Edith G. Firth (1927–2005)

Edith Grace Firth was born in Lindsay, Ontario in 1927, and died in Toronto in 2005. Firth used her knowledge as a bibliographer, librarian and historian to compile extensive histories of York Ontario, one of Canada's early cities. Firth's contributions to librarianship serve as a model for the study of municipal libraries and archives in Canada. She attended the University of Toronto in the 1940s, and earned degrees in history and science. She began her career as a librarian at the Toronto Public Library and spent 30 years developing the Treasure Room there (rare books and special collections) by scouring North American bookstores and libraries for documentation about early Toronto (York). Firth built the library's collections into what is widely-considered to be the premier research tool for historians and writers of early Canadian history in the Toronto area.