Bendale

1515 Danforth Road, Toronto, ON M1J 1H5

Hours

Monday	Closed
Tuesday	12:30 pm	to	8:30 pm
Wednesday	10:00 am	to	6:00 pm
Thursday	12:30 pm	to	8:30 pm
Friday	10:00 am	to	6:00 pm
Saturday	9:00 am	to	5:00 pm
Sunday	Closed

Wheelchair Accessible
Free Wifi

Directions, TTC & Parking

View on map

Closest major intersection McCowan Road and Lawrence Ave. East. Located on east side of Danforth Road 2 blocks south of McCowan Road and Lawrence Ave. East. Near Scarborough General Hospital.

Public Transit

McCowan bus #16 stops at library.

Parking

Parking Spaces (28)
Parking Spaces for Disabled (2)

Upcoming Programs

Featured Programs

Tue, Nov 26

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Scarborough Historical Society

Join us for talks on historical subjects. Meetings are free and include refreshments.

Tue, Jan 28

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Scarborough Historical Society

"The Phonograph: How Edison's Invention Changed the World" Mike Bryan, collector, Canadian Antique Phonograph Society...

Tue, Feb 25

7:30 pm - 10:00 pm

Scarborough Historical Society

"The Ward Uncovered: Archaeological Investigations of One of Toronto's First Arrival Communities" Holly Martelle...

Regular Programs

Sat, Nov 23

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

TD Shakespeare for Kids Library Drama Club!

Explore the world of magic, witches, ghosts, silly mix ups, and swordplay & play drama games, read aloud, and act out scen...

Thu, Dec 12

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

Bendale Evening Book Club

Meet fellow book lovers and join the conversation at the monthly evening book club. Books are free to borrow. Register in...

Tue, Dec 17

2:00 pm - 3:00 pm

Afternoon Book Club

Meet fellow book lovers and join the conversation at the monthly evening book club. Books are free to borrow. Register in...

All Branch Programs and Events

Branch Features

General Features

Book Drop - 24 Hours
Express Checkout
Free Parking
Reading Garden
Seating for 15

Equipment for persons with disabilities

Book stand
Computer with screen magnification software (Zoomtext)
Large print keyboard
Large trackball mouse
Magnifier
Natural spectrum lamp
Page turner
Wheelchair accessible furniture

Technology

Collections

Audiobooks on CD
Large Print Collection

Language

Small collection in Chinese , Hindi-Adult (DVDs only) , Tagalog-Adult (DVDs only) , Tamil

Meeting Rooms

For booking information call 416-397-5969.

Auditorium

1000 sq. ft.
Seats 140 lecture style. Seats 52 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 150.
kitchenette
Equipment:
- chairs
- flip chart stand
- podium
- portable whiteboard
- projection screen (ceiling mounted)
- tables

Elevator to the lower level. Wheelchair access to lower level via ramp at back of library and via ramp to front door elevator.

History

Year	Details
1834	Scarborough Subscription Library is organized at a public meeting at St. Andrew's Church, on today's St. Andrews Road. The nucleus of the collection came from the private library of David and Mary Thomson, Scarborough's first European residents, who settled there in 1799. James A. Thomson, David's nephew, was the Society's first librarian and its president, 1860-78. His Springfield Farm House is at 146 St. Andrews Road. In 1846, the library was moved to a small frame building (demolished) on the north side of St. Andrews Road, opposite St. Andrews church cemetery.
1878	Scarborough Mechanics' Institute and Association Library is incorporated on November 20 (registered on December 9), replacing the Scarborough Subscription Library.
1895	Becomes the Scarboro Public Library (not free), when the Ontario Public Library Act replaces mechanics' institutes with public libraries (free and not free).
1896	A library is constructed at today's 117 St. Andrews Road, just east of St. Andrew's Presbyterian Church, as part of Scarborough Township's centennial celebrations. Located on land leased from the church, the "commodious structure 26 x 36 feet" was first used as a museum during anniversary festivities held on June 17 and 18. Shortly after, it was faced with brick and opened as the Scarboro' Centennial Memorial Library. A heritage plaque was dedicated to the building on June 18, 1978 and it was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act on February 11, 1985.
1955	Taken over by the newly-formed Public Library Board of the Township of Scarborough (established by Bylaw 6509 passed by Scarborough Council on August 18, 1955). It is renamed St. Andrew's Branch and officially opens on October 1 as one of three branches in the new system (the others being at Highland Creek and Agincourt).
1961	St. Andrew's Branch is closed. Bendale Branch opens in the current location, 11 May. Mandel Sprachman Architect.
1979	Retrofitted. Mandel Sprachman Architect.
1994	Weekly service hours reduced from 47 to 40, beginning 5 July.
1999	Renovated. Closed 3 May - 4 October. Stephen Teeple Architect.
2007	New open hours, 8 January. Number of open hours per week unchanged.
2010	Hours expanded temporarily to 65.5 weekly, plus Sundays, during Cedarbrae's closure/renovation. Hours returned to 40 hours weekly when Cedarbrae reopened, 6 December.

Land Acknowledgement

Bendale is on Indigenous land. This is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee (ho-den-oh-sho-nee) Confederacy (aka. the Six Nations Confederacy), the Wendat, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Toronto Public Library gratefully acknowledges these Indigenous nations for their guardianship of this land. We'd also like to remind and reaffirm, as Torontonians and Canadians, our accountability to these Indigenous nations, and to all Indigenous peoples and communities living in Toronto.

This land is also part of the Dish with One Spoon territory, a treaty between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (aka. The Six Nations Confederacy), the Anishinaabek (Ah-nish-nah-bek) and allied nations, to peaceably share and care for this land, its waters, and all of the biodiversity in the Great Lakes region. All those who come to live and work here are responsible for honouring this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect. About Land Acknowledgement Statements