalized Exhibition Gallery Space
- Special Collections Rotunda
- Enhanced Research and Study Areas
- New and innovative technology
A new Glass Entrance Cube, Yonge Street Façade Expansion and a Revitalized Exhibition Gallery Space
Reaching out to the community through captivating transparent elements
Through its revitalization program, the Toronto Reference Library is creating a dynamic interface between the library and its community, connecting the library's interior more directly to the street, and the public to the services inside.
Features:
- Glass Entrance Cube nearly 3 storeys tall and visible from all directions.
- An expanded and revitalized Gallery Space that will better enable visitors to engage and interact with the library's Special Collections.
- An expanded browsery will include a new information centre - a 12-screen Global Connect wall with information feeds from all over the world.
- A glass wall running the entire length of the Yonge street façade.
- New cafe and Library Retail Store at street-level.
Architectural Renderings: Moriyama & Teshima Architects
A new Special Collections Rotunda
Bringing the whole of the Library's Special Collections together in one place
A spectacular 2-storey Rotunda will be constructed on the library's 5th Floor as a new home for the library's 1.9 million item Special Collections. Reminiscent of the great reading rooms of libraries past, the rotunda will bring prominence and increased accessibility to the library's vast and inspiring Special Collections.
Features:
- Bringing the Special Collection together: For the first time, the library will be able to house all its Special Collections in a single space, providing more opportunities for students, artists and historians to explore, uncover and rediscover Canada's and Toronto's historical and cultural records.
- Increasing the prominence and accessibility of the Special Collections: Currently only 8% of the library's collection is on permanent display; while accessible, most of the collection remains closed to the public due to space limitations and conservation controls. This revitalization will triple the number of works on permanent display.
- Conserving and protecting these valuable works: Enhanced conservation features, including specialized lighting, climate controls and custom building materials, ensure preservation of the collection for future generations.
Architectural Renderings: Moriyama & Teshima Architects
- Flamingo, The Birds of America: from Original Drawings,1826-1838, John James Audubon.
- Portrait of John Graves Simcoe, 1791. Jean Laurent Mosnier. Gift of Sir R. Leicester Harnsworth.
- Septentrionalium Terrarum Descripto, Gerard Mercator, Amsterdam: Jodocus Hondius, 1613. Gift of George Weston Ltd.
- Broadside: Government notice describing the duties of those granted land on Yonge Street, December 29, 1798.
- A Study in Scarlet by Arthur Conan Doyle. In Beeton's Christmas Annual [London]: Ward, Lock [1887].
Enhanced Research and Study Areas
Spaces to support the new ways people seek, study and share information
The revitalization of the Reference Library will see innovative reconfiguration of study and research spaces on the second to fourth floors of the building. Subject departments will be refocused, rethought and realigned, making reference information and resources more accessible and usable. Individual and collaborative study spaces will be flexible, adaptable – even portable – to better facilitate exploration, discovery and information exchange. And custom furniture, open spaces and dramatic sight lines will allow for quiet reflection or serendipitous discovery.
Features:
- Collaborative learning environments such as the Learning Theatre for group presentations, or the Funky Café for small-group meetings and project collaborations.
- 15 free-standing translucent study pods which will ensure secure, comfortable and quiet study for groups of two.
- Modular, portable furniture that will allow users to adapt the space to their different needs.
- Idea Gardens, located on each of the Library floors, will function as spaces for reflection and inspiration. Examples include the Living Wall, the Idea Wall, and others.
Architectural Renderings: Moriyama & Teshima Architects
New and innovative technology
Optimizing connectivity and collaboration
New communication tools, more research stations and refurbished listening and learning labs will connect the public to library resources, and marry the library's new spaces with technology to enable individual and collaborative study, discovery and information exchange.
Features:
- 140 new internet-enabled workstations will expand access and serve growing demand.
- 40 interactive audio visual learning stations will be outfitted with the latest interactive learning technology and will be available for ESL language study and music research.
- A 12-screen Global-Connect Wall on the main floor will offer up-to-the-minute news and business information from around the world.
- A series of large-scale digital display devices, called the Communications Tech Tree, will provide way-finding and program information, and will showcase multi-media art installations and the Special Collections.
- Increased digital displays and projection throughout the building, enhancing the Library's ability to communicate and connect the public with resources, programming and collections within the building.
Architectural Renderings: Moriyama & Teshima Architects
