The Great Equalizer - The Case For Investing In the Toronto Public Library

The Great Equalizer 5 • More people visit the Toronto Public Library every year than the an- nual total for 10 culture, arts, and entertainment facilities in the To- ronto area including the Air Canada Centre (events, Leafs, and Rap- tors), the Rogers Centre (events, Blue Jays), the CN Tower, the Royal Ontario Museum, Canada’s Wonderland, the Toronto Zoo, the Art Gallery of Ontario, the Ontario Sc. [...] The political initiative to bring seven library systems under one umbrella was done in the name of efficiency and cost-savings, but the result was simply a further reduction of the city’s public library budget.12 And yet, because of the deep recession of the early-1990s and the slow recovery, especially for socially and economically vulnerable populations, circulation and visits to the library inc. [...] And of course, as the health of the population improves, the burden on the health-care sys- tem is reduced.” Also, the most vulnerable populations in terms of health literacy are seniors, immigrants and the unemployed. [...] The underfunding of the system is direct neg- lect of those residents who most need the support of the city to help them develop the tools to succeed and meaningfully contribute to the commun- ity: Children, seniors, recent immigrants and the unemployed. [...] Accessible at: 27 Critics of the composition of the new Library Board saw the appointees as not having the best interests of the TPL and the residents of Toronto at heart.