James Bain was a Scottish-Canadian bookseller, publisher, and librarian. Born in London, England, his family emigrated to Toronto when he was 6 years old. After completing his education at the Toronto Grammar School, he went to work for his father who was a stationer and bookseller. He was active in the publishing industry both in England and in Canada, joining the firm John Nimmo & Son which later became Nimmo & Bain. He returned to Canada in 1882. After managing the fledgling Canada Publishing Company, Bain was selected in 1883 to become the first chief librarian of the Toronto Public Library. He held this position until his death in 1908.
James Bain (librarian)
Colour portrait of James Bain by Edmund Wyly Grier, commissioned by the Board of the Toronto Public Library in 1909.
Toronto Public Library (TPL) is a public library system in Toronto, Ontario. It is the largest public library system in Canada, and in 2023 had averaged a higher circulation per capita than any other public library system internationally, making it the largest neighbourhood-based library system in the world. Within North America, it also had the highest circulation and visitors when compared to other large urban systems. Established as the library of the Mechanics' Institute in 1830, the Toronto Public Library now consists of 100 branch libraries and has over 26 million items in its collection.
The Toronto Mechanics' Institute in 1884. A library was established at the Institute in 1830, whose collection was later absorbed into the Toronto Public Library in 1884.
The Toronto Reference Library was merged with the other library boards of Toronto following Metropolitan Toronto's amalgamation in 1998.
The Lillian H. Smith branch of TPL holds the Merril Collection of Science Fiction, and the Osborne Collection of Early Children's Books.
Toronto Public Library operates two bookmobiles.
