Mississauga.ca - Residents - Arts & History Department

The Arts & History Department is located on the 3rd floor of the Central Library.
The department, recently expanded, has materials in all formats to meet study and information needs in a variety of subject areas. The east side of the floor houses the History collection, which includes general histories, maps and travel guides for virtually all countries of the world. It also includes genealogy (family history) and local history.

The west side of the floor houses the Literature and Arts collection, which includes sheet music, materials on language learning, art history, art techniques, architecture, photography, film history, crafts, sports, writing techniques and literature criticism.

The Arts & History Department offers an extensive collection in a variety of subject areas:

Local History
The Ruth Konrad Collection of Canadiana is a reference collection which includes rare books, newspaper clippings, microfilm, historical slides and photographs, and Family Search, a set of genealogical programs and data files on CD-ROM.
Language Learning
Books, kits, and TOEFL, IELTS, TOEIC and MELAB materials as well as information on local ESL & TOEFL classes.
Literary Criticism
A reference collection of literary criticism and a circulating collection of study materials including Coles Notes
Literacy Collection
Easy Fiction readers and literacy resources
French Collection
Adult and teen French language Non-Fiction books.
Multilingual Collection
Adult Fiction and Non-Fiction books in 25 languages other than English or French.
Maps, Travel Guides & Pamphlets
Sheet Music
Print and Electronic Indexes to Magazines and Newspapers
Internet and Word Processing Workstations
Audio and Video Previewing Stations
Microfilm and Microfiche Reader-Printer

English as a Second Language (ESL) & tests Of English language proficiency
The Mississauga Library System provides both reference and circulating materials in the form of books, kits, audio CDs, DVDs, CD-ROMs, and electronic resources to support the study of ESL, as well as TOEFL, TOEIC, IELTS, MELAB and other tests of English language proficiency.

These links lead to listings of some ESL & TOEFL classes currently being offered in Mississauga & Peel Region:

Genealogy Resources in Mississauga Central Library
The Arts & History Department and the Canadiana Reading Room on the third floor of the Library have an extensive collection of genealogical resources. The focus is on southern Ontario, especially Peel County. Out-of-province material is limited, although there is some material available for English speaking countries, chiefly in CD-ROM format.

Genealogy Resources in Mississauga Central Library (PDF Document)

Peel Information Network (PINet)
Provides links to various digitzed resources made available through a partnership of the library systems in Peel Region, Peel Archives and other community organizations. Includes the National Archives of Canada, the Archives of Ontario, the Region of Peel Archives, various digital library sites, and the Peel Newspaper Index, which includes the Mississauga News, the Brampton Guardian, the Caledon Citizen and the Bolton Enterprise.

Visit PINet

Historic Images Gallery
The Historic Images Gallery brings together the digitzed image collections of the Mississauga Library, the Museums of Mississauga, Planning & Heritage Community Services, and Administration & Cemeteries Community Services. The Gallery provides centralized access and an easy-to-use, online searchable database.

Visit the Image Gallery

Contact Information
Arts & History Department
301 Burnhamthorpe Rd. W.
Mississauga, ON L5B 3Y3
905-615-3500 x3660
library.history@mississauga.ca

Central Library Celebrates Its Twentieth Birthday
Celebrating the 20th anniversary of Central Library. Pictures and history.

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Mississauga Library System Timeline
The founding year of each Library location and where each location resides today.

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Ruth Konrad Collection of Local History
The Ruth Konrad Collection

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Black Canadian History - Library Resource Guide
Black history resources available at the Central Library, Arts & History department.

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Chinese Canadian History - Library Resource Guide
Chinese history resources available at the Central Library, Arts & History department.

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Mississauga Our History
A booklist of Mississauga Library System materials of interest to local history buffs.

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Researching Your Family Tree
The Central Library is a great starting point to uncover your roots.

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Popular Culture by Decade - Library Resource Guide
Lists resources in the Library which examine specific decades (eg - the 1920s) and covers topics like sports, fashion, science, culture, politics, etc. The focus is primarily North American and European, although some resources have a more global perspective.

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Persons Case - Library Resource Guide
These materials review the history of the Persons Case, an historic watershed in Canadian history which resulted in women being recognized as "persons" under law.

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