A New Passport

My friend Cheryl showed me her new passport on the weekend and I just had to get one for myself, which I did last evening.  It looks like this:

I got my copy at a shop called Page and Panel, which is located in the Toronto Reference Library, just north of Yonge and Bloor.  There is a website for the passport (click here) but it says they are sold out.  However, there were several copies on hand at the shop noted above.  A Google search reveals that the passport was created by a Toronto designer by the name of Noah Ortman (or so it says here).  

The idea is that you visit each branch of the Toronto system and get them to stamp your passport. My first stop was, of course, the front desk of the Reference Library.  The two women there were delighted to see the passport in use (they had heard about it but hadn't seen one in person before) and told me I was the first to ask to have mine stamped.  There was a short and energetic search for a stamp and then for a stamp pad (note to self: take one with me?!) but eventually a stamp was found that had the name of the library on it as well as "Performing Arts".  I figured that might be as good as I was going to get!

My next stop was two short blocks away, at the Yorkville branch.  The clerk there was quite dismayed by the somewhat messy image that resulted but I quite like it.

Of course, no trip to the library would be complete without a book to take home. In this case, I checked out a murder mystery called "The Baker Street Translation" by Michael Robertson.  I simply couldn't resist the airmail stripes surrounding the cover of the book!  I didn't realize it is the 3rd in a series, so I went online to the library system today to order a copy of the first volume to be delivered to my local branch.  I'll let you know if it's any good.

Stay tuned for more on the Vice and Virtue part of yesterday's library visit!