toronto public library update with great videos

The winners of the My Library Matters to Me contest - offering a walking tour and lunch with the likes of Margaret Atwood, Michael Ondaatje and other prominent Toronto authors - have been posted: You can read them here.

The organizers received more than 500 submissions - and they certainly would have received one from me, had I been eligible. The contest wasn't open to all members of the Toronto Public Library, but to all Toronto residents. Boo!

You may have heard that library branch closures are off the table. Don't be fooled: the public library is still at risk for reduced services, user fees and, down the road a bit, closure of smaller branches. We must continue to speak out, loudly and often, opposing the unnecessary slashing and privatizing of our public services.

For now, check out Melissa Cederqvist's prize-winning video, sure to be an internet favourite.


And please listen to the great British novelist Zadie Smith, on the importance of libraries in her life, and the real meaning behind the attacks on public services. It's one of the more eloquent appeals I've heard yet.


September 26 at City Hall: be there!

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