Public Libraries Matter: Global Responses to the Pandemic

This report was written for the Toronto Public Library (TPL) by students working on behalf of Humber College. In response to the evolving COVID-19 situation, libraries around the world have had to reconsider their operations and services to adapt to concerns over delivering in-person services, keeping staff and patrons safe, and finding new ways to utilize service spaces. The primary purpose of this report was to provide the TPL with best practices and innovative approaches to reopening, based on a cross-jurisdictional scan of 20 jurisdictions in the global library field. Recommendations made in the report were intended to assist the TPL as they reimagine their operations and services during COVID-19 and beyond.