Toronto Public Library / en A new chapter: Here鈥檚 how Toronto, 茄子直播 libraries are embracing change in the digital world /news/new-chapter-here-s-how-toronto-u-t-libraries-are-embracing-change-digital-world <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">A new chapter: Here鈥檚 how Toronto, 茄子直播 libraries are embracing change in the digital world </span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/TRL-main---1140-x-76.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=X4AllTUq 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/TRL-main---1140-x-76.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=gfTUiXOn 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/TRL-main---1140-x-76.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=zXmGe0ob 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/TRL-main---1140-x-76.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=X4AllTUq" alt="photo of crowd at library"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>Romi Levine</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2018-03-21T13:16:34-04:00" title="Wednesday, March 21, 2018 - 13:16" class="datetime">Wed, 03/21/2018 - 13:16</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">Toronto Public Library managers speak to 茄子直播 students, community members about how libraries adapt and evolve to suit the changing needs of Torontonians (all photos by Romi Levine)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/romi-levine" hreflang="en">Romi Levine</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/faculty-arts-science" hreflang="en">Faculty of Arts &amp; Science</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/humanities" hreflang="en">Humanities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/st-michael-s-college" hreflang="en">St. Michael's College</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/toronto-public-library" hreflang="en">Toronto Public Library</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/u-t-libraries" hreflang="en">茄子直播 Libraries</a></div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>When <strong>Paolo Granata</strong> moved to Toronto from Bologna, Italy to begin teaching at the University of Toronto two years ago, one of the first things he did was go with his wife and kids to his local public library.</p> <p>鈥淭he library card was a symbolic way to feel part of a broader cultural climate, to be part of a community, to belong, to be active players in the city,鈥 said Granata, who is the coordinator of the book and&nbsp;media studies program at St. Michael's College in the Faculty of Arts and Science.</p> <p>Granata鈥檚 experience echoes that of newcomers across the city who are able to learn about their new home through the massive selection of free resources available to them at Toronto鈥檚 public libraries.</p> <p>As most people who work at the library will tell you, the library isn鈥檛 鈥 and perhaps never was 鈥 just about the books. And as technology continues to evolve, public libraries have too 鈥 adapting, almost as fast as the technology itself 鈥 to meet the changing needs of the people who use them.</p> <p>That was the biggest takeaway from a joint 茄子直播 and Toronto Public Library event held at the Toronto Reference Library on Tuesday called <a href="http://www.mcluhansalons.ca/libraries-as-media-spaces/">Libraries as Media Spaces: Technology,&nbsp;Debate, Equity</a>. The event combined 茄子直播鈥檚 <a href="http://www.mcluhansalons.ca/">McLuhan Salons</a> series and TPL鈥檚 newly-launched <a href="https://www.torontopubliclibrary.ca/programs-and-classes/featured/on-civil-society.jsp">On Civil Society</a> programming.</p> <p>It featured talks by City Librarian and alumna&nbsp;<strong>Vickery Bowles</strong>, TPL鈥檚 Manager of Cultural and Special Event Programming Gregory McCormick, Innovation Manager Ab Velasco, Manager, Service Development 鈥 Special Collections Mary Rae Shantz, Toronto Reference Library Manager Gillian Byrne and <strong>Marshall McLuhan</strong>鈥檚 son Michael.</p> <p><img alt="Michael McLuhan and Paolo Granata" class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__7868 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" src="/sites/default/files/Embed-2---michael-M---750-x-500.jpg" style="width: 750px; height: 500px; margin: 10px;" typeof="foaf:Image"><br> <em>"I'm not trying to be a dinosaur but may print live forever," said Michael McLuhan&nbsp;(photo by Romi Levine)</em></p> <p>Famed 茄子直播 professor and media theorist McLuhan was already thinking ahead when he wrote about people鈥檚 changing relationship with libraries in the late 1970s along with <strong>Robert K. Logan</strong>, professor emeritus in the department of physics, who attended the 茄子直播-TPL event. The text was turned into a book in 2016 called <em>the Future of the Library</em>.</p> <p>Granata brought his "readers and readerships"&nbsp;class to Tuesday鈥檚 event to honour McLuhan鈥檚 legacy of using the 鈥渃ity as a classroom,鈥 he said.</p> <p>鈥淲e strongly believe, in this class, libraries play a fundamental role in conceiving reading as a social experience 鈥 as a way to foster cultural participation, encourage civic engagement, and a way to foster urban sustainable development,鈥 said Granata. 鈥淚n a hyper-connected age, to counterbalance online activities that rule our lives, we also need physical places where we can get together.鈥</p> <p>The role of libraries as community spaces reaches far beyond brick and mortar, said Bowles.</p> <p>鈥淲hen people talk about libraries as irrelevant or large warehouses of old books, clearly there's a disconnect between the way many people think about libraries of the past and the ways libraries have actually developed and operate in present day,鈥 she said. 鈥淲e have many more ways to connect to our patrons and reveal our library services鈥 Now, in fact, two of our main customer service channels are not surprisingly Facebook and Twitter.鈥</p> <p>Many of the libraries' archival and rare materials are available online as digital copies, which Shantz encourages users to take and use for their own projects.</p> <p>鈥淭here's more than one story to tell and more than one way to tell the story,鈥 she said. 鈥淲hat we're challenged to do now as the public library is to take these resources and sprinkle them out in as many places so you can find them, be it Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and reuse them and rebuild your own story out of them.鈥</p> <p>Toronto鈥檚 library system also offers tech-minded services such as&nbsp;3D printing and VR equipment, said Velasco.</p> <p>鈥淣ot only can people come to the libraries to consume&nbsp;information, they can actively participate and create information such as media in our spaces,鈥 he said.</p> <p><img alt class="media-image attr__typeof__foaf:Image img__fid__7870 img__view_mode__media_original attr__format__media_original" height="500" src="/sites/default/files/Embed-1-student---750x500.jpg" typeof="foaf:Image" width="750" loading="lazy"><br> <em>TPL managers spoke to a packed crowd of 茄子直播 students and community members (photo by Romi Levine)</em></p> <p>Toronto Public Library isn鈥檛 the only system embracing change 鈥 so is 茄子直播 Libraries, said Deputy Chief Librarian <strong>Julie Hannaford</strong>.</p> <p>鈥淲e're changing in so many ways,鈥 she said. 鈥淵ou can't stay static in terms of academic libraries because not only are we keeping up with trends and changes within our profession, but we're also grappling with changes in terms of higher education as well.鈥</p> <h3><a href="/news/uoftbacktoschool-10-things-you-didn-t-know-you-could-do-u-t-s-libraries">10 things you didn鈥檛 know you could do at 茄子直播鈥檚 libraries</a></h3> <p>茄子直播 Libraries provides faculty, staff and students with massive amounts of data and digitized materials 鈥 allowing them to take deep dives into various topics, said Hannaford. It also hosts events that, just like TPL, promote dialogue and debate like a week-long event that tackled <a href="https://guides.library.utoronto.ca/scienceliteracy">science in a post-truth era</a> and a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-aApMSFKxnFSDZ4a3N6RHNUeGs/view">law research-a-thon</a> exploring the legal implications of the U.S. travel ban and how it could affect Canada.</p> <p>鈥淟ibraries are not doomed by any means,鈥 said Michael McLuhan. 鈥淚t's not only a place where social discourse can happen 鈥 it gives us all access, it levels the playing field, it enables us to deal with each other on the same level. Anybody can become an expert.鈥</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Wed, 21 Mar 2018 17:16:34 +0000 Romi Levine 131830 at Free museum passes for 茄子直播 students /news/free-museum-passes-u-t-students <span class="field field--name-title field--type-string field--label-hidden">Free museum passes for 茄子直播 students</span> <div class="field field--name-field-featured-picture field--type-image field--label-hidden field__item"> <img loading="eager" srcset="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-01-museum-pass-lead2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=KCOIXjAu 370w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_740/public/2016-11-01-museum-pass-lead2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=SXOnnOIp 740w, /sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_1110/public/2016-11-01-museum-pass-lead2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=8jPPowsh 1110w" sizes="(min-width:1200px) 1110px, (max-width: 1199px) 80vw, (max-width: 767px) 90vw, (max-width: 575px) 95vw" width="740" height="494" src="/sites/default/files/styles/news_banner_370/public/2016-11-01-museum-pass-lead2.jpg?h=afdc3185&amp;itok=KCOIXjAu" alt="Photo of Art Gallery of Ontario"> </div> <span class="field field--name-uid field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden"><span>ullahnor</span></span> <span class="field field--name-created field--type-created field--label-hidden"><time datetime="2016-11-01T11:16:52-04:00" title="Tuesday, November 1, 2016 - 11:16" class="datetime">Tue, 11/01/2016 - 11:16</time> </span> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-field-cutline-long field--type-text-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Cutline</div> <div class="field__item">The Art Gallery of Ontario is just one of the attractions students can enter for free with the pass (photo by Reg Natarajan via Flickr)</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-reporters field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/authors-reporters/noreen-ahmed-ullah" hreflang="en">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-author-legacy field--type-string field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Author legacy</div> <div class="field__item">Noreen Ahmed-Ullah</div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-topic field--type-entity-reference field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Topic</div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/topics/city-culture" hreflang="en">City &amp; Culture</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-story-tags field--type-entity-reference field--label-hidden field__items"> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/toronto" hreflang="en">Toronto</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/toronto-public-library" hreflang="en">Toronto Public Library</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/tpl" hreflang="en">TPL</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/cities" hreflang="en">Cities</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/students" hreflang="en">Students</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/museums" hreflang="en">Museums</a></div> <div class="field__item"><a href="/news/tags/art" hreflang="en">Art</a></div> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-subheadline field--type-string-long field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">Subheadline</div> <div class="field__item">Select museums and cultural institutions are participating in the Toronto Public Libraries initiative</div> </div> <div class="clearfix text-formatted field field--name-body field--type-text-with-summary field--label-hidden field__item"><p>University of Toronto students can get passes to visit select city museums for free, thanks to a pilot initiative with Toronto Public Libraries (TPL).&nbsp;</p> <p>All they have to do is stop by one of several 茄子直播 libraries and request a <a href="https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/news/free-museum-and-arts-passes-now-available-students-u-t-libraries">museum pass booklet</a>. Booklets are available at Robarts, Engineering and Gerstein Libraries as well as the library circulation desks at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education, 茄子直播 Mississauga and 茄子直播 Scarborough.</p> <p>Next students need to take those museum pass booklets to a Toronto Public Library branch at City Hall, Lillian H. Smith, Parliament Street, the Scarborough Civic Centre and the Toronto Reference Library. They鈥檒l need to show the booklet and a TPL card to get the museum pass activated as part of TPL鈥檚 Sun Life Financial Museum and Arts Pass (MAP) program.</p> <p>The pass is good for free admission for two to the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Bata Shoe Museum, City of Toronto Historic Sites or the Textile Museum of Canada.</p> <p>鈥淪tudents are on a budget,鈥 said<strong> Julie Hannaford</strong>, 茄子直播鈥檚 deputy chief librarian. 鈥淪ome are coming to a brand new city and that can be pretty overwhelming. With the pass, they can access art and culture in the city for free, and this is a great way to learn about the city.鈥&nbsp;</p> <p>And a little time spent gazing at art might even be good for students' health. (Read about <a href="https://jenniferstellar.com/people-2/">the 茄子直播 Mississauga researcher</a> exploring the health impact of positive emotions,<a href="/news/putting-stock-awe-u-t-research"> including the awe we feel in the presence of great art</a>.)&nbsp;</p> <p>It鈥檚 all part of an effort to drive more university students to the Toronto Public Libraries.</p> <p>The program is starting initially at 茄子直播 and Ryerson University. If successful, TPL and 茄子直播 hope to expand the program to&nbsp;include more cultural institutions.</p> <p>鈥淪tudents see their campus libraries as their libraries,鈥 says Brian Francis, marketing manager for TPL. 鈥淥ur goal is to get them to come into TPL branches because we want them to get a sense of all the things TPL offers.鈥 &nbsp;</p> <p>At 茄子直播 Libraries, students will need to show their T-card to confirm they are a student&nbsp;in order to get the booklet.</p> <p>To get a TPL card, students need to live, work, go to school or own property in the city of Toronto.</p> <p>Students can also participate in the larger MAP program as long as they have a TPL card. Those passes can get them a free visit to the Toronto Zoo, the Ontario Science Centre, the Royal Ontario Museum and more.</p> <p>Students can pick up their museum pass booklets at the designated 茄子直播 libraries until Jan. 31 or until supplies&nbsp;run out. &nbsp;</p> <p>&nbsp;</p> </div> <div class="field field--name-field-news-home-page-banner field--type-boolean field--label-above"> <div class="field__label">News home page banner</div> <div class="field__item">Off</div> </div> Tue, 01 Nov 2016 15:16:52 +0000 ullahnor 102204 at