Results tagged “torontopubliclibrary”

Long before Colin Medley was the budding-star director of the Torontoist (and some website called "Pitchfork")-approved Diamond Rings video "All Yr Songs," he was planting his scene documentarist roots in his Oshawa stomping grounds. "I was hanging out [at local venue The Dungeon] a lot, so I sort of naturally fell into making show posters and artwork for some local bands. Near the end of high school I started running a [local music] website called Durhamrock.com, and I think I was still seventeen when I first went to the (now-closed) Velvet Elvis, which was this old house that had been converted into a venue. It was really amazing to discover a place like that in Oshawa. I really felt a stronger connection to the music that I was hearing there."

PHOTOGRAPHY: Vincenzo Pietropaolo is a Canadian photographer who works primarily in black-and-white prints. He's well-known for creating social documentary photo essays that are steeped in the greatest empathy. Since 1984, Pietropaolo has been documenting the lives of migrant farm workers in Ontario, and tonight, the culmination of that work will come out with the launch of his new book, Harvest Pilgrims: Mexican and Caribbean Migrant Farm Workers in Canada. Pietropaolo will participate in a talk about his work at the launch. Stephen Bulger Gallery (1026 Queen Street West), 7–9 p.m., FREE.

CELEBRATION: St. Lawrence Market has been a culinary hub of our city since even before we were a city (talk about putting the cart before the horse). This year, while the City of Toronto is celebrating its 175th anniversary, St. Lawrence Market is celebrating 205 years of food and freshness. It won’t be your usual Saturday at the market with live music, buskers, cooking demonstrations, children’s activities, and guided tours of the building. In honour of the city’s birthday, many farmers, merchants, and artisans will be featuring products for the special prices of $1.75 and $11.75. St. Lawrence Market (93 Front Street East), Saturday 9 a.m.–4 p.m., FREE.

"I probably don't even need this microphone, to be honest!" Frontman Odario Williams and the rest of his genre-bending hip-hop group Grand Analog launched the Toronto Public Library's current Make Some Noise series straight from the kids' section of the College/Shaw branch last night, and the alternative venue proved a somehow very fitting setting for an affair that's typically relegated to dark clubs at late hours that no adorable two-year-old would ever be able to attend.

Douglas Coupland could have taken better stock of his surroundings before he spoke. The writer of Generation X and jPod was on stage in the Toronto Reference Library's new event space, the Bram and Bluma Appel Salon, for the space's inaugural event on September 23, the first of three planned installments of The Writer's Room, a series of author interviews hosted by the Globe's Ian Brown. The event was styled as a gala opening for the Salon, complete with a cash bar. The public had turned out in droves, drawn by Coupland's celebrity, and also by free admission. But there were career librarians in the room as well, basking in the Reference Library's beautiful new gathering space. And Coupland had to go and poke their collective sore spot.

MUSIC: Elvis Monday is a long-standing staple of the Toronto indie music scene at twenty-five years, featuring performances by Cowboy Junkies, Blind Melon, and Peaches. Current darlings Whale Tooth play tonight. Mad Highway, Frank Nevada, and People of Canada round out the lineup for this always worth-a-look showcase. The Drake Hotel Underground (1150 Queen Street West), 9 p.m., FREE.

              

If you've never been to a library opening before you might be surprised to realize that they tend to attract crowds. At yesterday's reopening of the Bloor/Gladstone branch, for instance, a throng of eager readers was waiting in the rain a half-hour before they were to be let inside, and once the doors did open it took twenty minutes for the line to clear. Kids ran downstairs to check out their colourful new play areas, longtime patrons set off to find the new locations of their old favourite sections, and the social butterflies settled into the sparkling computer lab for a status update or two. You could hardly blame them: they'd been without their library for nearly three years, and the enthusiasm with which the branch was welcomed back was delightful to behold.

ART: The Stephen Bulger Gallery hosts the opening reception for a solo exhibit of photographer Scott Conarroe’s new large-format colour series, “By Rail.” Conarroe grew up in Edmonton and earned his art degrees on both the east and west coasts of Canada, giving him a pretty good foundation in landscape appreciation. His signature shots of empty infrastructure continues with this documentation of North American railways. (The exhibit is accompanied by free rail-themed movie screenings on Saturdays at the gallery’s adjacent Camera Bar, on through September 12.) Stephen Bulger Gallery (1026 Queen Street West), 5–8 p.m., FREE.

FAMILY: The snakes are slithering off the pages of books from the 597 shelf at the library this afternoon. During "The Mystery Of Snakes," children (ages 7–12) will learn about these reptiles through a live presentation and slide show. Today's event is part of a series of free summer programs happening at Toronto Public Library branches across the city, which include storytelling, author and illustrator visits, the children's mystery-themed TD Summer Reading Club (detectives-in-training even receive a free "spy kit" with a poster, stickers, and an activity book), and the Word Out! teen reading program. If you can't make it out to your local library, TPL also offers some at-home options with oodles of online activities at KidsSpace and Dial-a-Story, available twenty-four hours a day in eleven languages. Palmerston Library (560 Palmerston Avenue), 1–2 p.m., FREE. Register by calling 416-393-7680.

Urban Planner is Torontoist's daily guide to what's on in Toronto, published every morning. If you have an event you'd like considered, email all of its details—as well as images, if you've got any—to events@torontoist.com.

For too long, the aging 1950s-style architecture of many Toronto libraries has stood in stark contrast to the fantastic materials and services available within. But, finally, with the TPL’s Renovation and Revitalization program, new and sleek designs are ending the disparity. Since amalgamation, the library has renovated sixteen branches, reconstructed eleven branches, and built two new branches. So far, the redesigns and relocations have been a success. When Jane and Sheppard opened earlier this month, the new building was met with immediate praise. Previously, the Jane and Sheppard Branch had been a small ugly little thing tucked away inside the Jane and Sheppard Mall, but now the library shines like a glass beacon of literary enlightenment. "Jane and Sheppard has a good feeling now; very light and open," explained Anne Bailey, director of Branch Libraries, when we talked to her about the renovation project.

The Toronto Public Library wants to find you a job, or at least that’s one of the goals of the TPL’s new Job Help Blog. Early this February, the TPL launched the site in conjunction with Toronto Helps to assist out-of-work Torontonians in their job hunts. "We were invited by the City to participate in a citywide initiative," explained Dara Renton, manager of the Virtual Reference Library. "It was a great opportunity." The blog is also part of a plan to increase the TPL's job and career focused programs by 35%. According to Renton, "the economic downturn has had a huge impact on library services." In comparison to last year, library visits and the use of resources have increased by 20%.

"Feminist." "Ex-neo-Nazi." "Teenager."

MUSIC: Get ready for bright lights and throbbing bass in the library(?) today as the "The Amazing Technicolour Rock Show," hosted by Toronto punk-house band Kids on TV, hits the stacks. The workshop will show youth how to integrate multimedia and storytelling into their music performances, as part of the Toronto Public Library's "Make Some Noise, Take Some Noise" campaign. Northern District Branch of the Toronto Public Library (40 Orchard View Boulevard), 7 p.m., FREE.

Every Saturday morning Historicist looks back at the events, places, and characters—good and bad—that have shaped Toronto into the city we know today.

After more than twenty months of renovations that saw the building completely gutted, the S. Walter Stewart branch of the Toronto Public Library is finally reopening tomorrow. If you grew up in East York, you're probably familiar with the building. Named after a long-serving member of the East York Public Library Board and now part of the amalgamated Toronto Public Library, S. Walter Stewart was originally opened in 1960 as the Borough of East York's main library. The building has two main claims to fame: it is the only circular library branch in the TPL (and one of few in the world, at least two of which are in Canada including the Library of Parliament in Ottawa and the Vancouver Central Library on Caprica), and it's home to an important collection of sixteen A.Y. Jackson paintings on permanent loan from the East York Foundation.

From April 19 to June 28, the Toronto Reference Library (789 Yonge Street) hosts From Hanga to Manga: The Graphic Art of Japanese Storytelling—hanga being the Japanese art of woodblock printing, and manga being your otaku nephew's reason for living, that is. The exhibition features a collection of rare illustrated books, woodblock prints, and comics from the libraries of the TPL Special Collections, the ROM, and Japan Foundation Toronto.

Good news for all those who get mild motion sickness when they stare at the seventies-style, geometric orange carpet in the atrium of the Toronto Reference Library—it was announced earlier today that the Provincial government will be contributing 10 million dollars to the campaign to renovate and expand it. The total cost of the project, which will take place over the next five years, is estimated at 30 million dollars—the other two thirds coming from the City of Toronto and the private sector.

Panel from Emily Pohl-Weary and Willow Dawson's Violet Miranda: Girl Pirate #4, courtesy of Willow Dawson.

The amount of events this week are bursting at the seams. Keep Toronto Reading is kicking it into full gear this month with various readings across library branches, Lit Lunches, and various One Book events. There are just too many to list here. Visit the KTR calendar to see all event details and plan out your literary excursions. And if you have any kids, you can join Gisèle from TVOKids for various library tours, as well as kids' events at the ROM and Science Centre.

Next Monday, February 4, Keep Toronto Reading will launch its One Book program at the Toronto Reference Library. There will be performances by Soprano Mary Lou Fallis, who will sing popular songs from the 1850s, and Ross Manson who will perform two dramatic readings from Consolation. The event will be hosted by Tina Srebotnjak, who will interview Michael Redhill, author of Consolation. You can check out all One Book events here.

Torontoist is ending the year by naming our Heroes and Villains of 2007––the people, places, and things that we've either fallen head over heels in love with or developed uncontrollable rage towards over the past twelve months. Get your dose, starting Boxing Day and running into the new year, three times a day––sunrise, noon, and sunset.

The Toronto Public Library is an undeniably important public space in this city. Beyond offering a sanctuary for quiet study and learning, library branches provide after-school programming for youth as well as settlement information and language resources for newcomers. It’s little wonder that this fall, even as he was threatening budget cuts, David Miller remarked: "Our libraries are where people become Torontonians." Striving to remain relevant and innovative, the public library constantly introduces new programs, such as this year’s Museum and Arts Passes, free Wi-Fi access, and downloadable books, movies, and music.

Are you tired of study sessions completely uninterrupted by YouTube clips? Have you resorted to reading books and periodicals rather than maintaining a constant vigil over your Facebook profile? If this behaviour sounds familiar to you, and you live near one of these locations (that is Agincourt, Albion, Albert Campbell, Bridlewood, Centennial, Eatonville, Flemingdon Park, Gerrard/Ashdale, Lillian H. Smith, Mimico, Morningside, North York Central, Parkdale, Parliament, Richview, Riverdale, Toronto Reference, Woodside Square, and York Woods), you can finally breathe a sigh of relief. For today, the Toronto Public Library announces an expansion of its wireless internet service to 19 of its branches. That's 19 down, and only 80 left to go. But hey, it's a good start! And yes, this wi-fi is totally free to use.

Photo by EIFF.

Cost containment measures designed to save 1.2 million dollars by year-end were recently announced by the Toronto Public Library. Included in these measures is the cancellation of Sunday service at sixteen branches for the remainder of the year. Torontoist feels now may be a good time to visit your local branch and pay any overdue fines.

Stage Struck: 100 Years At The Royal Alex, a free exhibition commemorating the Royal Alexandra Theatre's centennial, opened yesterday at the Toronto Reference Library. Torontoist was at the opening to oggle at the rare playbills, posters and other paraphernalia that would make any theatre geek weak in the knees.

The Toronto Public Library is the only good thing to have come from amalgamation. One of the worst things to have come from amalgamation, on the other hand, is City Council's insistence that everything that it doesn't do is a result of not being able to afford to do it, and that everything that it does do is a result of not being able to afford not to do it.

There are things that go on in this city at night that are far weirder than the leather-clad teenagers on Queen West. Did you know that vampires stalk High Park? Or that Toronto Police Services crossed into another dimension to investigate a suspicious death? No? Then you should check out Karen Bennett’s Fantastic Toronto project.

From the million-record-selling stadium band to that guy who used to sell cassettes on Queen Street, Torontoist readers share their stories of the city's lost-but-not-forgotten musical acts. Today's Revisited review comes from Cameron Gordon.