3 Best Sights in Toronto, Ontario

Honoring the memory of the city's first children's librarian, this branch houses the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books, which contains over 90,000 items, including a cuneiform tablet dating all the way back to 2,000 BC. In addition, the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, Speculation, and Fantasy includes another 80,000-plus items covering everything from parapsychology to UFOs.

Early writing artifacts such as a Babylonian cuneiform tablet, a 2,000-year-old Egyptian papyrus, and books dating to the beginning of European printing in the 15th century are shown here in exhibits changing three times annually. Subjects of these shows might include William Shakespeare, Galileo Galilei, Italian opera, or contemporary typesetting. Registration is required to use the collections, so bring government-issued ID with you, but there's no admission fee to view the exhibition area.

Designed by one of Canada's most admired architects, Raymond Moriyama, who also created the Ontario Science Centre, this five-story library is arranged around a large atrium, which gives a wonderful sense of open space. One-third of the more than 6.2 million items—spread across 82 km (51 miles) of shelves—are open to the public. Audio carrels are available for listening to nearly 40,000 music and spoken-word recordings. There's an impressively large performing arts collection, and, lest you think libraries have to be quiet, listening stations and piano rooms are on the fifth floor—as is the Arthur Conan Doyle Room, which is of special interest to Baker Street fans. It houses the world's finest public collection of Holmesiana, including records, films, photos, books, manuscripts, letters, and even cartoon books starring Sherlock Hemlock of Sesame Street. The fourth-floor Jack Rabinovitch Reading Room opened in 2022, with collections from the man who founded Canada's most prestigious literary award, the Giller Prize.