The collection

Climate Justice Corner

The Climate Justice Corner is a small area in the Main Library that is a ‘go-to place’ for you to find books, information, resources and items, whether you are looking to shrink your carbon footprint, get involved in community activities and efforts, or broaden your understanding.

Explorer kits

Explorer Kits are designed to connect families to nature and meaningful outdoor experiences. Activities in the kit are fun for the whole family, but generally geared towards ages 5-14. Kits are available until September and come with an information sheet for how to get a free family day pass to Kivi Park, a free canoe rental, a trail map, a bookmark, and nature journal prompt pages for fun activities to engage your family in. There is at least 1 explorer kit available per library branch and they are loaned out for a 1-week period. 

Forest of Reading Kits or Grab & Go Storytime Bag

The Forest of Reading is a national reading program where kids pick the winning books! The program encourages students to discover and read Canadian authors, illustrators and publishers. This year, GSPL is pleased to offer already curated Forest of Reading book bins to educators and parents who want to participate in the province-wide program. Each bin contains a complete set of the nominated titles for a prize, and access to the fun activities created especially by the Forest of Reading Committees. 

All library locations have at least one (1) Forest of Reading Kit OR one (1) Forest of Reading Grab & Go Storytime Bag.

Launchpads

Launchpads are a great educational tool for kids of all ages! These tablets come preloaded with high-quality learning apps and games, grouped by subject area, theme, and age. Use a Launchpad in the Library, at home, or on the go.

Accessibility Kits

Curated sets or groups of items in one container.

ADHD Card Kits 

ADHD Card Kits. Children create stories with the help of caregivers to assess the degree of the child’s social awareness and how the pictured problem affects the child’s self-concept and behaviour. Cards are also used to build problem-solving skills and to work on role-playing different problems to teach better self control in upsetting situations.

Braille Lego Kit

Braille Lego Kits. Aimed at kids aged 6+, LEGO® Play with Braille helps children with visual impairment practice their skills while giving the whole family a way to play together. Fully compatible with all other LEGO products, each LEGO Braille Brick also shows the printed version of the symbol, letter and number.

Counting & Sorting Kit

Counting & Sorting Kits. Children benefit from counting and sorting toys on both cognitive and physical levels. Counting and sorting toys improve fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and organizational skills as well as laying down the foundation for early math.

Dementia Information Kit

Dementia Information Kits. This Dementia information kit consists of 15 booklets from the By Us For Us series created by a group of people living with dementia and care partners. The guides are designed to equip people living with dementia and care partners with the necessary tools to enhance well-being and manage daily life.

Memory Kits

Memory Kits. A curated set of enrichment activities and reading material for people with dementia and their caregivers. There are 3 levels available: Early, Middle or Late, depending on the severity of the dementia or Alzheimer’s. Kits include books about each stage, games and activities to entertain and activate the brain.

Accessibility Devices

Mainly, but not limited to technology devices.

C-Pen Reading Pen

C-PEN Reading Pen. The Reader 2 C-Pen reads text out loud with natural speaking voices and looks up and explains words using definitions from high-quality dictionaries. It supports independent reading and learning. Settings allow users to choose from a multitude of language preferences.

Therapy Lamps

Therapy Lamps (small). This therapeutic lamp offers a rapid and persistent effect on seasonal affective disorder (SAD), depression, etc. It uses a natural light source to create a mellow aura that cheers you up and eases your everyday discomfort. Usage advisory: Only people over 12 years old are suggested to use this product when necessary. This lamp is equipped with a strong light source. Please do not directly look at the light at any time. The lamp should be placed 14 inches away from your eyes.

Victor Readers

The Victor reader plays DAISY Audio books. Simple navigation features, browse the contents or "leaf" through the work as you please. Simple and friendly, Victor Readers are ideal for your favorite leisure reading, best-sellers, novels, magazines etc. It offers basic navigation features like browsing the table of contents as well as skipping from section to section or from page to page.

Courtesy Walkers 

Rolling walker with wheels and a basket for use within the library branch where it is housed. Main, Chelmsford, New Sudbury, South End, and Valley East libraries have in-library use Courtesy walkers for you or your loved ones. Courtesy walkers offer a cozy seat, and come with a basket to hold books and other small items. With a library card, you can borrow a walker to get around more easily while you explore the library. They are available on a first come, first serve basis, are not holdable nor deliverable, and must be returned to the front-desk during checkout.

Analog items that can enhance learning or reading.

Braille boards

Braille boards. This braille learning board is designed to help individuals learning braille.

Guided Reading Tool

Guided Reading Tool. Guided Reading tools can be used as a reading assistant to help readers focus on individual lines of text. Simply place the guided reading tool over any line of printed material for better focus on the line being read.

Magnifier

Magnifiers. Magnifiers can be used as a visual aid to enhance the size of printed text. Magnifiers are available in three sizes. Small and medium magnifiers are portable and can be checked out. Simply place the page magnifier over any printed material to magnify print on the pages to make it easier for reading.

We collect a wide variety of genres of both movies and music, from pop to country to jazz to rock to aboriginal to instrumental and movies/theatre soundtrack CDs (available in English and French); and blockbuster hits, documentaries, travel guides, parenting, and indie films in both English and French.

We use a program called KitKeeper to manage all of our available Book Club Kits. Book Club kits contain 5 – 10 copies of the same title in a convenient canvas bag. New book club kits become available for public use in the Fall of each year.  Unlike regular circulating materials, book club kits can be reserved up to 1 year in advance, so if your group plans well ahead, you can secure the title you want as soon as you like. Jump to our Book Club Kit page for more information and get started. 

Get started with Kitkeeper! 

Decades of Classics 

Movies remain a standard type of entertainment but not everyone can afford to pay for streaming services. Watching older films can remind viewers of simpler times, feature fewer CGI and tap into emotions or nostalgia. This Decades of Classics curated collection is meant to make finding nostalgic classics easy to discover.

Decodables 

Decodable books are written in a format that builds reading skills and confidence in all readers, but especially struggling readers and those with Dyslexia. This is accomplished by encouraging learners to read ordered books while they increase their knowledge of letter and sound combinations building on what they already know. GSPL offers a large selection of juvenile decodable titles, as well as decodable titles aimed at teens.

Dual Language 

Dual Language Books combine two languages and images where appropriate. When a story is presented in two languages; it makes the lesser-known language less intimidating. GSPL includes language combinations: English or French and Arabic, Chinese, Cree, Inuktitut, or Braille. Available formats include board books, picture books, fiction, non-fiction, and Read Along books. 

Film Festival

Movies remain a standard type of entertainment but not everyone can afford to pay for streaming services. Independent movies, foreign films, and local productions offer different types of watching experiences. This curated Film Festival collection highlights the diversity of our film collection and makes these parts easy to discover. Loan period is 3 weeks.

Grab and Go bags 

Grab and Go bags include curated bilingual subjects like: the Arts, Science and Technology, or Social Studies library materials. Grab and Go bags have activities that target Grade 4 – 5 learners and can come with:

• Books
• DVDs
• Puzzles
• Magnifying glass
• Solar robot kits

Backpacks live at our Lively and South End libraries. However, Grab and Go kits will be delivered to any library of choice when you place a hold in advance. Grab and Go bags loan period is up to three weeks and must be returned to any open front-desk library.

Grab and Go Story Time bags

Grab and Go Story Time bags includes a folder of suggested rhymes and songs and a curated set of books selected from the Forest of Reading’s Blue Spruce Award, geared to children 0 – 6 years of age. These bag kits are designed for:

• Caregivers on a quest to find a bag of quality picture books easily and quickly
• To encourage parents to read to and expose their child(ren) to books, stories, words and songs.
• To promote early literacy and the importance of reading and story time in the lives of busy families.

Grab and Go bags loan period is up to three weeks and must be returned to any open front-desk library.

Immersive Readers 

Immersive reader kits include a mixed reality book with coloured illustrations and 3 streaming videos - via QR codes, and one cardboard virtual reality (VR) viewer to be paired with an Android or IOS smartphone, inside a clear plastic bag.These immersive reality books are on the shelves in the Copper Cliff and Valley East library branches, but you can place a hold and have it delivered to your preferred library location.

Juvenile Large Print 

Youth large-print books make the process of visualizing information easier for readers, which can lead to reading more often and for longer periods of time. Large print is also beneficial because of its simplicity and accessibility. Loan period is 3 weeks. 

Mixed Format Taster

This Mixed Format Taster curated Floating Collection is meant to highlight the diversity of some of our offerings across all locations and to help people find out about them, even if they can only find them in the branch for a short period of time. All items can be reserved for future enjoyment after the collection floats away. 

Read Along Books 

Our Read Along Books combine picture books and non-fiction titles with audio recordings that capture children’s attention and make learning and literacy development fun. Read Along Books feature a picture book with a permanently attached reader - No need for computers, tablets, or CDs — children simply push a button to listen and read. GSPL offers 2 versions: Vox and Wonderbooks. Both feature a picture book with a permanently attached reader. These Read Along Books are on the shelves in Chelmsford, South End, and Valley East library branches, but you can place a hold and have it delivered to your preferred library location. 

Television Show Sampler  

Television remains a standard type of entertainment but not everyone can afford to pay for access. Providing access to past and present television shows allows patrons to broaden their horizons. This Television Show Sampler (TV DVD - Season 1 or box set) curated collection is meant to highlight its presence making these parts easier to discover. 

Local History

The Local History collection includes resources of tremendous value to the rich history of Greater Sudbury and, therefore, must be viewed within the Main Library. Some of the books about local history are available for checkout in our regular, circulating collection.

Maps

The Map collection is located on the Research Level of the Main Library in the Reference, Genealogy, and Mary C. Shantz Local History Collection. Atlases, gazetteers, as well as current and historical maps are available for onsite consultation. Our map collection is national in scope, though the library does have some international atlases in its circulating collection.

Microfilm and Microfiche

The microfilm and microfiche collection of the Greater Sudbury Public Library is available only on the Research Level of the Main Library. This collection is essential to individuals who are interested in genealogy and local history.