Parliament Street

269 Gerrard Street East, Toronto, ON M5A 2G3

Hours

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

Wheelchair Accessible
Free Wifi

Directions, TTC & Parking

View on map

Closest major intersection Parliament Street and Gerrard Street East. Located on southwest corner of Parliament Street and Gerrard Street East.

Public Transit

TTC Carlton #506 streetcar along Gerrard Street.
TTC Parliament #65 bus southbound from Castle Frank subway station.

Parking

Street parking along Berkeley Street.

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

Sat, May 04

11:00 am - 3:00 pm

Inorganic Market - Drop off your electronic waste! EVENT MOVED TO ST LAWRENCE

DUE TO A SCHEDULED BRANCH RENOVATION, THIS EVENT WILL BE MOVED TO THE ST LAWRENCE BRANCH...

Tue, May 07

5:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Asian Heritage Month: Henna Art EVENT MOVED TO ST JAMES TOWN

DUE TO A SCHEDULED BRANCH RENOVATION, THIS PROGRAM WILL BE MOVED TO THE ST JAMES TOWN BRANCH...

Thu, May 16

6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Basic Bike Maintenance with Cycle Toronto EVENT MOVED TO ST LAWRENCE

DUE TO A SCHEDULED BRANCH RENOVATION, THIS EVENT HAS BEEN MOVED TO THE ST LAWRENCE BRANCH.

Regular Programs

Sat, Jul 13

9:30 am - 3:30 pm

Leading to Reading

Leading to Reading is a free program for children Grades 1-6 in need of extra support in reading and writing. Children are...

All Branch Programs and Events

Branch Features

General Features

Book Discussion Group: contact the branch for more information
Book Drop - 24 Hours
Express Checkout
Quiet Study Room (Seats 4)
Seating for 84

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

Adult Literacy Materials
Audiobooks on CD
Large Print Collection
Local History Collection

Language

Large collection in Chinese, French, Tamil
Medium collection in Bengali
Small collection in Amharic - Adult, Hindi (DVDs only), Somali, Spanish, Tigrinya - Adult, Vietnamese

Meeting Rooms

For booking information call 416-397-5969.

Main Floor Meeting Room

300-400 sq. ft.
Seats 24 lecture style. Seats 24 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 30.
Equipment:
- chairs
- 5 tables
Located within the Children's area of the library. Wheelchair accessible. Washrooms available near the main entrance of the library.

Meeting Room

968 sq. ft.
Seats 52 lecture style. Seats 28 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 92.
Equipment:
- tables
- coat hooks (wall-mounted)
- flip chart
- sink
Located on the 2nd floor. Wheelchair accessible.

History

Year	Details
1955	Opened 12 January. Arthur H. Eadie, Architect.
1968	Property acquired at Gerrard Street East, southeast corner of Berkeley Street. Formerly Edwin Snider House (built 1880-1), later H. Beldon and Company.
1969	Parliament Street Library House opened.
1970	Neighbourhood Information Post opened in July 1970 in Parliament Street Library House; incorporated in 1972. Closed on 11 January 1993.
1978	Branch is closed for a $300,000 renovation, 9 October.
1979	Reopened on 18 January; officially reopened on 20 January. Klaus and Marjut Dunker, Casey & Dunker Architects & Planners (Dunker Associates).
1990	Parliament Street Library House is listed on Toronto Historical Board's Inventory of Heritage Properties Inventory of Heritage Properties adopted by City Council, 19 and 20 March. Branch is closed for $1.8 million renovation, 12 November. Baird/Sampson Architects.
1992	Reopened on 3 February; officially reopened on 28 March.
2000	Sunday opening initiated, 10 September.
2007	New hours, 8 January. Hours open per week increased from 60.5 to 65.5.
2010	Closed 31 October for installation and state of good repair renovation. Reopened 6 December.

Parliament Street 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 New 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