Toronto is a city of passionate readers and the library offers supportive environment for reading
as the foundation of learning. Branches carry diverse material for different opinions, ideas and experiences. The
library proudly supports readers of all ages by also offering expertise in literacy and literary exploration, and
hosting a wide range of popular reading programs that introduce and promote the joy of reading starting from the
very young. We have responded to increased demand for digital content by expanding access to new resources that
offer music, movies and other language materials. We continue to advocate for improved access to Canadian digital
content at reasonable costs.
Key Achievements
In 2015, we:
- Launched the Reach Out and Read program to promote childhood literacy in partnership with St. Michael's Hospital. We
supplied 4,000 kits for the program which included tips for parents on developing their children's literacy
skills and information on how to get a library card. - Widely distributed the popular and award-winning Let's Get Ready for Reading Guide across
Ontario. Bruce County Public Library gifted the guide to all newborns in their community. - Added publisher Condé Nast to our emagazine
collection, giving customers access to even more popular magazines including New Yorker, Vanity Fair,
and Wired. - Reached 3.5 million digital content checkouts in 2015, which comprised of 11 % of circulation. Ebook circulation
through our vendor Overdrive was the highest in the world with over 3 million checkouts. - Launched a new French ebook service, giving customers more
access to popular titles in French. - Partnered with Kumon Math and Learning Centres to produce Great
Reads for Kids, a booklist with over 200 recommended books for kids ages six to 12, carefully selected
by TPL children's staff. - Added Persian language to our popular Dial-a-Story service, increasing
the availability of languages to 16.