310: The Library Loiterers - Vol. II: Compositions, Classification, and Card Catalogs with Carl Shura at Toronto Reference Library

Welcome, dear friends, to the library. 

Each episode finds me loitering in a library with a special guest in a location of their choosing. We comb the stacks and have a chat about passions, practices, and possibilities, letting the story unfold as it will. You’re encouraged to read between the lines because it’s going to be a real page turner… 

Welcome to The Library Loiterers.

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Ahhhhh, today we find ourselves at Canada’s largest reference library and home to over 4 million items, specialized Digital Innovation Hubs, extensive study spaces, and rare historical archives: welcome to the Toronto Reference Library. 

Located just north of the buzzing downtown intersection of Yonge and Bloor, this library is an incredible resource for the people of the City of Toronto, and a place (I’m a little ashamed to admit), I was visiting for the first time with today’s guest, and I couldn’t think of a better person to traverse the floors with… none other than the delightful Carl Shura.

Carl Shura (he/him) is a Canadian visual designer focused on identity, wayfinding, installations, and type design in his practice and as an educator. He's a graduate of the graphic design program at Winnipeg's Red River Polytechnic, the post-graduate type design program at The Cooper Union, and the type design residency at SVA in New York.

Carl is a member of faculty at the SCHOOLOFDESIGN at George Brown Polytechnic in Toronto where he teaches design, typography, communication, and print production. He is a member of TDC (the Type Director’s Club), RGD (the Association of Registered Graphic Designers), RHSC (the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada), and is the Canadian Delegate for ATypI (Association typographique internationale).

He is also a lover of books, which some call a bibliophile, though he's accepted that it's much more accurate to call him a bibliomaniac.

To give you a sense of the breadth and depth of resources in this library branch, here are a few highlights from the Toronto Public Library’s website and adjacent sources:

• There’s a gallery space as soon as as you walk in, inviting you into a space within a space

• There’s access to 3D printers, green screen studios, audio/video recording equipment and even soldering stations!

• An Adaptive Technology Hub, equipped with Braille writers, print magnifiers, and screen-reading software for visually impaired library goers

• There are piano practice rooms and an extensive sheet music catalog

• There are study and event spaces totalling 1250 seats

• Not to mention the books (the books!), with rare books, special collections, manuscripts, historical maps, the Baldwin Collection of Canadiana, and the Arthur Conan Doyle Room

Carl and I met in the lobby to explore one of the city’s most bountiful spots, to see what would unfold.

BONUS TRIVIA FROM CARL! The TPL online account lets you have your own "shelves" as a way to like/favourite titles for later or for items you've finished, and also to share publicly with comments or recommendations. I have several titles on my shelf that are significant to me regarding design or design history like Adrian Frutiger's iconic work, "Signs and Symbols" and Gerrit Noordzij's collection of newsletters about type design theory in "Letter Letter"—but I also have "The Wonderful World of Insects" by Abro Gaul in 1953. Any guess why that's on my shelf of design significance? 

A HINT: think about production and type in this period of time.* 

Both images are Creative Commons; attribution: "Jeremy Norman Collection of Images - Creative Commons"

About Our Guest:

Carl Shura (he/him) is a Canadian visual designer focused on identity, wayfinding, installations, and type design in his practice and as an educator. He's a graduate of the graphic design program at Winnipeg's Red River Polytechnic, the post-graduate type design program at The Cooper Union, and the type design residency at SVA in New York.

Carl is a member of faculty at the SCHOOLOFDESIGN at George Brown Polytechnic in Toronto where he teaches design, typography, communication, and print production. He is a member of TDC (the Type Director’s Club), RGD (the Association of Registered Graphic Designers), RHSC (the Royal Heraldry Society of Canada), and is the Canadian Delegate for ATypI (Association typographique internationale).

He is also a lover of books, which some call a bibliophile, though he's accepted that it's much more accurate to call him a bibliomaniac.

Colophon:

• Recorded on location at The Toronto Reference Library on February 5, 2026.

• Music tracks used in this episode were both from the Free Music Archive. 

  • Bach - Aria Variata, BVW. 989 - Variation No. 2 by Brendan Kinsella is licensed under a Public Domain License.

  • Variatio 6 a 1 Clav. Canone alla Seconda by Kimiko Ishizaka is licensed under a CC0 1.0 Universal License.

• Sound Effects were all Creative Commons 0 license from Freesound.org

  • Creak 11.wav by jameswrowles -- https://freesound.org/s/323546/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

  • pages turning.wav by simone_ds -- https://freesound.org/s/366079/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 

  • Scribble.wav by TiesWijnen -- https://freesound.org/s/341738/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

  • group shush by chapter15studios -- https://freesound.org/s/760256/ -- License: Creative Commons 0

Text is set in conversation, bound by curiosity. Until next time…

*ANSWER: It's the first book published using phototypesetting instead of metal type.