If you’re one of nearly a million Torontonians with a library card and the coronavirus requires you to self-isolate, it’s time to rediscover ways to pass the time. You might even learn something.

“Toronto Public Library (TPL)’s branches may be closed but our digital library is open for business 24/7 while City of Toronto people are self-isolating. All they need is their library card and then they will be able to access a very rich selection of digital resources,” said Michele Melady, manager of collection development.

“We are the world’s largest circulating OverDrive (digital) library and we anticipate that during this current situation that our overdrive circulation is going to continue to be very strong,” she added.

There were 929,387 cardholders in 2019 and the cards are renewed annually. But because branches are closed, TPL has arranged to have all cards up for renewal between January 1 and May 31 this year renewed to June 1, Melady noted.

Among the offerings: e-books, e-audiobooks, movies — including documentaries and world cinema — free music, including classical music concerts, ballet and opera and on-line learning courses.

The link to access the collection is here.

RBDigital Magazines has current issues of news, business, entertainment and fashion magazines, including The New Yorker, Hello! O and National Geographic.

TPL also has a subscription and full access to the New York Times through its nytimes.com website.

TPL librarians have curated a collection of staff picks on OverDrive: as well as a seven-day loan collection of current hot titles.

The library also has thousands of films through its Kanopy streaming service, including Kanopy Kids for younger audiences.

Two streaming services offer on-line learning, including Lynda.com which offers a range of tutorials on everything from photography to learning a new software and Kanopy — through its Great Courses series — which offers courses on how to draw and read Shakespeare amongst others.

Medici.tv offers video streaming of an array of classical music concerts, operas and ballets from around the world here.

Melady said it may be a good time to participate in TPL’s 2020 Reading Challenge, to read 12 books in 12 categories over the course of the year here.

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Melady said the coronavirus crisis offers a rare opportunity fpr those with a lot of spare time on their hands.

“I think people should read something that they’ve been longing to read but haven’t had a chance to get to or re-read something they loved in the past that brought them a lot joy and comfort and to consider participating in TPL’s Reading Challenge now to keep their spirits up,” Melady said.