Toronto Reference Library

I think I was a little bit too harsh in my open letter to the TPL. Now that I think about it, I feel like one of those do-nothing ungrateful citizens that always expects miracles from some tax dollars.

In all fairness, I think we could all use a bit of critiquing, but we should not oversee the good. So here it goes…

Thank you TPL, for still being my number one informational resource!

I make extensive use of your music library collection that’s always updated with the latest in pop, and Canadian independent music in both CD and music score format. I am always delighted to find what I was looking for in the large music score readily available as if no one knew about it before– like it was my own secret. I’ll never forget how shocked I was to see so much Jann Arden!

Also, the reels and reels of newspapers dating from hundreds of years ago are neatly organized and beats any trip to a historical museum. I could sit for hours reading and looking at the pictures of the city I lived in a hundred years ago today, and it’s made possible because of the donations and taxes that go into the library.

There are also a lot of neat features about the library that not a lot of people don’t know or take advantage of. Did you know they lend out pedometers for free? And museum passes too?

That’s not to mention the countless workshops and activities to engage the community. There’s everything ranging from movie night to just learning Microsoft word.

They even renovated their Dufferin location to simulate the Starbuck’s experience. This library with its sleek modern interior allows its visitors to eat INSIDE while using their laptops with music played in the background. You don’t have to pay $6 for a grande, this joint is for free!

I probably didn’t even list a fraction of all that the Toronto Public Library has to offer but anyone in Toronto can tell you it’s great. And I get angry at those who ruin it for others with their book hoarding and accruing unpaid big fines! Not cool.

Anyway, the place is great, that I really hope I can get more involved with the library community… maybe as a workshop leader on blogging?

Today I was disappointed to discover the music practice rooms in the Toronto Reference Library were complete duds.

What you call a practice room appears to me as a make shift room hastily put together by wooden boards and some glue. If this was an attempt to barricade sound, could the three walls at least meet the ceiling?

I suppose the ‘music’ in the TRL’s practice room denotes the two Casio keyboards awkwardly put together quite literally side by side. Surely no one will hear a peep with the headphones permanently attached. But could the TRL at least acknowledge how awkward it was for me to play away Fur Elise when a complete stranger was allowed to barge in and play the keyboard next to me? Surely anyone with any musical inclination can agree practice in its most blandest of forms requires privacy and space- the library’s traditional stacked study desk arrangement does not apply.

Being able to only play the provided keyboards in a room officially dubbed ‘piano/practice room’ completely disregards other musicians. Why can’t guitars, violins and other acoustic instruments be played inside without being in violation of having to be heard by the entire library? Why does the library give preference in accommodating keyboard players?

As it stands now there are no other public spaces for musicians to play in privacy other than the North York Central Library where a fee is charged by the hour. If the library is a resource for learning, I think it is imperative to dedicate at least a room as small as 7 square feet in at least one of the downtown branches to better provide for its music community.

I hope you will agree! And I think I should also let you know I will be posting this letter on my blog so my musician readers will also become aware of this issue.

Thank you,

Van Delsooz

The Good Side of TPL

My open letter to the Toronto Public Library head honchos