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It’s pretty easy to forget that U of T is a site of some pretty cool historical gems (at least by post-colonial Canadian standards). I was walking through Gerstein library the other day and was struck with an awareness of the “cultural institution” of U of T when I found myself in a room that was plastered with portraits of archaic white dudes (enter the “Reading Room” and follow-through the next door). On this particular day, I couldn’t seem to escape history as I stumbled upon a quirky librarian who shared some of the library’s past with me.

The Gerstein Library as it stands today.

The Gerstein library was born as a result of a fire that ravaged the U of T library (at University College). On Valentine’s Day, 1890, book-tragedy ensued as the fire gutted everything except the surrounding stone walls. The fire managed to eat up roughly 33,000 volumes – a mere 100 books were saved from the site. Who saved the biggest collection of books? Us trusty scholar-types who had 700 books on-loan at the time!

An artist depiction of U of T’s library in flames — image courtesy of Wikipedia.

Well, obviously this was a bit of a U of T buzzkill – Wikipedia tells me that:

In Ottawa, Edward Blake, the university’s chancellor and a member of parliament, interrupted his speech to inform the House of Commons, “The great institution, the crown and glory, I may be permitted to say, of the educational institutions in our country is at the moment in flames … and is now, so far as its material fabric goes, a ruin tottering to the ground.”

As a result of the destruction of “the crown and glory” of Canada’s institutions, an international fundraising initiative was launched. In 1892, the new building at 7 King’s College Circle was born (going to suggest that it was a white male baby… but I digress). Turns out that 18 years after the new library was built, people were still a bit anxious about fire. Solution? GLASS FLOORS! Long before the CN tower, U of T created a new addition to the library featuring glass floors. I went and checked this area out (now dubbed the “Heritage Stacks”), and I will suggest that there is a certain degree of eeriness to this area, perhaps as a result of the sheer silence of this part of the library.

Needless to say, this building is an interesting one and a good one to study in. It features a café in the basement for full-day study sessions, features some gorgeous architecture, and has all sorts of nooks and crannies to explore. And yes – check out those glass floors!

More historical information on the library can be found here, and more practical information can be found here.