Toronto Metropolitan University Library is the library of

Toronto Metropolitan University Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU or Toronto Met) is a public university, public research university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's core campus is situated within the Garden District, Toronto, Garden District, although i ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

. The library collection consists of over 500,000 books, and over CAD$3 million is spent annually to acquire electronic resources, including e-journals, e-books, databases and indexes, geospatial data, and catalogued websites or electronic documents. Most of the electronic resources can be accessed remotely by TMU community members with Internet access, although authentication of Toronto Metropolitan University Library registration is required for access to all commercial resources. The Library acquires materials to support the curriculum taught at the university and to support the research needs of faculty. All hard copy materials are housed in the Library building at Gould and Victoria Streets. In addition to library materials, the Library provides access to desktop computers, laptops, as well as research help and technology assistance. The 11-storey tower was built in 1974, and is an example of

Brutalist architecture Brutalist architecture is an architectural style that emerged during the 1950s in the United Kingdom, among the reconstruction projects of the post-war era. Brutalist buildings are characterised by minimalist constructions that showcase the ba ...

. On January 18, 2008, the university announced the acquisition of properties including the former site of

Sam the Record Man Sam the Record Man was a Canadian record store chain that, at one time, was Canada's largest music recording retailer. In 1982, its ads proclaimed that it had "140 locations, coast to coast". Its iconic flagship store was located at 259 Yonge S ...

, which allowed the expansion of the library to a prime

Yonge Street Yonge Street (; pronounced "young") is a major arterial route in the Canadian province of Ontario connecting the shores of Lake Ontario in Toronto to Lake Simcoe, a gateway to the Upper Great Lakes. Once the southernmost leg of provincial Hi ...

location. The expansion was designed by architectural firms

Zeidler Partnership Architects Zeidler Architecture is an international architecture, interior design, urban design, and master planning firm with four Canadian offices located in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, and Victoria. In addition, the firm has locations in Beijing (China) ...

of Toronto and

Snøhetta Snøhetta is the highest mountain in the Dovrefjell mountain range in Norway. At , it is the highest mountain in Norway outside the Jotunheimen range, making it the 24th highest peak in Norway, based on a topographic prominence cutoff. At , it ...

of Oslo, Norway. In February 2015, the library expansion opened its doors as the Student Learning Center (SLC).

Ronald D. Besse Information & Learning Commons

The Ronald D. Besse Information and Learning Commons, located on the main floor of the Toronto Metropolitan University Library, provides access to a wide range of information resources with various technology available to student, faculty and staff. The Commons area was named after a donation from Ronald D. Besse, the Commons provides learning support through a variety of services such as classroom instruction, reference services and technology support.

Archives and Special Collections

The Toronto Metropolitan University Archives serves as the institutional memory of the university. The Archives acquires, preserves, and makes accessible a broad range of primary source materials which provide an administrative, academic, fiscal, legal, social, and cultural record of Toronto Metropolitan University. Special Collections was established to help support the learning and teaching needs and facilitate the scholarly, research and creative activities of the TMU community by acquiring and preserving photography, film and cultural history objects. We have a particular responsibility to help students and staff gain access to objects in niche subject areas and aid them in the interpretation of those objects.

References

External links

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Official site
{{Authority control Library buildings completed in 1974 Toronto Metropolitan University buildings Libraries in Toronto Academic libraries in Canada Brutalist architecture in Canada