Vaughan Public Libraries

Vaughan Public Libraries (VPL) is a public library system consisting of twelve libraries and 1 express self-serve storefront in the city of Vaughan in Ontario, Canada. It has a collection of more than 534,000 items and serves over 1.7 million visitors a year. VPL has twelve branch locations, including three resource libraries. The Bathurst Clark Resource Library opened in 1994. Pierre Berton Resource Library opened in 2004. The newest resource library, Civic Centre Resource Library, opened in May 2016, and houses VPL’s administration offices. The latest branch, VMC Library (located in Vaughan Metropolitan Centre), opened to the public in June 2022. VPL serves the growing multicultural community of Vaughan by offering collections in Arabic, Chinese, Gujarati, Hebrew, Hindi, Italian, Korean, Malayalam, Persian, Portuguese, Persian, Punjabi, Russian, Spanish, Tamil, Ukrainian, Urdu, and Vietnamese, in addition to French and English.

The current Chief Executive Officer of Vaughan Public Libraries is Margie Singleton.

Branches
The branches of Vaughan Public Libraries are:

The Maple Library and the community centre in which it is located underwent renovations in June 2021 and reopened in April 2022. Upgrades and additions include accessibility features, free Wi-Fi, and an outdoor reading garden.

The newest libraries opened in Vaughan include the Mackenzie Health Vaughan Library (opened in the Autumn of 2021) and VMC Library (opened in the Spring of 2022). VMC Express (opened in the Spring of 2023) is a 400 square feet self-service storefront on the ground level of VMC Library.

Membership
Free library memberships are available for those who live, work, attend school full-time or own property in the city of Vaughan. VPL also offer free membership to members of Aurora Public Library, Brampton Library, Caledon Public Library, King Township Public Library, Newmarket Public Library, Richmond Hill Public Library, and Markham Public Library. All other people may acquire a membership by paying an annual fee of $80.00.

Services
Members of Vaughan Public Libraries have access to a diverse collection of resources including books, media, electronic databases, and other library services.
 * Information and reference services
 * Access to full text databases
 * Community information
 * Internet access
 * Reader's advisory services
 * Programs for children, youth and adults
 * Delivery to homebound individuals
 * Interlibrary loan
 * Free downloadable audiobooks
 * WiFi Access
 * Public Microsoft Office workstations
 * Email Librarian
 * AskON live chat research help services
 * Business resources
 * Community information
 * Job/Career resources
 * Access to full-text databases
 * Computer training suite and boardroom
 * Meeting room rentals
 * Exam proctoring
 * Study rooms
 * Volunteer opportunities
 * Photocopiers/Printers available
 * Adult Basic Literacy
 * English as a Second Language
 * Overdrive Digital Collection
 * Multilingual Collections

Borrowing privileges
Holdings are loaned to a patron for a period of time dependent on the type of item borrowed:

Special collections
Special collections at VPL include:

Adult Basic Literacy – This is a collection for adult learners. It includes books, kits of books and audio, Internet links, and databases. Adult Basic Literacy collections are available at all locations.

Black Heritage - Vaughan Public Libraries' Black Heritage Collection was begun on February 25, 1989. It was the first of its kind in York Region, and is housed at Dufferin Clark Library.

Cinema Collection - This collection is housed at Pierre Berton Resource Library and Bathurst Clark Resource Library. It features the work of important directors from around the world and films not made by the major studios or with big Hollywood budgets. Award-winning films from world cinema festivals can be found in this collection.

English as a Second Language – This collection includes books, DVDs, and kits of books and audio or CD-ROM to meet the needs English Language learners. Of particular note are book chat sets of short novels at various learning levels, and TOEFL, IELTS, and other test preparation materials.

Government Documents – Housed at the Bathurst Clark Resource Library, the Government Documents collection offers access to Federal and Provincial Government documents, including statistics, policy and research papers, and other historical records.

Local Studies – This collection is especially useful for genealogists, those wishing to construct family trees, and local researchers needing access to current and historical municipal documents. The Local Studies Collection assists contains information concerning the history of Vaughan as a township, a town and finally a city. This collection now features VPL’s first digital local history project “Villages to City: An Oral History of Vaughan”.

Professional Collection – The professional collection offers access to resources for public and school library professionals. Topics covered range from program planning, to collection development, to library management. The professional collection is housed at the Bathurst Clark Resource Library.