The University of Toronto Libraries system is the largest

academic library An academic library is a library that is attached to a higher education institution, which supports the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, there are an es ...

in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 40 libraries located on

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university whose main campus is located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was founded by ...

's three campuses: St. George,

Mississauga Mississauga is a Canadian city in the province of Ontario. Situated on the north-western shore of Lake Ontario in the Regional Municipality of Peel, it borders Toronto (Etobicoke) to the east, Brampton to the north, Milton to the northwest, ...

and

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, sub ...

. This array of college libraries, special collections, and specialized libraries and information centres supports the teaching and research requirements of 215 graduate programs, over 60 professional programs, and more than 700 undergraduate degree programs. In addition to more than 12 million print volumes in 341 languages, the library system currently provides access to 184,228 journal titles, millions of electronic resources in various forms and more than 33,000 linear metres of archival material. As of 2014, more than 150,000 new print volumes were acquired each year. The largest library in the system is the

Robarts Library The John P. Robarts Research Library, commonly referred to as Robarts Library, is the main humanities and social sciences library of the University of Toronto Libraries and the largest individual library in the university, located at the Universit ...

at the St. George campus, which houses the main collection of social sciences and humanities research resources at the University of Toronto. The Robarts Library complex is also home to the central Libraries’ administrative offices, exhibit galleries, Scotiabank Information Commons, Centre for Teaching Support & Innovation,

Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library The Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library () is a Canadian library and a part of the University of Toronto Libraries system. Located on the 8th floor of the Robarts Library at the University of Toronto's St. George campus, it is a major research collect ...

, Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library, Map & Data Library, Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre and the Media Commons. Robarts Library is only accessible to University of Toronto students, faculty, staff, and those with a valid ID card. The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is connected to Robarts Library and is open to the public. It houses both the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections and the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services. It is Canada's largest rare book library and its holdings include books, manuscripts, maps, and graphic and audiovisual material covering a broad range of subjects and time periods. Also located at the St. George campus, the Gerstein Science Information Centre is the main library for the science and health science disciplines. In addition to the centre's comprehensive print collection, there is a vast selection of health and scientific databases and indexes available online.

Partnerships and collaboration

The University of Toronto Libraries system is a member of the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 125 research library at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and research li ...

Canadian Association of Research Libraries The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) was established in 1976 and brings together thirty-one research libraries. Twenty-nine members are university libraries, plus Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the National Research Counci ...

, and the Ontario Council of University Libraries.

Branches

Main * John P. Robarts Research Library * Gerstein Science Information Centre * U of T Mississauga Library * U of T Scarborough Library Colleges * Emmanuel College Library * Innis College Library * Caven Library ( Knox College) * Robertson Davies Library ( Massey College) * Ivey Library ( New College) * John M. Kelly Library ( St. Michael's College) * John W. Graham Library ( Trinity College & Wycliffe College) *

University College In a number of countries, a university college is a college institution that provides tertiary education but does not have full or independent university status. A university college is often part of a larger university. The precise usage varies f ...

Library * E. J. Pratt Library ( Victoria College) Subject * Eberhard Zeidler Library (architecture) * Astronomy and Astrophysics Library (closed, merged with Physics Library) * Department of Art Library * Milt Harris Library (business) * A. D. Allen Library (chemistry) * Criminology Information Service & Library * Harry R. Abbott Library (dentistry) * Noranda Earth Sciences Library *

(East Asian studies) * OISE Library (education) * Engineering and Computer Science Library * First Nations House Library * Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library (Hong Kong studies) * Newman Library (industrial relations and human resources) *

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadians, Canadian jurist who served as the 14th Chief Justice of Canada, chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984 and as a List of justices of the Supreme Court of Canada, puisne just ...

Law Library (law) * Mathematical Sciences Library (mathematics and the statistical sciences) * Pontifical Institute of Mediæval Studies Library * Music Library * Physics Library
Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre
(Russia & East Central Europe studies)

Chief librarians

University Librarian *John McCaul (1843–1852) *John William Small (1852–1853) *Alexander Lorimer (1854–1868) *John Edgeworth Thomson (1868–1972) * William Henry Van der Smissen (1873–1891) * Hugh Hornby Langton (1892–1923) * William Stewart Wallace (1923–1954) Chief Librarian * Robert Harold Blackburn (1954–1981) *Marilyn Sharrow (1982–1985) * Carol Moore (1986–2011) * Larry Paul Alford (2011–present)

References

External links

University of Toronto LibrariesBlackburn, Robert H. (1989). ''Evolution of the heart: A history of the University of Toronto library up to 1981''. Toronto: University of Toronto Library.

Heritage University of Toronto: Our Ongoing History in Images, Text & Rich Media
*Th
University of Toronto Archives and Record Management Services
holds th
archival papers
of Robert H. Blackburn, the university librarian from 1958 to 1982 and th
Librarians' Association of the University of Toronto (LAUT)
{{Authority control Toronto Libraries, University of Libraries established in 1892 1892 establishments in Ontario