MASARYKTOWN LIBRARY
MEMBERSHIP
To become a member, all you need to do is to visit the library during hours of operation, fill out an application form and pay a one-time membership registration fee of $5.
OUR COLLECTION
The MMI library holds the largest collection of Czech and Slovak books open to the public in Canada. Our book collection has over 9,500 books.
ABOUT THE LIBRARY
The Masaryk Hall Library was created in the 1940s. Our current library grew from the previous collection and was established in 1991 by Julia Novotná, a professional librarian.
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Tel #: 416-439-4354
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Library hours: 2nd Friday and 4th Friday of every month from 5pm to 7pm.
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July 11, 25
August 8, 22
September 12, 26
October 10, 24
November 14, 28
December 12
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Librarian: Andrew Peichl
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Please note that although we are accepting Czech and Slovak books once again we cannot take all books, we simply don't have the room. We have decided not to accept any translated works into Czech or Slovak and are concentrating on Czech and Slovak authors only. Please send us a list of the books that you would like to part with and we will go through the list and let you know what we are accepting.
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OUR BOOKS
In addition to books of general interest, the library has several special interest sections:
Masarykana
Books about and by the first Czechoslovak President, Tomas Garrigue Masaryk. The section also contains archival documents regarding T. G. Masaryk.
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Rare Books
Here we have hard-to-find Czech books, including many series of special editions. These two sections present an ideal resource for students of philosophy, European history or those interested in Czech and Slovak history between WWI and WWII.
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Exile Literature
Until 1990, this was the largest collection of Czechoslovak exile literature in the world. Today, our catalogue remains a silent witness of the troubled times of communist oppression of our people from 1948 to 1989.
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The books in this section were written by authors who were banned in former Czechoslovakia but were published abroad. Many of these were published by the remarkable Sixty-Eight Publishers, owned and operated by Zdena Salivarová and Josef Škvorecký from Toronto. Josef Škvorecký is an internationally acclaimed author, whose novel ‘The Engineer of Human Souls’ won the Governor General’s Award for Fiction in 1984.
