Toronto Reference Library Blog

Book Sale Today at TRL

Yes, those wonderful Friends of the Library, South Chapter, are at it again!

 

Another book sale today, Saturday July 28, this time in the Beeton Auditorium on the main floor of the Toronto Reference Library.

The sale runs from 9 am - 4 pm today.

Nothing cost more than 50 cents, and discounts available when you buy more:

Today's prices:

CDs - $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00
Children and Youth - $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00
DVDs - $0.50 each or 3 for $1.00
Fiction Hard-cover - $0.50 each  or 3 for $1.00
Fiction Trade-paperbacks - $0.50 each  or 3 for $1.00
Magazines - $0.10 each
Non-Fiction - $0.50 each or 3 for $1.00
Other Languages - $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00
Pocket Books - $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00
Videos - $0.25 each or 5 for $1.00

 

And a tip from the Friends - the book sales are also advertised on booksalefinder.com

 

 

The Humanities and Social Sciences Department, or... what's on the 2nd floor anyway?

More than renovations are happening at the Toronto Reference Library--books, magazines and whole departments are moving and changing.  In May 2012, the new Humanities and Social Sciences Department (or HSS, or Aitch Es Es) was formed on the second floor.

So what will you find there?

Religion, Myth, Philosophy      

 

 

 

Psychology, Sociology, Self Help    

 

 

 

Economics, Politics, Warfare

 

 

 

Law, Education, Parenting    

 

 

 

True Crime, Poverty, Social Problems
 
 

 

 

Urban Studies, City Planning, Toronto      Collection

 

 

 

History, Geography, Travel  

 

 

 

Sports, Games, Recreation

 

 

  

Customs, Folklore, Paranormal

 

 

 

Coming in late summer 2012

Genealogy, Local History, Maps

 

 

 

(Some images courtesy freedigitalphotos.net; Tourism Toronto)

Strolling Down the Avenues

Toronto is reviewing its Official Plan, the general blueprint for future growth and development. Concurrently, the City Planning Department zeroes in on specific areas, neighbourhoods and streets that need revitalization. These reports and recommendations are called Area or Avenue Studies.

Here's a sampling of some Area and Avenue Studies available at the Reference Library:

 The Avenue Road Avenue Study                                                 Kingston Rd.                                    

Avenues and Mid-Rise Buildings Study

 

St. Clair Avenue West Study

   O'Connor Drive Avenue Study

 Look for the Toronto Collection in the Humanities and Social Sciences Department, 2nd floor, for books, reports, magazines and community newspapers on our neighbourhoods.

Toronto's Green Roof Bylaw

 

 

Toronto is the first city in North America to require that all new buildings incorporate a green roof. This bylaw came into effect in 2009 and there are currently 135 completed green roofs in the city. Benefits of green roofs include reduced storm water runoff, reduced energy consumption, better air quality and increased green space.

 

Green roofs can be either Intensive or Extensive. Intensive roofs can be used for recreational purposes and support vegetation with deep roots, such as trees. Extensive roofs are designed for plants with shallow roots. They require less maintenance and are lighter and less expensive to install.

While new buildings often use a complete green roof system (all parts of the roof support plant growth), retrofitting an older buiding can involve a modular system (trays of plants grown off-site are placed on the existing roof) or vegetation blankets (rolls of plants are set on the existing roof). For more information see the City of Toronto's What is a Green Roof?

The Business, Science and Technology Department has a great selection of books about designing and constructing green roofs and living walls. Green Roofs: Ecological Design and Construction features Toronto as a Municipal Case Study, and the three green roofs discussed are Mountain Equipment Co-op, Queen's Quay and City Hall.

 

Book Sale on NOW at TRL

Want to get out of the heat, find a good book, and relax for the day?  Why not pop in to the Toronto Reference Library anytime before 4 pm today for the Friends of the Library's very first Cube Sale!

 

All books are only a dollar - hard covers or paperbacks.

 

  

 

Tables are set up in the brand new Cube Entrance with loads of harcovers and paperbacks to choose from.

 

 

Our Friends of the Library also run the fabulous expanded Book Ends South which is open today 12-5 p.m. So there are even more goodies there to choose from.

You are guaranteed to find a bargain. Hope to see you today.

 

 

Exploring Maps Online Part 3: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Canadian Cities

Several of the sites listed here, are the same as those listed in Parts 1 and 2 of Exploring Maps Online.

The Atlas of Canada

The Atlas of Canada provides "authoritative, current and accessible geographic information products at a national level."

Elections Canada and Elections Ontario

Environment Canada – Environmental Indicators

The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Library of Congress – Panoramic Maps 1847-1929

Ontario Archives – The Changing Shape of Ontario: A Guide to Boundaries, Names and Regional Governments

This exhibit includes maps of southern and central Ontario c1951. They are accessible by county name or through an interactive map.

University of Toronto Digital Maps Collection

Most of the collection is Toronto maps, but there are historical maps of cities across Canada and the U.S. as well.

University of Waterloo Subject Guide: Online Mapping
Maps of cities all over Southern Ontario are organized by location and theme and include links to many interactive maps.

University of Waterloo Subject Guide: Cartographic Materials, Municipal GIS in Canada

List of interactive maps of Ontario including many of specific Ontario cities

Additional Sites

These collections include digital maps and geospatial data sets relating to Toronto and other Canadian cities. It is not possible to view these collections on a TPL computer, but they are large collections.

The Canadian Atlas Online

City of Toronto Archives

This site contains a large collection of aerial photographs of Toronto. The digitized maps in this collection are presented in SID format which is not compatible with Macs. PC users will have to download the MrSID plug-in in order to view the maps in detail. Software is loaded onto public computers at Research Hall (255 Spadina Road).

GeoGratis

GeoGratis is a portal provided by the Earth Sciences Sector (ESS) of Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) which provides geospatial data at no cost and without restrictions via your Web browser.

Maps and Data at Ryerson

Note: accessible only to Ryerson University students

Scholars GeoPortal

Note: requires access through subscribing institution (e.g., Ryerson, York, University of Toronto)

Toronto.ca/open

York University – Geospatial Data

Note: accessible only to York University students

back to . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 1: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto
back to . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 2: Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto by Type

revised: July 2012/HSS/rm-kw

Exploring Maps Online Part 2: Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto by Type

There are many different types of maps.

The following listing of maps, by type, cite the same sources that were listed in Part 1.

Aerial Photographs

The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Base Maps

The Atlas of Canada – Map Archives

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

City Planning

City of Toronto

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans 

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Environment & Conservation

The Atlas of Canada

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project 

Environment Canada

Fire Insurance Plans

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

Historic

City of Toronto Archives

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project 

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans 

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

Toronto Public Library Map of Neighbourhood Historical  Resources

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Land Use & Zoning

City of Toronto

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Municipal Services

The Atlas of Canada 

City of Toronto

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans 

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Parks & Recreation

The Atlas of Canada

City of Toronto

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Social Trends

BlogTO Neighbourhood Guides

City of Toronto

Roads & Transportation

The Atlas of Canada

City of Toronto 

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Topographic Maps

The Atlas of Canada

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

Wards & Electoral Boundaries

City of Toronto

Elections Canada

Elections Ontario

Waterfront

The Atlas of Canada

City of Toronto

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

University of Toronto Map & Data Library

. . . next . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 3: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Canadian Cities
. . . back . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 1: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto

 

revised: July 2012/HSS/rm-kw

Exploring Maps Online Part 1: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto

 

This guide, in three parts, is meant to help researchers find digital maps of Toronto and other Canadian Cities. All collections include at least some maps in formats viewable on Toronto Public Library computers. See part three for a list of Additional Sources for Toronto digital map collections with limited access or format types incompatible with TPL computers.

Recent advances in technology have supported the development of geographic information systems (GIS), which are available through many of the following sources. GIS make it easy to represent geospatial datasets as maps and are typically interactive.

Toronto Public Library Digital Archive

Use this site to find over 600 digitized maps of Toronto ranging in date from 1788 to 1913. The collection includes base maps, city planning maps, fire insurance plans, historic and waterfront maps. All maps are in JPEG format.



Search tips: On the right-hand side of the page is the option to Browse by Subjects. Select Toronto. On the left-hand side is the option to further narrow results by Subject. Select Maps. These can be sorted further by neighbourhood name or map type (e.g., fire insurance). 

Toronto Public Library Map of Neighbourhood Historical Resources

This interactive neighbourhood map links you to books and digitized maps and photos in the Toronto Public Library’s local history collections.

City of Toronto 

Use this site to find up-to-date maps of Toronto on a variety of topics, such as city planning, land use & zoning, parks & recreation, roads & transportation, and wards & electoral boundaries. The site also offers a number of GIS tools that map all of the above topics as well as social trends and municipal services.  See maps by topic for direct links to maps not listed on the Toronto Maps page.

Don Valley Historical Mapping Project

This resource’s collection includes over 100 maps of Toronto and the Don River Valley watershed ranging from 1780 to 1962 in a variety of types and topics, including city planning, environment & conservation, fire insurance plans, historic, topographic and waterfront.  These images are available to view in JPEG or TIF format. The project has also compiled a number of geospatial datasets which are presented in formats that are incompatible with TPL computers. 

Elections Canada and Elections Ontario

These sites provide maps of federal and provincial electoral districts in Toronto.

Environment Canada – Environmental Indicators

The site provides local and regional environmental indicators using multiple accessible map and data formats.

The Atlas of Canada 

Use this site to find Toporama, a GIS map of Canada that includes a detailed map of Toronto. Available geospatial datasets cover topics such as environment & conservation, municipal services, roads & transportation, topography and waterfront. The map archives contain a small number of historical maps of Toronto.

BlogTO Neighbourhood Guides

This site maps the restaurants and stores voted “best in Toronto” in each of Toronto’s neighbourhoods.

The Gateway to Astronaut Photography of Earth

This site catalogues over one million images of the Earth from space. An interactive map search function allows users to focus in on any area of the Earth they choose. There are thousands of pictures of Canadian cities captured from space. 

Library and Archives Canada - Maps, Charts and Architectural Plans 

There are around 200 digital maps of Toronto ranging in date from 1788 to 1933. Map collection covers a variety of types and topics including aerial photographs, base maps, city planning, fire insurance plans, historic, land use & zoning, municipal services, parks & recreation, roads & transportation, and waterfront. Most digital maps are easily viewable in PDF format.

Search tips: All records in the Maps, Chart and Plans collection are accessible using the Archives Search tool. Search for Toronto using the Title Keyword search option to eliminate maps published in Toronto. Beside Type of material select maps and cartographic material. Search for York and NOT New to eliminate maps published in New York. The results of these searches can be narrowed to display only maps that are available online.

University of Toronto Map & Data Library 

Use this site to find hundreds of maps of Toronto ranging in date from 1780 to 1990. Maps in this collection contain the following types and topics: aerial photographs, base maps, city planning, historic, land use & zoning, roads & transportation, topographical and waterfront. There are maps of Toronto neighbourhoods and suburbs. Much of the collection is taken from the Don Valley Historical Mapping Project. Map formats vary but may include ZOOMIFY, PDF, JPEG, JPEG 2000, ECW, and TIF. Some are ZIP files which are inaccessible on a TPL computer.  Some maps and most of the large GIS data inventory of Toronto materials are restricted to University of Toronto students and faculty.

. . . next . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 2: Sources of Digital Maps of Toronto by Type
. . . then . . . Exploring Maps Online Part 3: Major Sources of Digital Maps of Canadian Cities

revised: July 2012/HSS/rm-kw