New to Canada

Music is a universal language. When my parents first moved to Canada, one thing that brought them together with their new friends was gathering for a meal and listening to music from their record collection. I remember Michael Jackson’s Bad and Whitney Houston’s debut album were both in heavy rotation.

I still can’t forget the day the mischievous son of one of my parent’s friends decided the Michael Jackson Bad album would make a great Frisbee and threw it off our balcony! I remember watching wide-eyed as the shiny black disc landed on the roof of someone’s car.  I'm sad to say the record did not survive the fall. 

Thankfully, the library has a large collection of music for borrowing. If your love of music has you itching to try a new instrument, the Toronto Public Library can also help with that!  We have two Musical Instrument Lending Libraries at Downsview Branch and Parkdale Branch. These branches have a collection of instruments (guitars, ukuleles, bongos, violins and more) that can be borrowed for free with a valid library card. 

The Sun Life Musical Instrument Lending Library is the first of its kind in the city, and also the first in public libraries across Canada! With generous support from Sun Life through their Making the Arts More Accessible program, Toronto Public Library can offer families in Toronto an affordable (free!) way to learn a new instrument.

You may borrow one instrument at a time, and the loan period is for three weeks. You are allowed two renewals, which means you can keep the instrument for up to nine weeks in total. Instruments must be returned to the Musical Instrument Lending Library branch that they were borrowed from.

Make sure you watch the video about how to take care your musical instrument and then have a great time learning and practicing with your instrument.

Have you used our Musical Instrument Lending Library?  Share your experiences in the comments section below!