“In 1882 Alderman John Hallam led the campaign to establish a free public library in Toronto. Some argued against supporting an institution that might encourage the public to read (horrors) novels. Hallam himself said the library, approved in a plebiscite in 1883, should include among its collection of serious tomes only a careful selection of light reading, keeping out ‘the garbage of the modern press’.” – Marcus Gee, Globe and Mail, February 14, 2014

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