Computer and Library Training

Need to brush up on your computer skills, find just what you’re looking for? Are you having problems downloading eBooks? What is social networking? When is it best to use an online journal?

The Toronto Public Library offers a wide variety of classes for anyone wanting to use information effectively, either in print, or electronically. It’s free.

Classesare offered in 15 branches of the library system, equipped with “learning centres,” specifically designed to deliver public training. Each branch advertises its classes on the web site, or locally through flyers. Many, though not all, require registration.

Something for Everyone

If you have no computer experience start with courses like Move that Mouse, and Web Basics for Seniors Parts I and II. We will teach you everything you need to know to find information on the internet.

You can then move on to courses like Web Basics I, II, and III, and Research Skills, as well as instruction on specific library resources like online journals, genealogy and eBooks.

We also teach you how to use web sites to share information, like Yahoo Mail, Facebook and Flickr. Classes are also offered on the use of Microsoft Word, Excel and PowerPoint.

Toronto Reference Library and North York Central Library offer regular drop-in sessions where seniors can practice their computer skills, share information with peers and learn new computer skills.

Learning can be fun. Over the years we’ve seen how our patrons, who started with no computer skills, have progressed through the wide array of courses we offer. They are now effectively using complex online journal databases and e-content. These same patrons took courses such as Digital Design Studio Basics and are now building their own web sites using Photoshop and its equivalent open source software!

Helping the Young Researcher

Students benefit from the library’s outreach librarians’ visits to Toronto schools, where they teach the basic skills required to do research. High school teachers regularly bring their classes to the library too, where they will be offered orientation to library collections, and/or classes specifically tailored to their research needs.

One-On-One training

We offer short sessions, tutorials, where we help you learn a specific skill, such as setting up an email account, or borrowing eBooks.

To find out about our classes and learning opportunities, click on the Programs, Classes & Exhibits link on the library’s home page and select "Computer and Library Learning" from the menu. You can also call or drop in to you local your branch.

Help us expand and tailor our computer and library learning services:

1. Have you taken classes at any of the branches of the Toronto Public Library?

2. What kinds of classes, not currently offered at the library, would you like us to offer?

Guest Post From An Enthusiastic TPL Fan

Five years ago, I started a project of visiting all 99 (now 98) Toronto Public Libraries and writing about them in a blog called Breakfast in Scarborough. As a frequent library user and devoted fan, I am happy to write a guest post that assesses TPL’s service delivery.

Starting with the positive, TPL does an exemplary job of making its services accessible to diverse patrons from all over the GTA. When I visited the Ward’s Island and Queen’s Quay bookmobile stops, branches in Scarborough malls, downtown libraries, and quiet residential branches in Etobicoke, I marvelled at the breadth of TPL’s multilingual offerings as well as the depth of its general collections for children, teens, and adults. The library also offers services for patrons with disabilities, such as Sign Language provision, CCTV print magnifiers, and a Mobile Library Service for people with mobility difficulties.

Second, TPL scores high on their programs. Over the past two years, I have visited the Textile Museum of Canada on a MAP pass, taken a poetry workshop, experienced Gaga dance, learned about Rumi, listened to survivor testimonies during Holocaust Education Week, and heard stories from the Carribean. All for free!

My final point of praise is for the “scope for the imagination” (à la Anne of Green Gables) that our city’s library spaces provide. In our hyper-commercialized modern world, we need nourishment for our creativity, such as a window seat in the sun at Malvern Branch or a minstrel’s gallery at Wychwood that call out for dreamers to inhabit them. And when I see an ark at Fairview, a stained glass window at Taylor Memorial, a woolen castle at Deer Park, or a magical stairway at Lillian H. Smith, I am transported from everyday concerns and encouraged to be fanciful. I’m so glad that Toronto’s lucky kids have the opportunity to read inside a castle turret at Malvern, play in a riverboat at Cedarbrae, or do their homework in a historic attic like Main Street’s.

Positive aspects far outnumber the negative. However, if I had to pick a few areas for TPL to improve, they would include certain bureaucratic tendencies that generate a bewildering array of paperwork and inhibit staff from making decisions independently of their branch heads.

For example, when I’ve made requests to take photographs of the libraries, especially when my blog wasn’t very well known within the system, I’ve been met with lots of “I’ll have to talk to my supervisor” and presented with a variety of permission forms. Often there was confusion over the right form for me to fill out, which meant lots of time wasted while I was itching to get on with my work.

Truthfully, I haven’t minded the permission-form hassle nearly as much as the handful of times that staff treated my project with outright mistrust and suspicion. It has been irritating to be officiously informed, “You do know you cannot take pictures of patrons in the library!” when I have faithfully respected this rule for five years. I understand that legitimate privacy concerns exist, but I’d like to be given a little credit for not being an insensitive oaf.

What are my suggestions for a system that’s already committed to accessibility, cultural enrichment, and creativity? Keep doing the impressive work that endears you to Torontonians but add a greater degree of friendly flexibility to avoid becoming an impersonal monolith of officiousness. Long may you prosper!

Small Business Matters at the Library

Toronto Public Library supports small business owners and entrepreneurs in a variety of ways, some traditional and some unexpected.

Spaces to Meet and Work

Every one of our 98 branches is a potential work or meeting place, with tables, free wifi, and computers with Internet and MS Office.  Many locations also have meeting rooms and auditoriums that can be rented for reasonable rates.

Expert Staff Assistance

Librarians at the district and research and reference libraries have knowledge and access to specialized content on business topics.  This support is available at information desks, through the business blog, or during a scheduled one-on-one consultation on business resources.

Specialized Business Resources

We have books, e-books and articles on marketing, business plans, human resources and financing, and your library card gives you access to more than 25 business databases, such as Associations Canada, Scott’s Business Directories Online, and Mergent Online, which provides company information and annual reports.

Programs and Seminars

Throughout the year, the library offers free seminars and workshops on social media, market research, franchising, and more.  New entrepreneurs just starting out can apply to Business Inc., a nine week comprehensive program offered in association with Toronto Business Development Centre.

Small Business Month

This October we celebrate Small Business Month with a broad range of programs throughout the city and, for the first time, an Entrepreneur in Residence who can advise and answer small business questions during programs, through regular blog posts, and at one-on-one consultations.

Join the Conversation!

Toronto Public Library is developing the Strategic Plan 2012-2015 to help achieve its draft vision:

Toronto Public Library will be recognized as the world’s leading public library, helping make Torontonians smarter, successful and resilient, through excellent and responsive service.

Your feedback is invaluable. Help the library develop this plan for residents of Toronto.

Please have your say by telling us:

1. How has the library helped you start or build your own business?
2. What small business information is most important to you?
3. How else can the library help create and inspire a city of innovators, entrepreneurs, and creators of all ages?

Making Ontario Home: settlement and integration services

Hi, I’m Debbie Douglas, executive director of OCASI – the Ontario Council of Agencies Serving Immigrants, and we recently released a study called Making Ontario Home, the first study of its kind to ask immigrants and refugees about their use of and satisfaction with settlement and integration services. The goal is to use the information to ensure that immigrants and refugees are getting the right types of services at the right place and the right time. The study was funded by the Ministry of Citizenship and Immigration. Over 2,500 newcomers from across Ontario answered a detailed survey about their settlement service use, and they had some interesting things to tell us!

The survey asked about service use in three areas: employment services, language services and general settlement services (like counselling or information and referrals). More than 83% of respondents said they had used one or more settlement support services. Specifically:

• 54.7% reported using language training programs and services;

• 50% used employment and skills training programs and services;

• 38.4% used general settlement and integration services.

Respondents had a high degree of satisfaction with all three service areas, but satisfaction with employment services was lowest. We think this lower satisfaction has a lot to do with the fact that many newcomers have a hard time finding adequate jobs that correspond to their skill and educational level because of factors such as economic conditions, an insistence on “Canadian experience,” and discrimination. These are factors that neither immigrants nor service agencies can address on their own. This reminds us that successful settlement and integration is a collective effort, where governments, service agencies, private enterprise, the public and individual immigrants all have important roles to play.

Another interesting finding was that the level of education didn’t affect the likelihood of accessing settlement and integration services. That is, someone with a Master’s degree was just as likely to use language training services as someone with a high school education. What was different was the specific services used as well as when they were used (eg. in the first year of settlement or later). This reminds us that everyone needs access to services, but that we also have to understand and provide for the unique needs of different groups.

Of the people who said that they had never used any settlement and integration services, the main reason was because they didn’t know these services existed, with over 30% reporting this problem. This is why it’s so important that we continue to think about how to make settlement and integration services accessible, for example by investing in promotion and outreach as well as continuing to locate services in schools and public libraries. The public library is one of the most important locations for access to language conversation groups.

These are only a few of the findings from the Making Ontario Home study. You can find more information, including a short executive summary, at www.ocasi.org/moh .

Join the Conversation!

Toronto Public Library is developing the Strategic Plan 2012-2015 to help achieve its draft vision:

Toronto Public Library will be recognized as the world’s leading public library, helping make Torontonians smarter, successful and resilient, through excellent and responsive service.

Your feedback is invaluable. Help the library develop this plan for residents of Toronto.

Please have your say by telling us:

1.       How has the library helped you with settlement services?

2.       How can the library better serve you?

Building an eBook Collection That Torontonians Will Love

Torontonians’ love affair with books isn’t news to those of us who work at the library.  

As the world’s busiest urban public library system, Toronto Public Library circulated 33 million items last year alone. Our customers borrow all sorts of things: books (in various formats and languages), magazines, DVDs, CDs, musical scores and more. 

One format, in particular, has experienced a huge surge in demand. I’m sure you have all guessed by now that I’m referring to eBooks. Last year, customers borrowed 523,270 eBooks - a whopping 103% increase over 2010 circulation. It’s likely that this upward trend will continue.

Our eBook collection has evolved tremendously since 1999, when it mainly consisted of streamed reference and academic titles. Since then, the selection of titles available to libraries has greatly expanded and we’re now able to offer our public both fiction and nonfiction titles in a variety of formats, reading levels and languages.

Collecting “everything” is a tall order and it will take many years to build an electronic collection that has the richness and depth of our print collection. We monitor bestseller lists, publisher lists, lists of classics and review media to find titles that we think will be of interest to you.

Our customers are encouraged to make eBook title suggestions through our Answerline service. This has been a valuable way to discover what our eBook customers like to read and to get feedback on the collection as a whole. 

Although we'd like to fulfill all our customer requests for eBook titles, this is not always possible. The main issue is that the supply of eBook titles available to libraries is still quite limited despite the great strides that have been made since the early days of eBooks. This issue is clearly explained in this New York Times article.  

Libraries around the world are actively working with publishers to try and find a solution that is mutually beneficial to both parties. If you'd like to find out more about what Toronto Public Library and other Canadian libraries are doing to help improve access to eBooks, check out this summary from the Canadian Urban Libraries Council.

I hope you will take some time to look at our eBook collection and let us how we can improve the content in order to create a collection that Torontonians will love. Please sound off in the comments below.

What do Torontonians like to read in electronic format?

The short answer is: Everything! Check out the Recently Returned section in OverDrive to get a peek at what people have just finished reading. We have some terrific titles in our collection.

Below are some of this month’s hot titles. Visit our Downloads & eBooks page for more titles - and to learn how to get started using our eCollection. Please enjoy!

How could the library do a better job of telling teens what they have to offer?

Let me introduce myself -- I'm Rebecca Frailich. To clarify that's Rebecca Fry-likh -- it finishes with a guttural "h" sound that we don't have in English. It's pretty unfortunate to have a name containing a consonant that doesn't exist in my native language. It's a pain trying to introduce myself. But my surname does have one charming characteristic, it means "joy" in Yiddish. My name seemed kind of ironic for most of my childhood -- in many ways I was the odd one out and it left me quite unhappy.

As you probably realize, I'm Jewish. But not that Jewish. My family was a little too scandalous for the orthodoxy. I was also home-schooled, and an only child, so for many years, I was in a class of one. The consequence of my childhood without a lot of other children around is that I felt most comfortable around adults; this was a bit of a problem because I wasn't one. I needed friends my own age. Simply, I lacked any real sense of community.

And then I turned twelve and started frequenting the library.

Fast-forward a bit. It was one of the warmer months of 2006, I went to a North York Central Library event that taught how to turn old sweaters into purses. The lady running it, Susan, told me that she was starting a program for aspiring writers and she thought I would be a good fit. I was. We met twice a month, every month and shared story and poem ideas, did writing exercises, and ate an awful lot of junk food. I cringe thinking back to our snacking habits, but the social and creative value was undeniable. We operated as one supportive unit. Each member was special. When one of us was missing, the rest of us felt their absence. I was in Heaven. I belonged. 

My newfound place fostered what I expect to be a lifelong love of public libraries. This in turn led me to volunteer. After all, what do you do for those you care about but give? I joined the NYCL's Youth Advisory Group. The YAG gave me my first exposure to working in a panel setting. I've been on many panels since then and I certainly appreciate the early exposure in a friendly environment. It was very rewarding knowing that I was helping to create and maintain the kinds of programs that meant so much to me. I hoped and still hope to spread my love of libraries to other young adults.

Generally, I'm very happy with my library experience, but there are two places I feel it is letting me down. First, there were plenty of well-made programs for me when I was twelve. Now I'm eighteen and I can't remember the last time I saw a library event geared toward me or my peers, not even a book club. I miss that.

Second, if there are any events suitable for me, I rarely hear about them. A couple weeks ago I went to Barbara Frum for a beading workshop. I have librarian friends who know I like to craft, I frequent libraries and other public spaces, I was even looking around on the library website recently, but I heard about this event from my mother a few mornings ago. She only knew about it because her friend frequents Barbara Frum.

 So I guess I feel a little neglected by the library right now and am wondering how they could do a better job of telling teens, especially older ones like me, what they have to offer us.

But I certainly still appreciate all the library has given me. I don't doubt that it was a major figure in helping me grow and keep moving toward fulfilling my full potential. I'm a better writer, which I'm sure has helped me become a better student, I'm comfortable being deeply involved in planning committees and the like, and frankly I'm a little more comfortable being myself than I was six years ago, and I'm a little more "frailiche” because of it.

Creating library space that adds to the community and respects it

Every day, thousands of people use Toronto Public Library branches to read, study, collaborate, borrow books, use the computer, attend a program or meeting and more. There is great demand for public space. The variety of use and space needs in library branches is ever increasing. How can the library respond and provide spaces in branches that meet the wide range of customer needs and inspire people of all ages across the city?

At Bloor/Gladstone, we tried to balance the different types of uses by designing different zones while still keeping the space light, open and accessible.

Public consultation is an essential component of branch space planning. Aside from branch specific issues like the need for an elevator or washroom upgrades, several common themes arise. We hear about the importance of public space in each community and the desire for branches that are well designed, beautiful, inspiring and imaginative, that add to the life of the community and respect it. Sustainable buildings that are efficient and green are expected. Another common theme is the need for space that is functional, that works well and accommodates everyone. People also want space that is flexible and can adapt to changing uses.

At Kennedy/Eglinton, we partnered to create a ProTech Media Lab for local youth.  

Flexibility is a key feature as we look to the future. For example, in the past people mainly read and studied alone. We’ve seen a lot of changes in information, how it is provided and used. Today, people read and study alone and together in groups. People work alone and they collaborate together. People read books and create their own content. People use the library’s computers and they bring their own devices to use in the library. Flexible spaces that can accommodate all of these uses helps create welcoming spaces for everyone. Are you seeing changes that the library needs to respond to?

At several branches including Dufferin/St. Clair we’ve developed interactive early literacy centres for children.

Walk through a branch and tell us what you think, what you like and don’t like. What else can the library do to create spaces in branches that inspire innovation, and creation for people of all ages?

How the library can help you discover the wonder of reading.

Hi, I’m Mark Williams and I’m the Manager of the Adult Literacy Program at Toronto Public Library.

One of my greatest fears in life is using technology. As a complete Luddite, wherever possible I try and avoid embracing new technology. However, I also understand the huge potential for positive change that technology allows so when I was asked to submit a blog on the topic of Adult Literacy, as part of the Strategic Planning process I felt compelled to participate.

I sometimes think that my fear of embracing technology can be equated to the fear that Adults with low literacy must experience when they are presented with the written word. Research has shown that 40% of Adult Canadians do not have sufficiently strong literacy skills to participate fully in our economy.

That is not to say that adults with low literacy are not intelligent.  Far from it. Time and time again, the learners in our Adult Literacy Program confound my team by highlighting the various coping strategies they have developed - coping strategies that enable them to cope in the modern world, without the ability to read or write.

What this illustrates to me and my team is that with the right help, these creative, intelligent people are able to achieve even greater success by getting the help they need to develop their literacy skills. In doing so they really are able to reach their full potential.

While it is a shame that this help comes to these adult learners later in life and that they weren’t able to access the help that they needed while at school age, the purpose of our program is to help people to succeed by supporting their literacy development at whatever age they need the support.

Our learners are some of the bravest people I have met. Not only have they had to finally admit to themselves that they need help with their reading and writing skills, they then have to seek out that help. Entering the library for the first time, for people who cannot read must be like entering an Apple store, for me. The concept fills me with dread. And yet our learners have had to embrace their fears. And once they’ve done it for the first time they grow to love the Adult Literacy Program, becoming lifelong customers of the library.

Why is that?

I like to think it’s because we have a dedicated and motivated team of staff and volunteers who regularly go the extra mile to support the learners’ goals. With their commitment to our program the volunteers work one on one with our learners to help them achieve their goals. In combination, the staff and volunteers compassion, knowledge and experience has resulted in strong bonds existing between them and their learners.

But maybe it’s simply because the library is a positive environment for discovering the wonder of reading at whatever age the emergent reader.  As a result of which, previous learners in our program now include authors, academics and business CEO’s.

If you or anyone you know feels that you need the support of the Adult Literacy program, firstly I hope you seek out that support by finding out more: Adult Literacy Program at Toronto Public Library

 

Equally importantly, I hope you join the conversation and share with us your thoughts on how we in the Adult Literacy Program can continue to develop a city of learners.

 

Caught in the Literacy Web (site)

Although the current interest in boys and reading is most probably fuelled by falling test scores, I want to consider the literacy world that my son finds himself in as an adult male, and the world his son and daughter will face in the near future.

When I began researching material in this field, I was amazed at the quantity of available resources for parents,  teachers and librarians, especially from the Internet. People are certainly concerned about males and literacy. Dozens of books have emerged in the last few years documenting issues in male culture and in raising and schooling boys. Some emphasize biological differences in males and females; others take a socio-constructivist approach; still others struggle for a culturally elitist model promoting literary wonders. Personally, I need to look at them all, to find directions for supporting parents and youngsters themselves to begin taking control of their literacy lives, aware of their needs and interests as developing readers and writers.

If we believe that all children should have access to the literacy world, how will we ensure that boys, in particular, see themselves as readers who can handle the requirements of a variety of texts? Non-readers tell us stories of punishment and pain, of no care and no touch, where books never metamorphosed into friendly objects, where worksheets and controlled readers dictated their eye movements and caused their reading hearts to beat irregularly. They were drowning in printer's ink.

Changing times do not favour anyone whose reading and writing skills are lacking. Males who leave school early or who have poor literacy skills used to have an edge in the labour market because employers favoured them for heavy manual jobs. However, jobs requiring muscle are disappearing and are unlikely to return. New jobs require an ability to communicate well, and communication includes reading and writing as well as speaking.

In one study, a researcher found that while both boys and girls had read the same adventure novels, they had taken different things from them. The girls responded to the feelings of the characters, how their personalities had been shaped by their pasts; the boys enjoyed the action and found that the reflective potions detracted from the story. Having spent almost every Friday night with my son at the movies when he was growing up, I know that his choices usually involved action "teen" flicks with superheroes and action men. What is normal? However, some boys and girls read and enjoy the same novels. In classrooms and libraries that create a literacy subculture, boys are freed from many of the social expectations that deny them access; they can then respond to more reflective selections, and we can then support all kinds of new literary experiences. 

As literacy mentors, could we keep a notice board (on line or on a wall) of news articles that connect literacy and males: from interviews with authors, to book reviews, to features that highlight the content or issues that are relevant to the books boys are reading? Could we list the Web sites of authors who talk about boys and reading and who offer suggestions for book choices? Can we organize an author visit to our school library or classroom? Do we have "new book" and "new e-book" shelves, where boys can readily see and borrow books? Do we take the time for book talks, exposing boys to new titles and excerpts to promote interest?

How do boys and girls feel about computers and information technology in their school and academic lives? What types of activities benefit our children? How many have access to home computers, tablets, or e-readers? How can the school and library redress an unfair situation with respect to technological availability? And finally, can we accept audio books, books on line, blogs, texting, Facebook and other interactive modes as significant literacy texts in the lives of boys?

David Booth is Professor Emeritus and serves as Coordinator of the Pre-Service Elementary program at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE), University of Toronto. His research interests include literacy education, interdisciplinary arts education and teacher education. He has written a number of books, including Even Hockey Players Read, a book about boys, literacy and learning.

David Booth Video: Whatever Happened to Language Arts?

Engaging Customers and Reaching New Users Through Social Media

  

This May, writer Malcolm Gladwell spoke to over 500 library customers at the Bram & Bluma Appel Salon at the Toronto Reference Library. Through social media, he reached another 60,000. This is a recent example of how the library uses social media to offer new opportunities for participation.

During the interview, Gladwell  said that Apple founder Steve Jobs will be forgotten in 50 years and Microsoft founder Bill Gates, will be remembered, because of his philanthropic works.

Like other Appel Salon events, Gladwell’s interview was filmed. After the video was posted on our YouTube channel, US blog Business Insider saw the video and posted about Gladwell’s remarks. Their post sparked wide media coverage, including CNN and Time in the US and spread as far as Australia. Our video went viral, generating 60,000 views to date and comments from viewers around the world.

Communicating and Responding In A Fast-Paced World

Toronto Public Library has been actively using social media for nearly five years. It is an effective and cost-efficient way to tap into an existing and potentially large audience – users and non-users. For instance, our Facebook page (above) was launched in 2008, shortly after a report cited that Toronto has the world’s most active Facebook users. 

Social media provides a wonderful opportunity to have a two-way dialogue with our customers. They are great at telling us what they like and don’t like – and we aim to be responsive. Our supporters are also helpful in using social media to help spread the word about our collections, programs and services.

Social media let us keep in touch with customers in real time. Last Fall, our website went down for three days. Using our Facebook and Twitter channels and Web Team Blog, the library gave real-time updates, which helped reduce customers’ confusion. It did not solve the problem or end the frustration, but it helped us keep in touch with our customers and demonstrated that we were trying to fix the problem.

We also try to have fun. For instance, during our Keep Toronto Reading Festival in 2010-2012, Torontonians were encouraged to submit short book review videos on YouTube.

A Quick Overview: The Library on Social Media

•  Facebook – We enjoy communicating with nearly 15,000 Facebook fans on a daily basis. Library staff have even hosted special recommended reading days on Facebook during our Keep Toronto Reading Festival.

• Twitter – Twitter has been particularly helpful in getting the word out to our 12,000 followers and beyond. For instance, this 2010 Yonge Street Media article about our Human Library program has “travelled” around the world through Twitter – resulting in media interest from as far as Europe. Even Oprah.com wrote about our program thanks to the power of Twitter.

We also live tweet some events. When Artemis Fowl author Eoin Colfer visited the Appel Salon in 2011, UK fan Joanna followed our tweets. She even tweeted a question, which we asked Colfer on her behalf. “Thank you (TPL) for letting Eoin Colfer know that I exist,” she tweeted afterwards.

We also have a few sub accounts, including our Book Buzz online book club, our teen services, and local branches, such as Bloor/Gladstone.

• Blogs – Over 150 staff across our 98 branches contribute to our blogs, which cover everything from arts and culture, to business and personal finance, career and job search help, book picks for young readers, and information for newcomers. Our blogs complement the expert service offered by our staff. TPL blog readership continues to grow.

• YouTube – All of our Appel Salon programs are recorded and posted on our YouTube channel. Customers can also find other types of videos including Ready for Reading storytimes and user education video help tutorials.

• Flickr – An abundance of images and scans from our Special Collections can be found on our Flickr page – everything from War of 1812 images to pictures of the Bloor Viaduct construction in 1915-1917.

Future Opportunities: Requesting Your Feedback

New channels are adopted as they emerge. Recently, we launched a Pinterest page (above). This site allows users to “pin” favourite content onto “boards.” We’re new to Pinterest, but we see a dynamic opportunity to promote our circulating collections and Special Collections to our growing network.

Most importantly, we see many opportunities to improve our service delivery. In the half decade that TPL has actively participated in social media, we’ve seen a growing group of customers who reach out directly to us online as a first point of contact. The library seeks to be as responsive as possible to this increasing demand.

Join the Conversation!

The library is developing a new Strategic Plan to help us achieve our draft vision:

Toronto Public Library will be recognized as the world’s leading public library, helping make Torontonians smarter, successful and resilient, through excellent and responsive service.

Your feedback is invaluable and will help us develop this plan for residents of Toronto.

Please have your say by commenting on the following:

1. Which of the library’s online communications channels do you use?
2. How would you rate the library’s social media activities – and why?
3. Is there an area of service delivery within the library’s online communications that we are currently not providing?
4. How can we make our social media activities better?