Parkdale

1303 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M6K 1L6

Contact Parkdale

Hours

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

Parkdale on Twitter

Wheelchair Accessible
Free Wifi

Directions, TTC & Parking

View on map

Closest major intersection Queen Street West and Dufferin Street. Located on the south side of Queen Street West at Cowan Ave.

Public Transit

TTC Dufferin bus #29 southbound from Dufferin subway station to Queen Street, walk 5 minutes west to the library.
TTC streetcar #501 along Queen Street West to Brock Street.

Parking

Free

Parkdale Manager

Eva Lew

elew@torontopubliclibrary.ca

416-393-7408

Featured Services

Toronto Reference Library subjects by floor

Book a librarian for research or technology help.

Rare books and special collections

Visit TD Gallery
Showcasing art, artifacts, manuscripts and more.

Upcoming Programs

Featured Programs

Tue, Aug 28

6:30 pm - 8:00 pm

LGBTQ + Allies Book Club

Join us for our next meeting where we will discuss Any Day Now: How Toronto Got Queer, an anthology of essays.

Fri, Sep 07

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Live in the Library - Epic String Quartet

From Bach to Bartok, from ragtime to hoe-down, this versatile quartet performs a wide variety of musical styles. They even...

Sat, Sep 15

1:30 pm - 3:30 pm

Canadian Citizenship Test Preparation Session

LSP: Are you preparing for the Canadian Citizenship Test?...

Regular Programs

Tue, Aug 21

4:00 pm - 5:00 pm

After School Makers Club

Join us and make something new! Each week we will have a new activity led by a member of our staff. LEGO, crafts, STEM cha...

Wed, Sep 05

7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

Toronto Poetry Circle

Come join us in discovering poetry! All are welcome who are interested in learning about, sharing and discussing diverse c...

Fri, Sep 07

10:30 am - 11:00 am

Baby Time

Bouncing and tickling rhymes, songs and stories for babies from birth to 18 months with their parents or caregivers. ...

All Branch Programs and Events

Branch Features

General Features

Book Drop - 24 Hours
Express Checkout
Individual Study Rooms
Light Therapy Lamp
Parkdale Community Information Centre
Piano/Practice Room
Seating for 120
Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library

Equipment for persons with disabilities

Book stand
Computers with screen magnification software (Zoomtext) (2)
Large print keyboard
Large trackball mouse
Magnifier
Natural spectrum lamp
Page turner
Wheelchair accessible furniture

Technology

Collections

Adult Literacy Materials
Audiobooks on CD
Large Print Collection
Local History Collection
Rita Cox Black & Caribbean Heritage

Language

Large collection in Chinese - Adult
Medium collection in French, Tamil
Small collection in Hindi (DVDs only), Polish, Tibetan - Adult, Vietnamese

Meeting Rooms

For booking information call 416-397-5969.

Auditorium

3,610 sq. ft
Seats 160 lecture style. 52 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 260.
Equipment:
- chairs
- screen (ceiling mounted)
- tables
- kitchen

Meeting Room A

650 sq. ft.
Seats 30 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 70.
Equipment:
- chairs
- tables

Meeting Room B

239 sq. ft.
Seats 15 lecture style. Seats 15 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 23.
Equipment:
- chairs
- tables

Meeting Room and auditorium are on the basement level. Elevator. Accessible washroom available.

History

Year	Details
1880	Parkdale Library Association and Mechanics' Institute established, November.
1881	Library opened, 1 November. Located in school-house of St. Mark's Church, Cowan Avenue, east side, south of Queen Street West.
1888	Relocated to Town of Parkdale's former council chamber and municipal offices, Queen Street West, south side, east of Cowan Avenue.
1889	Town of Parkdale annexed to Toronto, 23 March. Books and furniture of Parkdale Library Association and Mechanics' Institute transferred to TPL, 10 May.
1890	Relocated to Dundas Street Branch, opened 25 January. Rented premises, Dundas Street (now Ossington Avenue), west side, just north of Queen Street West.
1903	Carnegie Corporation of New York granted $350,000 to TPL for new central library and 3 branch library buildings. Toronto's Carnegie Libraries - Queen and Lisgar
1907	Site acquired Queen Street West, southeast corner Lisgar Street.
1909	Dundas Street Branch closed March 15. Queen and Lisgar Branch opened 30 April. Architect Robert McCallum, City Architect.
1962	Site acquired for Parkdale Branch, Queen Street West, southeast corner of Cowan Avenue.
1964	Queen and Lisgar Branch closed. Relocated to Parkdale Branch, opened 28 February. Resource branch for region, also housed Languages and Literature Centre. Gordon S. Adamson & Associates, Architects.
1970	Community Information Post opened.
1990	Learning Centre opened.
1993	Closed 21 June for carpet replacement. Reopened 5 July.
1998	Closed 7 December for retrofit. Bookmobile stop provided during closure.
1999	Reopened 26 June.
2007	New hours, 8 January. Hours open per week increased from 60.5 to 65.5.
2016	The Sun Life Financial Musical Instrument Lending Library opened in April. It is the first of its kind in the city, and also the first in public libraries across Canada.