First things first: apologies for missing last week’s update! It was one of those weeks where the entire OLA team was away from their desks and fully immersed in the beautiful, joyful whirlwind that is the Forest of Reading Festival. And honestly – what a reason to miss a blog post.  

Over two incredible days, nearly 5,000 young readers gathered to celebrate books, authors, stories, and the pure magic of reading. There is something genuinely energizing about being in a space filled with children who are this excited about books. It’s impossible not to leave feeling hopeful.  

In what I can only describe as a very normal and reasonable thing to do, I measured the decibels of the crowd screaming for their favourite books during the Silver Birch Ceremony. Because who am I, if not a data scientist? The crowd topped out at 105 decibels, which is roughly equivalent to a helicopter taking off, but significantly more delightful. 

And amidst all of the noise and excitement, it was also a really important reminder of something foundational to our work. Libraries do many things. We support community and social connection, digital access, lifelong learning, public space, research, advocacy and creativity. But at the heart of so much of it is reading. Sometimes we move so quickly through all of the complexity of library work that we forget this essential ingredient. Programs like Forest remind us that one of our most important roles is helping people find books that speak to them, challenge them, comfort them, excite them, and help them see themselves and others more clearly.  

A huge thank you goes out to the OLA staff team – particularly the incredible Meredith Tutching. As well as the Forest selection committees, and the many onsite volunteers who helped make the Festival run so smoothly. Events this scale simply do not happen without an extraordinary amount of care, planning, flexibility, and teamwork behind the scenes.  

We were also thrilled to welcome Mayor Olivia Chow, Deputy Mayor Asuma Malik, and OLA President Lita Barrie to the Festival. It was wonderful to have the opportunity to celebrate not only reading itself, but the incredible community of people who make this program possible year after year.  

If you’ve never experienced the Forest Festival in person before, it’s hard to fully explain the atmosphere. It is loud, joyful, chaotic in the very best way, and one of the clearest reminders I know of why libraries, literacy and access to books matter so deeply.  

See you next Tuesday!