City Librarian Vickery Bowles announces retirement

TORONTO, Nov. 7, 2024 /CNW/ - The Toronto Public Library (TPL) Board announced today that City Librarian Vickery Bowles has decided to retire mid-year 2025. Bowles has been City Librarian since 2015, and a member of TPL's executive team since 1998. The TPL Board is appointing a Selection Committee to begin the process of hiring Bowles' replacement.

"Vickery has dedicated her professional life to exemplary public service and to the success and well-being of Toronto's residents. TPL has thrived under her innovative and compassionate leadership with increased investments in public library service by the City and the TPL Foundation, leading to library branches being open longer and transformative new programs," said Alim Remtulla, Chair of the Toronto Public Library Board. "Vickery has put TPL on the international stage with her leadership. Torontonians have more reason than ever to be incredibly proud of their library.  On behalf of the entire TPL Board, I thank Vickery for her dedication to public library service and her continued leadership until a new City Librarian is in place."

TPL, North America's biggest and busiest urban public library system, has advanced significantly under Bowles' leadership. Highlights of her tenure include:

Intellectual freedom leadership

• Championed public libraries as democratic institutions to preserve and protect democratic values and freedoms; in particular, intellectual freedom – every individual's right to both seek and receive information from all points of view without restriction - in Toronto and across the global public library sector.
• Led the development of a comprehensive set of initiatives to promote and defend intellectual freedom through programming, civic engagement, policy development and advocacy, including the introduction of an intellectual freedom statement to guide policy, service planning and communications.

Increased access

• Instrumental in moving the TPL Board's open hours plan forward and adding more than 50,000 additional hours of service at library branches across the city, including increased weekday, evening and Sunday hours.
• Eliminated all overdue fines.

Transformed public spaces

• Oversaw award-winning capital projects that deliver beautiful, functional and accessible public library branches across the city including Albion, Albert Campbell, Fort York, Malvern, North York Central Library, Scarborough Civic Centre, Wychwood, and York Woods.
• Championed and advanced development of a strategy for TPL to respond to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission's Calls to Action including initiatives for Indigenous placemaking for TPL branches and spaces, in close consultation with representatives of Indigenous communities in Toronto.

Digital services and infrastructure

• Invested in digital programs, services and infrastructure to advance digital strategies, improve access to technology, opportunities for skills development, and operational efficiency.

Responsive collections

• Spearheaded the shift to digital materials (e.g. ebooks and audiobooks) while continuing to support steady demand for physical formats.
• Led advocacy efforts with multinational publishers for improved Canadian content and fair licensing terms.

Equity and inclusion

• Advanced equity and inclusion at TPL for staff and customers through vision and action, including the introduction of equity and reconciliation statements to support social justice and to guide policy and service planning for equity-deserving groups, including the 2SLGBTQ+ community, and training for all staff.  

Business operations

• Restructured operations to support service development, enterprise project management, business planning, and digital services with a focus on data, analytics and outcome measures.

Pandemic response

• Steered TPL's pandemic response by maintaining essential library services while expanding community support through 12 pop-up food banks, enhanced outreach programs for vulnerable Torontonians, and vaccination clinics in partnership with Toronto Public Health.

"Throughout my career, I've been driven by one simple belief: public libraries are transformative spaces that are essential to supporting the success of the people they serve. Looking ahead, I know TPL will continue to adapt its services to meet the changing needs of future generations while remaining true to its core mission: providing free and equitable access to services in a welcoming and supportive environment," said Vickery Bowles, City Librarian, Toronto Public Library. "I want to express my sincere gratitude to the entire TPL Board and colleagues on the senior leadership team. Finally, I would like to extend my heartfelt thanks to all TPL staff for their ongoing commitment, dedication and contributions to delivering the very best public library service to the residents of this great city."

About Toronto Public Library

Toronto Public Library is the biggest and busiest public library system in North America, with more than 46 million annual visits to our branches and online. We empower Torontonians to thrive in the digital age and knowledge economy through easy access to technology, lifelong learning, and diverse cultural and leisure experiences, where, when and how our customers need us. To learn more, visit tpl.ca, email Answerline at [email protected] or follow us on X (Twitter), Facebook and Instagram and subscribe to email updates.

SOURCE Toronto Public Library

Media Relations: [email protected]