A Look Back at 2011 . . .

The New Year is a traditional time to recall the most significant people and events of the past 12 months.  At no time in its long history has the Toronto Public Library been more in the news than in 2011 so there is a lot of recounting to do. Here is TPLWU's list of those who advocated on behalf of the TPL and recognized and respected her as the busiest urban public library system in the world and those who attacked her and left her a little worse for wear.

Cups up for: 

Councillors Sarah Doucette and Janet Davis.  Both sit on the Toronto Public Library Board and have consistently been strong supporters of the library service and advocates for the staff.

The tens of thousands of Torontonians who signed our petition, wrote their City Councillor, deputed on our behalf, and have shown their tremendous support and love of the library service.

Canadian Writers, including the 11 Toronto-based authors who participated in our "My Library Matters to Me Contest" as prizes and the many, many more in the literary community who have shown their support for our campaign.  And let's not forget the more than 500 participants in the contest, whose submissions are a treasure trove of reasons why libraries matter. It was tough to pick the 50+ winners!

Minister of Culture Michael Chan, who responded swiftly to a Toronto councillor’s request to charge for the circulation of library materials and declared that the Public Libraries Act would not be opened up.

Councillor Raymond Cho – one of the first fiscal conservatives on Council who broke with the Fords and who gave a heartfelt deputation at the TPLB in September on the importance of libraries to our communities

Cups down for: 

 City Librarian Jane Pyper, who claimed that the elimination of 100 library workers would not have any effect on service delivery, and under whose leadership the TPL has suffered the largest cuts in its history.

City Budget Chief Mike Del Grande, who maintained that the library does not need to purchase materials in languages other than English, despite Toronto's status as the world's most multicultural city, and who is insisting that an arbitrary 10% budget cut be forced upon the library service over the wishes of the Board.

TPLB Chair Paul Ainslie and Vice-Chair Mike Foderick, who moved a motion to eliminate over 18,000 open hours from the library system.  When challenged that this would place Toronto below the average provincial open hours for library service, Ainslie replied that perhaps all libraries in Ontario were open too much.

The Ford Brothers, whose cost-cutting mania has put the city at risk and who seem to have a particular dislike for the li-berry service.

Paul Christie, former Toronto District School Board budget slasher under the Mike Harris regime and now a lobbyist for LSSI, a U.S. firm that works to privatize library systems around the world.