It’s hard to walk into the cooking section of your neighbourhood bookstore these days and not be inundated by the sheer volume available to you. Celebrity chefs, regional cuisines, diets plans, travel and food memoirs, food culture - name a subject and you’ll find plenty of beautifully bound books to match. It’s overwhelming to say the least.

But what we sometimes forgot is that reading books doesn’t mean we have to own them. In the City of Toronto we are lucky to have the largest public library system in Canada. The only thing standing between Toronto residents and a library card granting them access to 11 million books are two pieces of official identification.

The library might not be the first place you think of when considering where to find food related books, but when you consider that they have 2929 cookery books reflecting Toronto’s multiculturalism, 312 diet books ranging from the grapefruit diets of the 80’s to Hollywood’s latest craze, 1409 nutrition books for ages 3 to 103, plus many more books on topics like food history, food style, and food science, the library really is the one stop shop for all things gastronomical.

What’s wonderful about using the library is that you’re able to test cookbooks to see if they are to your liking before you buy. You can explore new cuisines, get to know a historic food influence like Julia Child, or simply test drive a pricey cookbook you’ve been eyeing in the stores. One thing to watch out for however is overzealous cooks that take such a liking to the books that they return them with the pages containing their favourite recipes mysteriously missing. If you fall victim to such a crime, simply make the library staff aware of the problem and they’ll replace the book.

No matter what your culinary interest, it’s easy to locate through the library’s Internet database. You can do basic searches using keywords to describe your area of interest, browse by author, or use the advanced search function to narrow down your search by keyword, title, author or subject. When you find something you like you simply place a reservation and it will be delivered to 1 of 99 branches of your choice within a few days. If you’re looking for a new release or popular item, you may be placed on a waiting list and will be notified by phone or email once you’ve moved to first place in line.

The next time you’re in the market for some new food inspiration, consider the Toronto Public Library. You’re already paying for these books through your municipal taxes, so why buy the same book twice?