Bookraft

Toronto's Reference Library is at the core of the city - right above the Bloor-Yonge subway lines right at Yonge Street's entrance to Rosedale and the Upper suburbs. It is also an architectural beauty both externally and internally - getting constant visitors snapping away at the curves and lines both inside and out.

But most of all the Reference Library really gets used.

The Library has counted over 33 million users over the past 30 years - that works out to about 3300 per day. And over tha past 3 years that library usage has changed profoundly with the adoption of the Internet by the library rapidly. There are now about 200 PC workstations available to the public that are constantly filled and with new, free Wifi facilities about another 150 users can plugin and get the best of both worlds - hard copy books and periodicals as well as the ability to connect to the Net while working on their own personal computer.

This party has seen the latter usage rise dramatically over the past year and a half. You have to get in early to get the best seats and towards high school and university exam periods, the response time on the Internet can take a notable hit. But the library is also becoming a meeting centre. I constantly see events posted and have been to several talks that use the medium size (25-40 users rooms) in the past year.

One of the downside to the library's famed Open Indoor Court design is that the library's main floor gets drafted into being an adhoc large meeting area with capacity for maybe 200-250 people and sound disturbance for many more. In addition exhibitions of art and shows now have to compete with reading space on the main and some of the upper floors. The newly announced revitalization plan aims to change some of these dynamics.

Toronto Reference Library Revitalization

The Library just announced a revitalization plan for $30 million. The city will pay $10million, the Province another 10 million and there will be a private sector donation campaign to collect the last $10million. This plan is being designed by Moriyama & Teshima Architects. Having the original architect/ designer on board is obviously a big plus.

The crux of the plan is to provide three major improvements. There will be a new 650 seat Event Centre plus an expanded Exhibit Gallery. More small spaces for talks and presentations will be designed in including a new glass facade both at the entrance and along Yonge street. Finally, more options and better arrangements for the ever expanding PC connections will also be provided for.

In these days of very tight budgets constraints, especially in Toronto, this appears to be a savvy investment. However, as always, the devil is in the details. For example the city's commitment is over 5 years and the changes will obviously affect access to the facility during renovations - details yet to be specified. Also I am a bit leery of the private sector contribution - I have seen mixed results in other public places in Toronto. The worst case is the SkyDome which was financed by more than 80% with public funds; yet the facility is now completely in private hands and for a pittance to the taxpayers. I will let others decide how well the ROM-Royal Ontario Museum, the new Opera/Ballet Centre, and the AGO-Art Gallery of Ontario have done in the tug of war between public and private interests.

However, I can say this - the Toronto Reference Library has responded fairly well to the change in demographics and usage patterns. True, I saw Wifi service in the rural libraries about a year before TRL; but then the situation reverses on availability of Internet workstations. Also the library has already remodelled to provide more small meeting spaces. What will be interesting to see is how the new Event Space gets used - its right at the core of the city and will inevitably have big demand. Who gets in to use the library's public spaces, when and why (read also "for how much") will be of keen interest.

With opportunities like Google Books, WikiPedia, and collaboration/meeting tools like Webex, Breeze and others all having significant interactive and communication based components, it is good to see that the Toronto Reference Library is committed to enabling these. And the ability to unveil some of the many hidden book, image and other library treasures is no small reward as well. In fact, I see this revitalization as an opportunity to go beyond the Ontario Governments commitment to Lifelong Learning to a broader Lifelong Living Well. On that basis one cannot help but wish the revitalization project well.