Public library branches play an important role in local neighbourhoods, providing valuable community and meeting space where people from all backgrounds, cultures, ages, and walks of life feel comfortable and at home. As important destinations in their neighbourhoods, library branches are a third place in the community, after home and work. To flourish, they are connected spaces ­ connected to the community and extending beyond the confines of buildings into the community. As community focal points and neighbourhood hubs, library branches are community gathering spaces. As places that engage people, branches offer collaborative and interactive spaces. As service spaces, successful branch buildings facilitate changing services, self-service, interaction with customers, browsing, and promotion. Branches support service changes in an evolving environment where the focus ranges from collections to connections. Branches today also need to be sustainable and green. And, branches need to be welcoming, dynamic, interesting, and fun. At Toronto Public Library (TPL), we have implemented these requirements over the past 10 years as we have worked our way through a number of major branch building projects, including 16 renovations, 11 reconstructions, and two new additional branches.

We’ve learned that a successful library branch feels like a “home away from home,” providing flexible spaces and “rooms” to accommodate individuals and groups as well as the wide-ranging services and collections found in today’s public libraries. Accordingly, TPL has sharpened its focus on customers and community connections in recent branch renovation projects. The goal is to create branches that are more than architectural show pieces and that respond to individual communities and customers in meaningful ways and support flexible, changing services. Four recent branch renovation projects illustrate this renewed focus.

Jane/Dundas

Jane/Dundas Branch serves a community in transition with a mix of residential and light industrial land surrounding the library. Located at a busy intersection but completely lacking in street presence, this dreary, run-down facility had not been renovated since it was built in 1975, and badly needed to be updated and revitalized. The project architects were Teeple Architects, Inc. The budget was $3.45 million. The branch re-opened in February 2008.

At 11,863 square feet, the building was large enough for effective neighbourhood branch services. To create a dynamic street presence, a new glass façade was added on the north side of the building. Additional windows on the east side brought more daylight into the building. The interior of the branch was completely re-designed with a focus on clear sight lines incorporating both flexible and zoned spaces. A single entrance into the library improved security and allowed for a reduction in service desks. The branch is now bright, comfortable, and welcoming. On opening day, the 1,555 eager residents who visited the library clearly enjoyed and relished the new spaces and collections access. As with other branch projects, use is up in all areas and many new users, particularly more teens, have found their “home away from home.”

Here is an exterior view from the street corner. The new glass façade on the north face of the building and additional windows on the east bring soft natural light into the library without excessive solar heat gain resulting in a bright, well tempered interior. Indirect southern light maintains an evenly distributed interior, producing the perfect reading environment.

The interior ramp was maintained but enhanced with windows and views to teen area below and adult area above. A single entrance into the library space was introduced improving security and control. The two floors were linked through the addition of an interior staircase and elevator.

The adult lounge is now bright, comfortable and welcoming.

The new children’s area is done in lively, bright colours, defining different interior spaces and accommodating the growing needs of younger customers.

Main floor entrance and circulation area with a glass floor to ceiling display unit on the left.

 

Cliffcrest

Cliffcrest is a small, popular neighbourhood branch located in a Scarborough strip plaza. At 2,800 square feet, it was cramped, uninviting, lacking meeting space, and with a shared staff and public washroom. An opportunity to expand arose through the landlord’s desire to relocate the library in the plaza. TPL successfully negotiated relocating to a 4,900-square-foot space with a landlord contribution of $450,000 for leasehold improvements. The project architects were McKinnon Design. The budget was $750,000. The branch re-opened in April 2008.

Cliffcrest was designed to facilitate some of the new service approaches that TPL has been developing, including self-service, collections display, browsing, merchandizing, and popular materials. Although the space is small, zones and multifunctional areas are created for various uses. The colours are attractive and fun and the furniture is comfortable, bright, and interesting. Use is up and customers have adapted well to the space, especially children and teens who have commented that now the branch is “AMAZING!”

Cliffcrest is designed to focus on collections, merchandizing, browsing and popular materials.

The colour scheme is bright and inviting and represents the lake, trees and green areas in the community.

Adult workstations surround a pillar covered with flexible white oak wall covering. Note the green ceiling feature that helps to zone the space.

The children’s area is separated by a curved shelving unit. There are smaller workstations, children’s table and collections.

The new program room is easy to supervise with glass doors and windows. It is used for quiet study when not booked. Forbo wall covering is used for easy displays.

 

S. Walter Stewart

Located in the east area, this unique round branch opened in 1959. While the building required state-of-good-repair upgrades and was crowded and oppressive with very low ceilings, the public wanted TPL to retain this “flying saucer” building and update it to provide 21st-century spaces and services. The project architects were Phillip H. Carter in joint venture with Ellen Vera Allen. The budget was $5.1 million. The branch re-opened in May 2008.

In response to the local community, this 25,860-square-foot district branch was completely updated, retrofitted, and transformed. Customers described the new spaces as “well worth the wait” (after a long 21-month closure), “the best library in Toronto,” “awesome,” “beautiful, bright, inviting, a joy to use,” with a “great teens room” and “really good for kids.” Features of the renovation include a raised roof in the central area creating a large glazed atrium that brings sunlight into the centre of the building, a large glass entrance vestibule and lobby providing a feeling of spaciousness and wonder as you enter the library, a teen zone, computer learning centre, and grand staircase connecting floors and leading to the children’s area, a café and multipurpose auditorium, and meeting room. As well, S. Walter Stewart Branch features KidsStop, Toronto Public Library’s first literacy-rich interactive centre for children, parents, and caregivers.

The raised atrium roof has a wood structural ceiling and large windows bringing daylight into the centre of the building. The central space helps to orient customers to the building.

This round perimeter room is the teen zone with a new large window cut in the masonry wall.

A computer Le@rning Centre was created in the third round perimeter room.

A new staircase to the lower level leads into a café area with a floor that reflects the space theme of the building.

The striking threshold arch to the S. Walter Stewart KidsStop with lights that flash when a child puts his library card in the red ball. KidsStops are part of Toronto Public Library’s Ready for Reading program and are designed to be interactive and to promote emergent literacy skills.

This KidsStop incorporates the space theme throughout the library with a kid sized rocket that is ready for action. In the foreground, there is an alphabet printing and writing table which promotes letter knowledge, printing and cursive writing skills.

Spinning blocks of nursery rhymes, pictures, symbols and letters are mounted on the wall. Children use the spinning blocks to practice their storytelling skills. 12 specially designed activity panels to assist in developing emergent literacy skills are mounted in moveable cubes on the floor.

 

Dufferin/St. Clair

Dufferin/St. Clair Branch opened at its present site in 1921. Last renovated in 1979, this 11,208-square-foot neighbourhood library was sorely in need of state-of-good-repair upgrades. In addition, the building had been distinguished through decorative murals that were painted from 1925 to 1932 by artists George A. Reid, Lorna Clair, and Doris McCarthy. In 1964, the murals were painted over when the branch was “modernized.” Through the leadership of local residents, one of the George A. Reid panels was restored to view in 2004. Following public consultation, many of the remaining murals were brought to life and formed an important element of the redesign process, inspiring the fairy tale theme for this branch’s KidsStop. The architects for the project were Makrimichalos Cugini Architects. The project budget was $3.5 million. The branch re-opened in October 2008.

Through redesign, the Dufferin/St. Clair Branch has been transformed to a vital, inviting, and visible presence in the community. The library engages residents and passers-by through the transparency provided by views into and out of the space. The new reading garden extends the library outside and the large windows animate the streetscape. Users have readily adapted to the redesigned spaces and can be observed using the library happily together in the various zones created. Library use has skyrocketed and people are staying longer when they visit.

The community is proud of the renovated library because the design respects and restores the heritage of the building while bringing it to life in ways that respond to the diverse needs of today’s community, making it a true “home away from home” where everyone feels welcome and comfortable.
Many customers are closely watching what is happening in TPL’s branch libraries. Every renovation raises the bar of expectations and brings requests from other areas to work the magic of beautiful while functional public library space in their local branches.

An exterior view of the library at night with views into the building.

The restored Reid murals surround the adult area. The flooring and finishes complement the murals.

There are comfortable seating areas with views outside. Collections are promoted through display.

This used to be the staff room at this branch but when we looked to renovate the library, we felt that this prime space needed to be a public one and what better use than for creating a teen area. The space is private but also easily supervised. It has lovely windows along one wall.

This is the children’s area in the branch. The space has been designed to be bright, airy, welcoming and fun. There is an emphasis on collection display and merchandizing.

The threshold for the Dufferin/St. Clair KidsStop features Michael Martchenko’s dragon from Robert Munsch’s classic fairy tale, The Paper Bag Princess. With permissions from Annick Press and Michael Martchenko, the dragon was enlarged and reproduced. It is suspended from the ceiling with TPL’s signature KidsStop threshold sign. It is visible from the entrance to the branch and through out the children’s area.

12 specially designed activity panels are built into the specially designed dragon feature. There is space on top of the dragon to display Ready for Reading books. The alphabet printing and writing table promotes the letter knowledge and the development of printing and writing skills.

The castle puppet stage provides an area for children to perform their own shows, building narrative skills.

 

 

Anne Bailey is the Director of Branch Libraries for Toronto Public Library. abailey@torontopubliclibrary.ca