Toronto Local History Collections in Toronto Public Library
Toronto local history collections are provided in more than 30 branches of the Toronto Public Library. The collections include materials of historical significance about a specific geographic area. This could be the Toronto neighbourhood(s) served by the local branch library; an historic community, such as an annexed municipality; or the City of Toronto as a whole.
The collections are intended to serve students working on projects from elementary school to college and university, and adult independent learners, including newcomers, long-time residents and visitors, interested in learning more about a community. The collections are also good starting places for local historians and genealogists, heritage groups and other professionals needing local information for their avocations or jobs.
Local history collections vary significantly in size, ranging from occupying a few shelves or file drawers to being housed in separate rooms, but generally they:
- Cover a wide range of subjects
- Include a variety of formats, often books, vertical files, community newspapers, pictures and maps
- Are for in-library reference use. Circulation copies of many books are also available in Toronto Public Library collections
- Emphasize secondary sources and copies of rare, original materials.
- Include some items that are not listed in the library's online catalogue
In some branch local history collections, new items are not being added to collections of vertical files, pictures and maps, which may have been superseded by electronic databases and digital archives.
Consult our Map of Neighbourhood Historical Resources for additional local history materials in Toronto Public Library's collections.
Branch Local History Collections
Annette Street Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Junction, High Park (north of Bloor Street)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps. Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Beaches Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Beach, Upper Beach, Danforth (Main Street area)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures (PDF). Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Bloor/Gladstone Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Brockton (north section), Dovercourt, Dufferin Grove-Bickford Park
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps. Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference; duplicate copies of some books availabl for circulation
Cedarbrae District Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Former City of Scarborough and its neighbourhoods - Agincourt, Bendale, Birch Cliff, Clairlea-Golden Mile, Cliffside-Cliffcrest, Guildwood, Dorset Park, Highland Creek, Knob Hill, L'Amoreaux, Malvern, Maryvale, Milliken, Oakridge, Port Union-West Rouge, Rouge, Scarborough Junction, Scarborough Village, Upper Rouge, West Hill, Wexford, Woburn
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Microforms
- Use: Reference
Deer Park Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Deer Park, Rosedale/Moore Park,(north of the CP line)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference; duplicate copies of some books available for circulation
Don Mills Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Don Mills
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Maps, Ephemera
- Use: Reference
Dufferin/St. Clair Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Earlscourt, Wychwood-Hillcrest (northwest section), Oakwood-Vaughan (southwest section)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps.
- Use: Reference
Forest Hill Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Forest Hill
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers
- Use: Reference
Gerrard/Ashdale Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Leslieville, Upper Beach (Gerrard and Coxwell area of both neighbourhoods)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (inactive; PDF), Newspapers, Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference
Guildwood Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Guildwood
- Formats: Books, Community newsletters
- Use: Reference
High Park Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: High Park, Parkdale (Roncesvalles area and High Park - the park itself)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Ephemera
- Use: Reference
Leaside Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Leaside, Thorncliffe Park
- Formats: Books, Community newspapers, newsletters and magazines, Pictures, Maps, Artifacts, Archival records (Leaside Public Library), Ephemera (scrapbooks). Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Long Branch Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Long Branch
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps, Archival records (Long Branch Public Library)
- Use: Reference
Maria A. Shchuka Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Former City of York and its neighbourhoods: Lambton, Mount Dennis, Silverthorn, Weston
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files, Community newspapers, Ephemera (scrapbooks), Archival records (York Public Library)
- Use: Reference
North York Central Library Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Former City of North York and its neighbourhoods - Amesbury Park, Armour Heights, Bayview Village, Bridle Path-Sunnybrook, Don Mills, Don Valley Village, Downsview, Elia-Branson, Emery, Fairbank, Flemingdon Park, Henry Farm, Hillcrest Village, Humber Summit, Lansing, Lawrence Manor, Maple Leaf, Newtonbrook, Pleasant View, Weston, Willowdale, York Mills, York University-Black Creek
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Ephemera (including pamphlets, posters and postcards), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps, Microforms, Artifacts, Archival records (e.g., North York Historical Society). Selected items are available on the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Northern District Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: North Toronto
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Ephemera, Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps. Selected items are available on the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Palmerston Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Annex, Palmerston-Sussex Ulster, Seaton Village
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures. Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Parkdale Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Parkdale, Brockton (south section), Exhibition, Sunnyside
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (inactive; PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps. Selected items are available in the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Parliament Street Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Cabbagetown, St. James Town, Regent Park
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures
- Use: Reference; duplicate copies of some books available for circulation
Queen/Saulter Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Riverdale, Leslieville (Queen-Broadview area)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files, Community newspapers, Pictures
- Use: Reference
Richview Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Former City of Etobicoke and its neighbourhoods - Alderwood, Eatonville, Eringate Humber Bay, Humber Valley Village, Islington, Kingsway, Long Branch, Mimico, New Toronto, Rexdale, Richview, Sunnylea, Thistletown and Weston
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Ephemera (e.g. Tweedsmuir history scrapbooks), Community newspapers, newletters and magazines, Pictures, Maps (PDF), Artifacts, Archival records (e.g. Etobicoke Public Library, Richview Women's Institute), Microforms
- Use: Reference
- Finding aids (in library): Subject card index to Etobicoke Newspapers, 1950-2006
Riverdale Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Riverdale, Danforth (west of Pape Avenue), Leslieville, Port Lands
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Ephemera, Community newspapers, newsletters and magazines, Pictures, Maps. Selected items are available on the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference; duplicate copies of some books available for circulation
- Finding aids: Riverdale Historical Society fonds: Gerald Whyte Collection (PDF 3 MB)
Runnymede Local History Collection (Runnymede and Swansea)
- Neighbourhoods: Bloor West Village (including Baby Point, Runnymede), High Park (including Roncesvalles), Junction, Sunnyside, Swansea
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers, Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference; duplicate copies of some books available for circulation
S. Walter Stewart Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: East York
- Formats: Books, Ephemera, Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference
St. Lawrence Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Financial District (east of Yonge Street), St. Lawrence
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Community newspapers
- Use: Reference; some books available for circulation
Swansea Memorial Local History Collection (located at Runnymede)
- Neighbourhoods: Swansea
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference; some books available for circulation
Toronto Reference Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, Local History and Genealogy Collection
- Neighbourhoods: City of Toronto and its neighbourhoods (along with many other geographic areas)
- Formats: Books (including copies of Toronto city directories and telephone directories); Vertical files (Donald Jones' "Historical Toronto" articles, Toronto Star, 1973-1991; Toronto buildings - both inactive), Maps (including copies of Toronto Fire Insurance Plans, Photostats (1858-1945), Microfilms (1880-1924 and Microfiches (1903-1951), Microforms (including Biographical scrapbooks, Toronto scrapbooks and Toronto Public Library Scrapbooks), Ephemera (including the A. Norman Sands Collection of Local History). Toronto area is filed with York County. Sands Ontario County Index (PDF).
- Use: Reference
- Finding aids (in library): Card file indexes to biographies and Toronto buildings vertical files. Published Index to Donald Jones Toronto Star Articles, Index to biographical scrapbooks, and Index to Toronto scrapbooks. Electronic subject headings for A. Norman Sands Collection of Local History York (County) - Toronto section.
- Quick links for genealogy holdings: census records, court record indexes, heraldry, passenger lists, peerages, poll books, various registers, will indexes
Toronto Reference Library, Humanities and Social Sciences Department, Toronto Collection (PDF)
- Neighbourhoods: City of Toronto and its neighbourhoods
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (closed in 2010), Community newspapers (mostly on microfilm), Maps, Microforms, Archival records (e.g., City of Toronto Council minutes), Ephemera (e.g., election campaign literature).
- Use: Reference
Toronto Reference Library, Special Collections Department
- A wealth of rare and valuable materials is collected and preserved for current and future research in the Special Collections Department. Most of the historic materials about Toronto are housed in the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana
- Formats: Books, pamphlets and periodical, pictures, maps, broadsides and printed ephemera, manuscripts, newspapers. Many items are available on Toronto Public Library's Digital Archive.
Weston Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Weston
- Formats: Books, Pictures, Maps, Archival records (Weston Public Library and its predecessor and successor libraries), Ephemera. Selected items are available on the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference; duplicates of some books available for circulation
Wychwood Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Wychwood-Hillcrest, Oakwood-Vaughan (southeast area), Cedarvale (south area)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Pictures, Archival records (Bracondale Public Library), Ephemera. Selected items are available on the Digital Archive.
- Use: Reference
Yorkville Local History Collection
- Neighbourhoods: Yorkville, Rosedale-Moore Park (south of CP line, west of Mount Pleasant Road)
- Formats: Books, Vertical Files (PDF), Pictures, Maps
- Use: Reference