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Libraries · Toronto

Toronto has 105 public library branches

The population Toronto Public Library serves is 3,110,984. Its borrowers took out 3.7 items per person served in 2024. Ontario counts visits over one typical week and multiplies by 52, so the yearly figure is an estimate.

–Civic lifeNot graded
DirectionsLibrary websiteAll its libraries
Visits a year
13,968,916
4.5 per person served
Borrowed a year
11,595,454
3.7 per person served
Cardholders
33%
1,031,274 cards
Libraries
105
Charities
5,846
1.8 per 1,000 residents
Civic life grade

The three inputs behind a civic life grade for Toronto

Not graded: a city is graded through its neighbourhoods, each on its own figures.

–
Civic lifeA character grade: shown, never part of Toronto’s overall grade.
–Library visits4.5 per resident · Ontario towns 4.5–Charities1.8 per 1,000 · Ontario towns 1.4 · Canada 1.4–Volunteering32.1% of residents · all of Ontario, 2023

Informal groups and mutual aid go uncounted.

Sources: provincial statistics, the CRA, Statistics Canada.

Places to belong

5,846 registered charities give a Toronto mailing address

That is 1.8 per 1,000 residents, against 1.4 in the typical Ontario town and 1.4 across Canada. Charities are placed by mailing address, which flatters service towns whose post office serves a region and undercounts suburbs and rural municipalities.

Volunteering

32.1%

The whole province shares one estimate: 32.1% of people in Ontario volunteered formally in 2023 (between 31.0% and 33.2%), where the ten provinces run from 25.2% to 40.3%.

Statistics Canada, table 45-10-0039.

How it compares

Ahead of most of Ontario’s town libraries on 2 of 3 measures

Per person served, against the 195 town libraries in Ontario’s 2024 statistics.

Visits per person served 4.5 visits · typical 3.4Higher than 72%
Loans per person served 3.7 items · typical 4Lower than 56%
Cardholders 33% of people served · typical 27%Higher than 68%
Fewer per personMore per person
Who is compared

Town libraries only; regional systems left out.

A year at the library

A typical week brings about 268,633 visits

What Toronto Public Library counted in 2024, as the library reported it.

13,968,916
in-person visits
4.5 per person served
11,595,454
items borrowed
3.7 per person served
1,031,274
cardholders
33% of people served
Every day31,768items borrowed
3,110,984 people served
The libraries

Toronto’s 105 public libraries

In order of distance from the centre of Toronto, as the crow flies.

1kmAnkara LibraryDirections →1.2kmToronto Public Library - Northern DistrictWebsite →1.3kmToronto Public Library - Mount PleasantWebsite →1.4kmToronto Public Library - LockeWebsite →2.1kmToronto Public Library - LeasideWebsite →2.9kmToronto Public Library - Forest HillWebsite →3kmToronto Public Library - Deer ParkWebsite →3.4kmToronto Public Library - Barbara FrumWebsite →3.6kmToronto Public Library - Armour HeightsWebsite →4.1kmToronto Public Library - ThorncliffeWebsite →4.1kmToronto Public Library - Don MillsWebsite →4.3kmToronto Public Library - Todmorden RoomWebsite →4.3kmToronto Public Library - WychwoodWebsite →4.7kmToronto Public Library - Flemingdon ParkWebsite →4.9kmToronto Public Library - YorkvilleWebsite →4.9kmToronto Public Library - Toronto Reference LibraryWebsite →5kmToronto Public Library - Oakwood VillageWebsite →5.1kmToronto Public Library - Maria A. ShchukaWebsite →5.5kmToronto Public Library - Spadina RoadWebsite →5.5kmToronto Public Library - DavenportWebsite →5.5kmToronto Public Library - S. Walter StewartWebsite →5.5kmToronto Public Library - Pape/DanforthWebsite →5.5kmToronto Public Library - St. James TownWebsite →6kmToronto Public Library - PalmerstonWebsite →6kmToronto Public Library - Dufferin/St. ClairWebsite →6.1kmToronto Public Library - North York Central LibraryWebsite →6.2kmEarth Sciences Library (Noranda)Website →6.3kmToronto Public Library - Parliament StreetWebsite →6.3kmToronto Public Library - RiverdaleWebsite →6.5kmToronto Public Library - Lillian H. SmithWebsite →6.6kmToronto Public Library - Danforth/CoxwellWebsite →6.6kmToronto Public Library - Victoria VillageWebsite →7kmToronto Public Library - City HallWebsite →7.1kmPaul B. Helliwell Patient & Family LibraryDirections →7.1kmClarington Public Library - Orono BranchDirections →7.1kmToronto Public Library - BrookbanksWebsite →7.1kmToronto Public Library - JonesWebsite →7.2kmToronto Public Library - Bloor/GladstoneWebsite →7.2kmToronto Public Library - Queen/SaulterWebsite →7.2kmToronto Public Library - SandersonWebsite →7.3kmToronto Public Library - Gerrard/AshdaleWebsite →7.3kmToronto Public Library - St. Clair/SilverthornWebsite →7.3kmJunction TriangleWebsite →7.3kmToronto Public Library - Eglinton SquareWebsite →7.4kmToronto Public Library - Evelyn GregoryWebsite →7.5kmToronto Public Library - DownsviewWebsite →7.5kmToronto Public Library - St. LawrenceWebsite →7.6kmToronto Public Library - Dawes RoadWebsite →7.8kmToronto Public Library - Amesbury ParkWebsite →7.8kmToronto Public Library - MaryvaleWebsite →7.8kmToronto Public Library - FairviewWebsite →7.9kmPickering Public Library - Central LibraryDirections →7.9kmToronto Public Library - CentennialWebsite →8.1kmToronto Public Library - Main StreetWebsite →8.2kmPetticoat Creek Library & Community CentreDirections →8.5kmToronto Public Library - Annette StreetWebsite →8.5kmToronto Public Library - Mount DennisWebsite →8.6kmToronto Public Library - Fort YorkWebsite →9kmToronto Public Library - BeachesWebsite →9kmToronto Public Library - ParkdaleWebsite →9.1kmToronto Public Library - Pleasant ViewWebsite →9.2kmToronto Public Library - High ParkWebsite →9.2kmToronto Public Library - HillcrestWebsite →9.5kmToronto Public Library - McGregor ParkWebsite →9.8kmToronto Public Library - Black CreekWebsite →9.8kmToronto Public Library - Albert CampbellWebsite →9.8kmToronto Public Library - RunnymedeWebsite →9.8kmToronto Public Library - Kennedy/EglintonWebsite →9.9kmToronto Public Library - Daniel G. HillWebsite →10kmToronto Public Library - Jane/SheppardWebsite →10kmToronto Public Library - Taylor MemorialWebsite →10kmToronto Public Library - Swansea MemorialWebsite →11kmToronto Public Library - York WoodsWebsite →11kmToronto Public Library - WestonWebsite →11kmToronto Public Library - BridlewoodWebsite →11kmToronto Public Library - AgincourtWebsite →11kmNellie Langford Rowell LibraryDirections →12kmToronto Public Library - Woodview ParkWebsite →12kmToronto Public Library - SteelesWebsite →12kmToronto Public Library - BendaleWebsite →12kmToronto Public Library - Scarborough Civic CentreWebsite →13kmToronto Public Library - Humber BayWebsite →13kmToronto Public Library - BrentwoodWebsite →13kmToronto Public Library - RichviewWebsite →13kmToronto Public Library - CliffcrestWebsite →14kmToronto Public Library - Mimico CentennialWebsite →14kmToronto Public Library - Northern ElmsWebsite →14kmToronto Public Library - Woodside SquareWebsite →14kmToronto Public Library - CedarbraeWebsite →15kmToronto Public Library - RexdaleWebsite →15kmToronto Public Library - Goldhawk ParkWebsite →15kmToronto Public Library - Burrows HallWebsite →15kmToronto Public Library - Humber SummitWebsite →16kmToronto Public Library - EatonvilleWebsite →16kmToronto Public Library - GuildwoodWebsite →16kmToronto Public Library - AlbionWebsite →16kmToronto Public Library - New TorontoWebsite →17kmToronto Public Library - Elmbrook ParkWebsite →17kmToronto Public Library - MalvernWebsite →18kmToronto Public Library - Long BranchWebsite →18kmToronto Public Library - AlderwoodWebsite →18kmToronto Public Library - MorningsideWebsite →18kmToronto Public Library - HumberwoodWebsite →19kmToronto Public Library - Highland CreekWebsite →21kmToronto Public Library - Port UnionWebsite →
How to read these numbers

What this data can and can’t tell you

  • Visits count everyone. Anyone through the door counts as a visit, from Toronto or not, and the statistics have no resident share.

Questions about the library and civic life in Toronto

Does Toronto have a public library?

Yes, 105: Earth Sciences Library (Noranda), Junction Triangle, Toronto Public Library - Agincourt, Toronto Public Library - Albert Campbell and 101 more.

How busy is Toronto Public Library?

People made 13,968,916 visits in person and borrowed 11,595,454 items in 2024.

Library statistics: Ontario Public Library Statistics, 2024. Library locations: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL) and Statistics Canada, Open Database of Cultural and Art Facilities (2020). Charities: Canada Revenue Agency, List of charities (2024), charitable organizations only.

Adapted from Statistics Canada (Census of Population 2021, population estimates 2025, 2021 census boundaries) under the Statistics Canada Open Licence; this does not constitute an endorsement by Statistics Canada. Neighbourhood names in some cities © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).