However, the Central reference library is huge and holds books that cannot be lent or removed for any reason. Hence, the book you want is always available and almost always is less marked up, covered in spilled and errant DNA samples than those that go home for a great deal of abuse.
Many books over 10 years old, are not held on open shelves. I always order them online before I leave home. The books are collected from closed stacks and delivered to a 2nd floor station where I collect them, and then must read them in the library. This is often onerous with a 300-800 page book and on the hard wood chairs in reading areas. Still it is air conditioned in the summer and gets one out of the house.
Over the past three years, the library - which dates from the late 60s - has gone through something of a refreshment, and a bold and insane shifting around of every book and category in the place. The results are actually a welcome surprise and utterly practical.
I like the symmetry and angles which seem to the hills, valleys and detours of a natural woodland invaded by yard sticks and geometry gnomes.
Above, on the top left or sets of black units with blue tags on them. They store periodicals and are motorized. The press of a button moves each 18' set of shelves to the aisle you require. The little squares on the bottom are tables on the main floor with a few humans seated. this was early morning and by 11 all the tables will be filled with far more humans. In the right bottom corner, you can see rows of chairs along a bar table looking into the atrium.
Every floor has high speed computer access for laptops. But behind those rows of books are reading table and also dozens of fixed internet and research computers.
If you look at the top centre of this view, you can spot three chrome circles on the floor. Inside of the circle are two comfortable chairs, and a table. They are actually glass enclosed carrels that can be reserved for meetings, skype, or maybe a small family fight. There are about 12 in the library and must have cost plenty as a donation plaque for the cost by some wealthy family is affixed to each one.
Below that on the main floor you can see a lot of computers - which need to be booked with a cardholder for a couple of hours at a time. You can see another line of them on the steps - there are many more lines on risers. There must be more than 100 in this area and probably nearly as many spread throughout the building.
On lower right - behind that table - is the stair down (and up too) the huge, comfortable and attractive newspaper room. It is a favourite place for the homeless to sleep, wet their pants and discharge their bed bug collections. Due to the harsh summer heat and nasty winters, the homeless do frequent this otherwise fine structure - and amazingly those computers (how I don't know as you need a valid address to get a library card).
Of course, one sympathizes with their plights. However, it evaporates pretty dang fast when you stand up from sitting on a hard chair (blond wood) and your pants are wet to your knees because the previous sitter urinated there before you sat.
The 5th (top) floor is almost entirely devoted to music, art, and theatre. On the left above you will see eight 20' rows of musical scores from 18th C. to classical to jazz to Broadway. They go on forever. Another huge section is all theatre plays, and larger than anything else, art and also fashion books.
At the far end is a new heavy security, glass enclosed rare books, collections and delicate books room with many reading tables. If I want to avoid people coughing (necessary for me) or urinating, or sleeping, I can retreat in there are they allow me to stay - usually I am alone or maybe one other person is there. Somewhere behind there are a couple of grand pianos for practice.
In closing, I must mention that all these improvements were apparently approved before the infamous drunk and drug using pre-trump redneck Mayor Rob Ford came into office. His campaign slogan was Stop the gravy train. Once in office, he found little to chop, and now that he is gone, many of the things he did chop need upgrades or repairs due to neglect.
But, being a genuinely ignorant redneck who probably never entered any library ever, the entire T.O. library system faced ruin. He reminded one of Lisa and Bart Simpson riding their bikes past a building with the word library on a sign out front. Lisa mentioned "books" and Bart said, "oh, so that's what they keep in there - books. I always wondered what they were for."
But much to the credit of City council, the main library - at least - is actually better after the end of his tragic ( that is fatal ) terms.
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