To enter Jane/Dundas Library from the parking lot is to encounter the branch as a visual whole — silver, light, and open. Look down and you can see groups of teens in their study nook below. Look to the right and the entire main level comes into view. Although Jane/Dundas isn’t a huge branch, such is the innovative use of space that it feels bigger than its 11,648 square feet.
A long carpeted ramp leads to the basement level, giving a sense of expansiveness. Further unfolding the feeling of openness is the generous amount of free space overhead as well as the enormous west-facing window.
The library’s spatial openness is matched by linguistic breadth, as evidenced by a large ESL section and materials in French, Chinese, Hindi, Polish, Spanish, and Vietnamese. The narrow aisles of the main level also yield substantial fiction and non-fiction collections.
The downstairs level is equally engaging. It has a quiet study room filled with lovely Saturday self-improvement energy, a beautiful tree in the teen enclave, and a playful set of shelves in the children’s area. These wooden shelves contain an open square which allows young library-users to peer into a storybook-reading zone.
With so many angles, corners, and views, Jane/Dundas is a delightful place to raise your head from a book before burrowing back into study. I’m grateful I got to spend a Saturday afternoon immersed in such an imaginative space!