My search for the Saint Clair/Silverthorn branch took me to a part of Toronto I’d never visited before. From Saint Clair West subway station, I caught the westbound 512 bus and rode along Saint Clair West until I heard the automated announcement for Silverthorn. Familiar blue TPL lettering in a white sign-box soon caught my eye as I walked along the street. The library before me was housed in a storefront building, like Mount Pleasant, Saint Lawrence, and Gerrard/Ashdale branches.
Consisting of one large room, St. Clair/Silverthorn had a friendly scholastic atmosphere which seemed to say, “Come on in and do your homework!” A long wooden windowseat doubled as a low bookcase and offered a view of the construction outside. Apart from the pretty fern pattern on the carpet, there were no notable decorations, rendering the library’s style somewhat bland, especially compared to the previous branch I visited, Wychwood.
Three shelves were reserved for the ESL collection, in addition to a couple of silver rods from which hung ESL kits, abridged readers, and TOEFL study guides in tough plastic bags. Four shelves showed off an impressive selection of graphic novels, and nearby were lots of books in Portugese. Two titles from the Romance collection stood out: “Three Brides for Three Bad Boys” and “Wrangling the Redhead.” I kept hoping to see a title like “Wrangling the Egghead”.
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