Riverdale

370 Broadview Avenue,
Toronto, ON M4K 2M8

Hours

Monday	9:00 am	to	8:30 pm
Tuesday	9:00 am	to	8:30 pm
Wednesday	9:00 am	to	8:30 pm
Thursday	9:00 am	to	8:30 pm
Friday	9:00 am	to	5:00 pm
Saturday	9:00 am	to	5:00 pm
Sunday	Closed

Riverdale on Twitter

Wheelchair Accessible
Free Wifi

General Inquiries

To speak directly with staff at Riverdale Branch during branch hours, please call the number listed above.

For general questions about Toronto Public Library, your account, and quick reference help, email Answerline using the link below.

Email Answerline

Directions, TTC & Parking

View on map

Closest major intersection Gerrard Street East and Broadview Ave. Located on northwest corner of Broadview Ave. and Gerrard Street East. City Parking lot located on Gerrard Street East, south side west of Broadview Ave.

Public Transit

Closest subway station Broadview.
TTC streetcars King #504, Dundas #505, Carlton #506, all stop in front of the branch at all corners of Broadview & Gerrard.

Parking

Free - Limited street parking on side streets. Paid - Toronto Parking Authority 573 Gerrard St. East.

Upcoming Programs

Featured Programs

Sat, Jun 01

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Memoirs of a Dragon Lady

Join Carol Williams-Wong for a reading of her memoirs and presentation, followed by a Q&A session. Drop-in. If...

Sat, Jun 01

11:00 am - 11:30 am

Growing Beans in a Bag

Are you curious about how things grow? Grow your own beans in a bag, take them home and watch them grow! For ch...

Tue, Jun 04

2:00 pm - 4:00 pm

Adult Afternoon Movie: Spoiler Alert (2023)

Join us every first and last Tuesday of each month for a free afternoon movie. Drop-in. Based on Michael Ausiel...

Regular Programs

Mon, Jul 22

10:00 am - 12:00 pm

Theatre Camp with Jodi Crawford

Join in to create a play or a puppet show, from costumes and set decoration, to script writing and performance. Get moving...

All Branch Programs and Events

Branch Features

General Features

Book Drop - After Hours
Express Checkout
Free Menstrual Products
Seating for 56

Equipment for persons with disabilities

Book stand
Computer with at least 28" clearance under table top
Computers with screen magnification software (Zoomtext) (2)
Large print keyboard
Large trackball mouse
Magnifier
Natural spectrum lamp
Page turner
Wheelchair accessible furniture

Technology

Collections

Adult Literacy Materials
Audiobooks on CD
Large Print
Local History Collection

Language

Large collection in Chinese
Medium collection in French-Children
Small collection in Vietnamese (DVDs only)

Meeting Rooms

For booking information call 416-397-5969.

Meeting Room 1

800 sq. ft
Seats 66 lecture style. 48 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 80.
Equipment:
- chairs
- projection screen (ceiling mounted)
- tables

Meeting Room 2

400 sq. ft
Seats 30 lecture style. 16 classroom style. Fire Code Occupancy: 30.
Equipment:
- chairs
- projection screen (ceiling mounted)
- tables

Wheelchair accessible washrooms are near the library entrance.

History

Year	Details
1888	Eastern Branch opens on 31 October in rented premises at the rear of Poulton's Block, Queen Street East and the northwest corner of Boulton Avenue.
1903	Andrew Carnegie grants $350,000 to Toronto Public Library for a new central library and three branch buildings, 23 January. Toronto's Carnegie Libraries-Riverdale
1906	Riverdale Business Men's Association is organized in April and begins to lobby for a permanent library branch in Riverdale.
1909	The City of Toronto provides an 85 x 84-foot (25m) site for the new branch on part of the Toronto (Don) Jail Governor's garden on Gerrard Street East at the northwest corner of Broadview Avenue. City Architect Robert McCallum (1851-1916) designs Riverdale Branch. Construction contracts are awarded on 16 July.
1910	Eastern Branch closes in June with readers tickets issued at this location "honoured at Central [Library] until the new Riverdale Branch is ready." (Toronto Globe, 22 June 1910). Riverdale Branch opens, 19 October.
1928	Boys and Girls addition opens on 23 January. "The new building, a unique one of its kind, the plans of which were designed and drawn by our Superintendent of Buildings, Mr. William S. Butler, [on 22 April 1927] under the supervision of Dr. Locke [George H. Locke, chief librarian), has been erected at a cost of $18,883.73, the funds, being derived from the proceeds of the sale of bonds, originally bought by the sale of the Lombard Street property." (Toronto Public Library, Annual Report, 1927, p.6). The addition was built on part of the Toronto Jail grounds north of the branch, with a "frontage of 44 feet on Broadview Avenue widening in the rear to 62 feet 3 inches and having a maximum depth of 134 feet 8 inches", transferred to the Library Board by the City of Toronto in 1927 (City of Toronto Council Minutes, 1927, Committee on Property, Report No. 10, p. 767-70).
1937	"Modernized" by the Commissioner of Buildings and City Architect, Kenneth S. Gillies. "The modernization of Riverdale Branch was completed without closing the Library for a single day beyond the ordinary provision for summer periods". (Toronto Public Library, Board Minutes, 14 September 1937).
1969	Closed for repairs following a fire set by vandals on 10 November; reopened on 1 December.
1973	The Chinese language collection is established.
1977	Listed on Inventory of Heritage Properties adopted by Toronto City Council, 6 February.
1979-80	Renovation by Hancock & Simpson Architects. Construction contract is awarded 1 August 1979. Branch officially reopens on 10 April 1980.
1991-93	Renovation by Quadrangle Architects. Closed 2 December 1991 and reopened 29 March 1993.
1994	Toronto Public Library Board is awarded a Certificate of Commendation from the Toronto Historical Board "For sympathetic treatment of additions and interior renovations at the Riverdale Branch Library (1910), 370 Broadview Avenue. Quadrangle Architects Limited, Kayal Construction Limited", 16 May.
1998	Becomes a branch of the Toronto Public Library with municipal amalgamation, 1 January.
2000	Open 10 additional hours per week starting 3 July.
2005	Temporary Sunday service hours starting 17 April (during Pape/Danforth closure for renovations) to 25 June 2006.
2006	Heritage plaque presented by Heritage Toronto in partnership with Toronto Public Library. Toronto's Historical Plaques
2007	New hours, 8 January. Open hours per week increased from 60.5 to 62.
2010	Closed for renovations and installation 29 July. Quadrangle Architects. Reopened 28 September. Celebrates 100 years of service to the community, 2 October. Riverdale Branch history panel (PDF).

Land Acknowledgement

Riverdale is on Indigenous land. This is the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee (ho-den-oh-sho-nee) Confederacy (aka. the Six Nations Confederacy), the Wendat, and the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation. Toronto Public Library gratefully acknowledges these Indigenous nations for their guardianship of this land. We'd also like to remind and reaffirm, as Torontonians and Canadians, our accountability to these Indigenous nations, and to all Indigenous peoples and communities living in Toronto.

This land is also part of the Dish with One Spoon territory, a treaty between the Haudenosaunee Confederacy (aka. The Six Nations Confederacy), the Anishinaabek (Ah-nish-nah-bek) and allied nations, to peaceably share and care for this land, its waters, and all of the biodiversity in the Great Lakes region. All those who come to live and work here are responsible for honouring this treaty in the spirit of peace, friendship, and respect. About Land Acknowledgement Statements