Marguerite G. Bagshaw Collection

The Lillian H. Smith Library is home to the Marguerite G. Bagshaw Collection of puppetry resources.

This is a reference collection of research material that includes books on puppet making, puppetry techniques and performance, and the history of puppetry around the world. It includes 575 books and current issues of The Puppetry Journal. The collection also includes over 55 puppet shows which have been created over decades and continue to be performed by the staff at Toronto Public Library.

Marguerite Bagshaw was head of Reading Services for the library and "an eminent proponent of the use of puppetry and storytelling in work with children." After her death in 1972, a fund-raising drive created the trust fund that continues to endow this unique collection of the Toronto Public Library.