I’m going to start this article by telling you something we all know: Toronto is an expensive city. My blog posts on free things to do in Toronto have met with a lot of success, so I wanted to offer you even more. Today I’m going to share with you some of the free services you can get with your library card in Toronto.
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How do I get a library card in Toronto?
First things first. How do I get a library card? You must meet one of the following conditions:
- You live in Toronto
- You work in Toronto
- You go to school in Toronto
- You own property in Toronto
- You live on a First Nations reserve in Ontario
If you meet one of these conditions, you can go to one of the city’s libraries with several documents along with your Ontario driver’s licence. If you don’t have one, you’ll need to show proof of identity and address. You can find a list of accepted documents here.
Books, music, magazines
Well, there’s nothing surprising about that first piece of information. Your library card gives you free access to books, magazines and music. But you may not know everything. If a book isn’t available in the library you’re visiting, you can ask to have it repatriated from another branch. You can make the request online. How convenient!
Computer
Toronto libraries offer free computer access. I’ve only used it to print documents (it’s the cheapest option) but it’s handy if you need to.
Study spaces
Your Toronto library card gives you free access to study spaces. There are several throughout the city that you can reserve free of charge, with capacities ranging from 1 to 10 people. Ideal if you have projects to work on in a group and need some peace and quiet.
Online classes
If you’d like to take online courses, check out the Toronto library website to see if this is one of the services included with the card. You can access free courses on Mango, O’Reilly or Linkedin Learning, for example.
Cultural pass to visit Toronto
This may be one of the free perks that comes with the Toronto library card that people talk about the most. The cultural pass to visit Toronto. Every first Wednesday of the month at 14 the library puts passes online. You can sign up for one and get free access to many of Toronto’s attractions. I’ll leave the full list here, but you can get tickets for the Museum of Contemporary Art, the CN Tower and the AGO, for example.
Loan of musical instruments
Yes, you read that right, you can borrow musical instruments free of charge from certain branches of the Toronto library. Ideal if you want to learn to play an instrument without making a big investment.
Digital Innovation Hubs
It’s a really cool space, you can access a range of technological resources for free to learn new skills or develop your creativity. For example, you can access a 3D printer and lots more!
Resources for newcomers to Canada
I mentioned it in my article “Where to learn English in Toronto”. The Toronto library offers various services for newcomers. Workshops, support from professionals to help you with your arrival. In short, lots of free resources at your disposal.
I hope this list helps you take advantage of all that the Toronto library has to offer free of charge.
