We were excited to start our Keep Toronto Reading reviews so first stop, a Children's reading week series at a nearby library. Edward mapblasted the location and boom, we were off.
But it turns out we were in the wrong library. The schedule for the Beaches branch was 2 weeks from today and going to the Malvern branch we'll end up being late (we arrived at 155p for the 2p event) so we decided to review the library itself instead. This location/date faux pas we found out not from the library rep up front (who unfortunately didn't know any of the events - when the programme is right in front of her) but for ourselves after we immediately sifted through the list and realised we were in the wrong branch.
Since there's much history on this particular branch whose home is listed in the Heritage Properties it was important for us to check it out. Since 1914 this library served its Queen Street East neighbourhood and you have to visit and check out its abundant books on local history. We could go on more about it but its actually a good place to stop and check especially to get away from the -15C weather we've been having. The 2nd floor library rep was more informative and even provided us with an events list that goes to the first quarter of the year. Good move. You have to look through the historical photos that pepper the choir's deck (?) and have to sit on the single chair facing the picture windows to the street. Love it!
Our rating for the Toronto Public Library Beaches Branch? World Class. The clientele were engaged and it was busy! Which is a great indicator that people are interested in 'reading' and the other services of this library. What needs to change? Maybe just a tad more consistency in delivery of amenities, events, facilities by the front desk folks - they are the providers of first impressions anyway right? That is easily fixable though so we'd let this one slide.
If you happen to wander out on the street after a nice read at the library, walk towards the water. It is called the beaches for a reason. There is a coastline. Waters have a calming effect on us, maybe to you too. Nice time to relax, unwind and enjoy the breeze... brr... time to get a latte.
PS. We emailed our niece in LA the KidSpace site and she loved it!
Comments (2)
Cool post. Did you guys by any chance catch the owl at the front of the branch? It's a recent addition and the library had a contest run in the community for people to name the owl. The kids had a lot of fun with it - and it was named Wordsworth. Check out the entire article here:
http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/new_arc_06feb27_beaches.jsp
Posted by spaceboi | February 5, 2007 9:55 PM
Posted on February 5, 2007 21:55
Thanks spaceboi for the additional info. We did catch it and could not remember the name.
Posted by edward | February 6, 2007 8:06 AM
Posted on February 6, 2007 08:06