Markham Public Library (MPL) is a library system operated by the municipal government of the City of Markham in Canada. There are eight branches in the city, serving about 250,000 residents in Markham. The libraries are managed by the Administration Centre, located at 6031 Highway 7. In 2008, the system was renamed to the singular Markham Public Library to reflect its status as one unified system. Its current Chief Executive Officer (CEO) is Catherine Biss.

History

While the current library system dates back to the 1970s, there was the subscription based system popular in 19th Century Ontario, the Mechanics’ Institute, operated out of the Old Town Hall on Main Street.

Branches

The Markham Public Library has 8 branches. The Markham Public Library branches are:

Customer-Centred Classification

The Markham Village branch was the first to develop its own library classification system called the Customer Centred Classification (C3). Compared to the Dewey Decimal Classification (DDC) or Library of Congress Classification (LCC), C3 is more modern and is supposed to be easier for library patrons to find books at the book stacks. All branches utilize the C3 cataloguing system for their non-fiction collection. The Thornhill Village branch started the migration to C3 in 2009, and C3 is used by the Thornhill Community Centre branch when it re-opened in 2011.

Membership

People who work, live, or attend a school in York Region may apply for a free membership. Otherwise, a $60.00 annual membership fee will apply.

Services

Like many other libraries across Ontario, the Markham Public Library system allows members to check out books and other physical and online media. Members can:

Borrowing privileges

Other services

Other than borrowing books and media, the following services are available: