A quiet place to work became a welcoming part of one visitor’s time in London
When Shelly began travelling regularly from Brampton to London for her son’s university co-op placement, she had long stretches of time to fill in a city she barely knew.
She was also working remotely and completing the final stages of a five-year PhD. She needed somewhere quiet where she could focus, join meetings and get work done between trips across the city.
At Masonville Branch, she started setting up at a study carrel with her laptop and iPad, using the Library’s Wi-Fi and booking study rooms when she needed more privacy. Before long, the branch became part of her routine.
"I come here and I feel like I belong in London,” she says.
She points to the everyday things that helped create that feeling: talking with staff, reading the community board and becoming familiar with the people and activity around her
I come here and I feel like I belong in London
Shelly’s doctoral research looks at the subjective well-being of Black nurses working in Ontario. She has spent more than two decades in nursing and has also worked in education, research and community advocacy.
That background shaped some of what she noticed while spending time at the Library. She saw people searching for jobs, asking staff for help, joining programs, studying and simply finding somewhere comfortable to spend part of the day.
She also began thinking about the Library as a “third space,” somewhere outside of home and work where people can spend time without having to buy something or belong to a particular group.
“I think this is an ideal third space,” she says.
Staff also played a big part in making Masonville feel like an easy place to return to. They greeted Shelly when she came in and were there when she needed help. On a day Masonville was closed and she had a meeting, staff helped her find another Library location where she could work. She also noticed the care they showed other patrons, from answering questions to walking with someone who needed help finding a book.
“You don’t feel out of place when you come,” she adds.
Being able to work during the day also meant Shelly could make better use of the hours she was already spending in London. Instead of waiting in the car or trying to work somewhere noisier, she could focus on her dissertation and leave more of that work behind when she headed home.
Shelly also connected those everyday services with well-being: free Wi-Fi, study space, washrooms, programs, staff support and a place to spend time without needing to make a purchase.
As her son’s time in London changed and Shelly reached the final stages of her dissertation, her visits to Masonville became less frequent. But the branch had already become part of how she came to know the city.
Her advice for anyone who finds themselves somewhere unfamiliar is simple: look for the Library.
“If you’re ever in an unfamiliar city… look it up and go.”