The unprecedented and deep cuts to many Toronto social services are incredible. But none other then the attacks on the Toronto Public Library. I remember the days we would cram for finals at Central Library and all 6 floors would be filled with familiar faces, studying (and slacking). The library goes beyond hitting the books. It is the heart of a community, one of the last public spaces left where friends and neighbours gather together. Unfortunately, the service is being endangered by city council.
October 17, 2011
Dear Councillor David Shiner,
Thank you for representing the citizens of Willowdale in Ward 24 over these many years. Currently I am a 19-year old university student in your ward, and having followed municipal politics for a few years, I believe you have been a strong voice for us in council. I would like to strongly voice my concerns and firm opposition to the recent cuts to the Toronto Public Library. Having immigrated to Canada at the age of 6 and growing up in Willowdale ever since. The Toronto Public Library is the heart and soul of this city and it serves as one of the last community hubs and meeting place that unites seniors, adults, students and children from all demographics. The Toronto Public Library is the busiest and biggest urban library system in the world - incomparable to say the least, and its world-class facilities as well as its excellence in quality of service are what us Torontonians are proud of. I am strongly urging you and the rest of city council to reconsider the budget cuts and the reduction in staff and service hours as the library is a vital part of most Torontonians’ life.
In fact, over 1.2 million Torontonians frequent the library in their weekly life, and KPMG surveyed that 73% of residents use the library in some way. The library is a fundamental public institution that provides basic access for its residents to literature, videos, books, social programs and entertainment. It serves as a multi-purpose facility that serves all types of people, not only the book lovers. Reducing its services and staff would be detrimental to the quality of life that we are blessed to have in this great country.
Canada is a nation that stands proud for its diversity, along with its freedoms and multiculturalism. Today, this country is built upon the incorporation of many newcomers to this country, and I know the library is a strong reason for their success. As a proud Chinese-Canadian citizen, I arrived in grade 1, with minimal English skills. My parents and my sister brought me to the North York Central Library daily and it was through the time I spent reading books there that I learned English so quickly. My experience only resonates the similar experiences of thousands of new Canadians. Entering a new life in Canada, the library is the first place these people go to in order to learn English, as it provides limitless ESL resources, classes and convenience. Literacy is what helps immigrants learn, build up confidence and find jobs, through which the Toronto Public Library is able to support. Reducing service hours, cutting staff and resources will immensely impact our newcomers’ ability to integrate into our society.
Not only is the library a place to learn for immigrants, it is the place where parents introduce toddlers to their first book. The success of this nation’s future can easily be determined by the investment into our children. Now, it may be argued that books can be easily bought at the local bookstore if residents wants to read, but the endless variety of materials at the TPL provides more exposure to our kids and allow the parents to foster their child’s imagination. Kids learn the importance of reading and the library is where a child gets to grow in knowledge and be creative. In addition, the TPL also supports child literacy through its many interactive programs, like the Summer Reading Club, Ready for Reading, Storytimes, and Dial-A-Story. For me, the library was where I grew up and learned, having adventures in mysteries and classic fairy tales. The service reduction would severely impact the city’s kids.
Besides kids, the TPL is a central hub for our seniors to drop by to borrow a quick read or enjoy programs such as computer literacy classes or book clubs. Closer to home, I have worked at the Bayview neighbourhood library for almost 3 years, and many of the senior citizens in our wards quite enjoy dropping in and borrowing dozens of books to be enjoyed during their leisure time. The Bayview branch has grown quickly and tremendously to be the busiest neighbourhood branch in North York and it has taken many years until recently that an increase in staff and service hours were introduced to meet the exponential usage of the library by our residents. Cutting services would be reversing what the neighbourhood has demanded.
Willowdale boasts a healthy population of seniors, but also a vibrant young generation of students. As a student of Earl Haig SS, most of my friends and I would spend many hours a week studying and borrowing research materials at NYCL, Bayview and Fairview. It provides us with a quiet place to study, to learn, to further enhance our knowledge and also to relax. Many library users enjoy checking out the huge selection of DVDs, CDs, graphic novels, audiobooks or a good ol’ paperback for leisure. In a time where our economic condition is not stable, many more residents use the library as a source of inexpensive entertainment, family time. The TPL also supports a big collection of materials from over 60 languages and is important to the diverse population of our city. I have only touched the surface of the pool of educational and cultural services and resources that the TPL provides to its residents. There are many more usage of the library that garners mention, such as shows, concerts, museum passes, guest speakers, bookmobile and many more.
All these services are made possible only by the friendly librarians, public service assistants and pages that run the programs, helps the patrons, offer suggestions and maintain the library collection. Without the staff and investment into our libraries, we would not have the best public library system in the world.
I would strongly ask that council reconsider the proposals to cut the staff and reduce the hours. The collection spending can be trimmed, but I believe the staff and service cuts would leave a potent effect on the literacy of our fellow citizens and would prohibit the freedom and convenient access to learning that is key to an innovative and better city. Willowdale is a place that I’ve grown to love. As a young citizen, I would love to start my family here in the future. I would like to see the libraries to be an active part of my family’s life, just as my parents used to bring me as a kid.
I am a proud Torontonian and I would like to see us to build a great city that foster innovation, creativity and possibility. The Toronto Public Library plays an integral role in building the foundation of a good standard of living in Canada. There are many places in the world that do not have access to literacy as we do in Canada. We are greatly blessed to have such access to literacy, which provides people with freedom and a future.
I understand our city is going through a tough financial situation at the moment, but I believe this library is too vital to be reduced. I strongly echo my friends and neighbours’ support of the library, and we are willing to pay more taxes to maintain the current quality and level of service. I agree that there are efficiencies that can be found. For example, 400 copies of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is unnecessary.
The TPL is a community hub that unites residents of all ages, whether to use the net, to read, to research, to relax or socialize, it is an essential public institution that is too valuable to diminish.
Again, I thank you for representing the voices of Willowdale.
Sincerely,
Abraham Yuen
Willowdale Citizen
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