North York Central Library
Encyclopedia
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
, Ontario
Ontario
Ontario is a province of Canada, located in east-central Canada. It is Canada's most populous province and second largest in total area. It is home to the nation's most populous city, Toronto, and the nation's capital, Ottawa....
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, at the intersection of Yonge Street
Yonge Street
Yonge Street is a major arterial route connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. It was formerly listed in the Guinness Book of Records as the longest street in the world at , and the construction of Yonge Street is designated an "Event of...
and Park Home Avenue, north of Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue
Sheppard Avenue is an east-west principal arterial road in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. A small portion of a continuation of the road in Pickering, Ontario is also called Sheppard Avenue.-History:...
. The library is located on the west side of Yonge Street beside Mel Lastman Square
Mel Lastman Square
Mel Lastman Square is a public square at North York Civic Centre in the North York, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is named for former North York mayor Mel Lastman....
in the mall of the North York Civic Centre
North York Civic Centre
The North York Civic Centre is a building that once served as the city hall for the former City of North York, Ontario, Canada.Designed by Adamson Associates Architects, the building is located on Yonge Street north of Sheppard Avenue, and features Mel Lastman Square along the Yonge Street frontage...
, which until 1998 was North York's
North York, Ontario
North York is a dissolved municipality within the current city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Geographically, it comprises the central part of the northern section of Toronto. As of the 2006 Census, it has a population of 635,370. The official 2001 census count was 608,288...
City Hall. Its mailing address is 5120 Yonge Street, Toronto, Ontario, M2N 5N9.
North York Central Library is served by the North York Centre subway station
North York Centre (TTC)
North York Centre is a station on the Yonge–University–Spadina line of the Toronto subway and RT. It is located at 5152 Yonge Street, where Yonge is intersected by Park Home Avenue and Empress Avenue. This is within North York Centre, a high density area of the Willowdale neighbourhood...
, which is adjacent to the mall containing the library (City Centre North York). North York Central Library is one of the two libraries in Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
considered to be "Research and Reference Libraries", the other being the Toronto Reference Library
Toronto Reference Library
The Toronto Reference Library is located at 789 Yonge Street, one block north of Bloor Street, in Toronto, Ontario. Formerly the Metropolitan Toronto Reference Library, the name was changed in 1998 when it was incorporated into the Toronto Public Library system..The 38,691 m² The Toronto Reference...
downtown. In contrast to the Toronto Reference Library, however, most of the items in the North York Central Library can be signed out.
Research and Reference Libraries are the largest libraries in Toronto and have the most extensive collections.
It is the largest library in the former city of North York (which is now amalgamated with Toronto
Toronto
Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...
). It has 517,600 items in its collection made up of a wide range of books, magazines, newspapers, videos, tapes and other media. The library building has six floors (and a total floor space of 15626 square metres (18,688.5 sq yd). The library contains sections on children's and teen literature, literature and fine arts, language, society and recreation, business and urban affairs, science and technology, and Canadiana. There is, as well, a variety of multilingual collections for children and adults (in languages including Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
along with many others) http://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/hou_az_nycl.jsp available to serve North York's ethnically diverse population.
On the sixth floor the library houses a large collection of historical Canadian newspapers stored on rolls of film going back to, in some cases, the late 19th century. There are special printers which can print the images which are stored on film.
Also contained within the building is a 1764 square metres (2,109.7 sq yd) auditorium.
History
Now part of the larger Toronto Public LibraryToronto Public Library
Toronto Public Library is a public library system based in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is the largest public library system in Canada and in 2008, had averaged a higher...
system, the first stand-alone facility for the North York Public Library was constructed on Yonge Street at Park Home Avenue in 1959. The Gladys Allison Building (named after the first chair of the Library Board) acted as a main or central library, offering extensive services and a comprehensive collection for not only the surrounding neighbourhood, but the whole community of North York.
The Gladys Allison Building, closed on October 5, 1985. A support branch, Central-on-Sheppard, opened to serve the community during the closure until the new North York Central Library opened.
The new North York Central Library, in the North York City Centre, opened on May 13, 1987.