Annual Report 2018

2018 was a busy year in spite of the closure of North York Central Library, TPL's busiest branch, for more than half of the year. The Library continues to provide a balance of in-branch and online services in response to changing community needs.

Significant 2018 trends include:

• Electronic circulation increased 24.1%
• Physical circulation decreased 3.7%
• Virtual visits increased 6.2%, as more content, self-service and customizable features, and improved searching were added to the main site
• Overall information requests increased 4.9%, with electronic requests increasing 25.9%
• Programs offered increased 9.5% and program attendance 6.1%
• Wireless sessions increased 1.3%

More information on 2018 performance measures and benchmarking (PDF)

In 2017, the latest year comparative data is available, Toronto Public Library (TPL) ranked first in North America in circulation, visits and electronic visits per capita among libraries serving populations of two million or more.

Key 2018 Achievements

As described in the 2016-2019 strategic plan, we have outlined six priorities to focus on in this period. Below are key 2018 achievements in each of these areas:

Advancing Our Digital Platforms

• Added Kanopy to the suite of film streaming services, providing access to over 30,000 movies, documentaries and training videos aimed at adult viewers. Kanopy films range from documentaries, indie and foreign films, to must-see classics and blockbusters. Other services available at the Library for streaming movies include Hoopla and Overdrive.
• Awarded $1.45 million by Ministry of Tourism, Culture and Sport for the continued development of Digital Archive Ontario. The site allows users to explore Ontario - present, past and future - through historical photographs, maps, digitized books, videos and blog posts.
• Improved website features for customers including improved email communications, account notifications including due date reminders, borrowing history and a better searching experience.
• Piloted TOpicks in collaboration with the Library's Readers' Services Committee and TPL Incubator. This project seeks to connect staff with users who share similar interests on Twitter and other online communities. Four staff members are taking part: @TPLBRNDN, @TPLChristie, @TPLMaggie and @TPLWendy. Join the conversation with the hashtag #TOpicks.
• Launched access to the New York Times online for free with a library card. Customers can start reading by signing up for a free account through our website and staff have provided instructions on how to access this fantastic resource.

Breaking Down Barriers to Access, Driving Inclusion

• Held inaugural Meeting of the Indigenous Advisory Council (IAC), which consists of community members and representatives from the Native Canadian Centre of Toronto, Miziwe Biik Aboriginal Employment and Training and the Ministry of Indigenous Relations and Reconciliation. All year long, TPL's strategies for Indigenous Initiatives [PDF] were discussed. TPL also introduced Land Acknowledgement Statements, which ensures safe and welcoming spaces for Toronto's Indigenous communities and serves as an awareness building piece for staff and members of the public.
• Opened new Youth Hubs at Flemingdon Park, Malvern and Downsview Branches. Youth Hubs are open year-round and create a safe space for youth to hang out, play board or video games, participate in programs and get homework help from tutors after school.
• Supported family shelters by reaching underserved populations at the Lido Motel and Humewood House. Staff from our Community Outreach and Engagement team, along with the Library's bookmobile, gave families the opportunity to learn about library services and enjoy literacy-based programming.
• Expanded Sun Life Financial Museum + Arts Pass Program (MAP), allowing customers in Neighbourhood Improvement Areas of the city to sign out Inside Out LGBT Film Festival and Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival passes in select branches. Passes were also distributed to clients of agencies and organizations such as Toronto Employment and Social Services, Toronto shelters, Support and Housing Administration and The Spot in order to make Toronto's cultural venues accessible to the city's most vulnerable individuals and families.
• Participated in the spring Newcomers Canada Fair at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The library connected with over 370 recent newcomers who learned about employment and volunteering opportunities at TPL, online resources, hotspot lending, MAP passes, Library Settlement Partnerships and more.
• Extended Open Hours at St. James Town Branch in support of those displaced by the Parliament Street high rise fire. Hours were quickly expanded to provide additional support and community space for residents. Staff provided in-house programming for the children affected and hosted programs from Sick Kids outreach workers. Additional support was provided by TPL staff at the Regent Park Community Centre.
• Supported engaged citizenship in our city by developing Know Your Vote T.O. The website allowed voters to learn about City Council candidates, find out their positions on big issues facing their neighbourhoods and the city, and learn more about how decisions are made in Toronto. The events gave residents the opportunity to meet the City Council candidates and learn more about issues to consider when casting their ballots.

Expanding Access to Technology and Training

• Teamed up with the City of Toronto and partners in the academic, arts, corporate and technology communities to celebrate the inaugural Digital Literacy Day. Digital Literacy Day showcased the digital and technology resources available across the city and the educational, entrepreneurial, artistic and social opportunities that they enable. TPL hosted the launch event at the Toronto Reference Library and held more than 80 programs to mark the day.
• Introduced new digital learning tools to help job seekers develop tech skills, including Let's Learn Tech, a series of free, interactive courses powered by Cisco Networking Academy. These courses are designed to introduce learners to the growing IT sector by offering online courses informed by industry experts.
• Offered new print/copy/scan system in branches. The new system allows customers to print from mobile devices when they are in library branches, or remotely from any location with Internet access. Customers also are able to add value to online accounts using their library card numbers and credit cards online.
• Developed Borrow An Arduino Kit for our Digital Innovation Hub (DIH). These small, simple, programmable computers are designed specifically for beginners who are new to coding and electronics. Each kit comes with an instructional project booklet and includes everything you need to build and code interactive projects using LED lights, motors and sensors.
• Hosted the first Digital Privacy Expo on September 22 at North York Central Library. Over 150 attendees heard from the Digital Justice Lab, Tor Project, Copperhead Security, and the University of Toronto's CitizenLab. Participants enjoyed hands-on demonstrations of privacy technology courtesy of our staff.

Establishing TPL as Toronto's Centre for Continuous and Self-Directed Learning

• Launched first-ever Environmentalist in Residence. Janelle Richards led free, engaging programs and hands-on workshops, and offered community consultations at the Albion and Scarborough Civic Centre Branches. The Environmentalist in Residence supports Our Fragile Planet program series.
• Piloted Learning Circle programs with 27 customers across the city at four branches. Learning Circles are free study groups for people who want to take online classes together and in person. Courses have been selected to meet the interests of local communities and provide opportunities to learn from universities around the world. Customers learned about mindfulness at Dufferin/St. Clair, forensic facial reconstruction at Fairview, sign language at Northern District, and writing resumes and cover letters at York Woods.
• Hosted the first Elders in Residence with programs running at North York Central Library, Parliament Street Branch, Mount Dennis Branch, Dawes Road Branch and Toronto Reference Library. Elders Frances Whiskeychan and Patrick Etherington delivered a variety of programs, meeting with the public one-on-one to provide culturally informed support and guidance and creating space for Indigenous literacies within the Library.
• Expanded the Entrepreneur in Residence program from Toronto Reference Library to both Agincourt and Albion Branches. The Newcomer Entrepreneur in Residence program was developed to support diverse communities by providing information, personalized support, and opportunities for skill development to newcomers aspiring to start new businesses.
• Started DemocracyKit workshops, where participants learned the workings of political election campaigns and how to drive political change in their communities. These sessions took place at four branches across the city: Barbara Frum, Lillian H. Smith, Richview and S. Walter Stewart and were attended by over 200 participants. Community partner DemocracyKit worked with the library to bring in 14 campaign experts to deliver practical lessons and tools to get started on a campaign team.
• Partnered with Toronto Public Health to bring together a new series, Your Health Matters. This series is a collection of programs, services and reading recommendations to help Torontonians of all ages stay informed about physical and mental health.

Creating Community Connections through Cultural Experiences

• Hosted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau at Albion Branch for a Youth Town Hall. Opportunity for All Youth held a job fair at Albion Branch with youth ages 16-29 and Prime Minister Trudeau led a town hall meeting to discuss employment issues for youth who were not employed, in education or training. The youth were engaged, asking questions on a variety of topics including how hard it is for young Canadians who are finished school and not employed to find permanent work, and also about the challenges young entrepreneurs face.
• Launched Read Indigenous, a yearly list of must-read titles written by Indigenous authors, writers, illustrators and knowledge keepers for all ages. These titles have been selected in consultation with TPL's Indigenous Advisory Council. The Library recognizes the vital role it plays in building awareness around Truth and Reconciliation and related issues that impact Indigenous/settler relations.
• Launched new series featuring francophone authors from Ontario, Manitoba, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, "Croisée des mots" is presented with the Association des auteures et auters de l'Ontario français (AAOF). These programs aim to expand service to the French language community in Toronto by providing talks and author visits for rich, culturally diverse literature and increasing the awareness and use of TPL's French Language collections.
• Celebrated the 10th Anniversary of Library Settlement Partnerships. Funded by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), Toronto's Library Settlement Partnerships (LSP) program partners with seven local settlement agencies, providing year-round information, referrals and programs for newcomers at 14 library branches across the city. LSP serves over 23,300 newcomers and delivers over 950 programs.
• Engaged creative Torontonians to write a story set in the city, one tweet at a time. The Library's #TorontoWritesABook social media campaign was well-received and generated extensive media coverage in Toronto, across the country, and as far as Paris. Local authors, personalities and organizations also contributed to the story.

Transforming for 21st Century Service Excellence

• Opened two new Digital Innovation Hubs at North York Central Library and Richview Branch. TPL's first Fabrication Studio also opened its doors at North York Central Library with sewing, serger and embroidery machines. Free programs and classes are available at all Digital Innovation Hubs and the Fabrication Studio for everyone to learn how to use the extensive range of software and equipment.
• Created the first phase of a better library experience for our customers by launching the TPL Experience 360 project. This explored ideas for enhancing and modernizing the library's brand and visual identity in today's omnichannel world and to better reflect library service today and in the future.
• Welcomed back customers to the newly renovated North York Central Library. The Circulation/Browsery department, the Children's Area and Teen Zone on the first floor, the Creation Loft on the second floor and the Language, Literature and Fine Arts Department on the third floor were all renovated and expanded. The branch has been very busy since the re-opening!
• Received the 2018 Special Achievement Award presented by Heritage Toronto. Heritage Toronto recognized the Library's continuing investment in landmark architecture and new facilities that transform Toronto's fabric and community. Among the branches noted for their architecture and heritage conservation were Bloor/Gladstone, Fort York and Scarborough Civic Centre.
• Awarded The Public History Award for The Chinese-Canadian Archive by Heritage Toronto, which documents Chinese Canadian history in the GTA from 1878 to the present. Currently housed at the Toronto Reference Library and home to 120 linear feet of archival records with 102 digitized items, the archive begins a valuable conversation and covers an under-researched gap in Canadian history.
• Introduced the first evidence-based Youth Services Strategy, guiding services for youth ages 13-24. Based on extensive research and consultation with youth, staff and community partners, the strategy reaffirms the Library's commitment to contribute to positive outcomes for youth. It provides a framework for enhanced and purposeful service that supports personal development, equitable access and learning, and it positions the Library as both a space where youth are welcome and supported, and as a partner helping youth build positive futures for themselves and their communities.
• Expanded Community Librarian Project. Thanks to a generous donation from Greater Toronto Airport Authority (GTAA), the Community Librarian Project began working with the Rexdale community and focusing on digital literacy and emerging technologies, including those offered through the Library's Pop Up Learning Labs.

More information

• 2018 Annual Performance Measures and Benchmarking (PDF)
• 2018 Finance Reports (PDF)