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 and serves two complementary purposes: to support the curriculum and the research of the university faculty and students. It is unknown how many academic librar ...

in Canada and is ranked third among peer institutions in North America, behind only Harvard and Yale. The system consists of 39 libraries located on

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

's three university campuses: St. George (downtown Toronto), Mississauga and Scarborough. 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 150,467 journal titles, millions of electronic resources in various forms and almost 30,000 linear metres of archival material. More than 150,000 new print volumes are 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. Opened in 1973 and n ...

, 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,

Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library The Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library ( zh, 利銘澤典宬) is part of the University of Toronto Libraries system. It features a unique research collection on Canada-Hong Kong studies. Located inside Robarts Library at the University of ...

, 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 The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a library in the University of Toronto, constituting the largest repository of publicly accessible rare books and manuscripts in Canada. The library is also home to the university archives which, in addit ...

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 in 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 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and resea ...

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 Council ...

, and the

Ontario Council of University Libraries The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is an academic library consortium of Ontario’s 21 university libraries located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 1967, OCUL member institutions work together to maximize the expertise and r ...

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 Innis College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Toronto. It is one of the University of Toronto's smallest colleges in terms of size and the second smallest college in terms of population with approximately 2000 registere ...

Library * Caven Library ( Knox College) * Robertson Davies Library (

Massey College Massey College is a graduate residential college at the University of Toronto that was established, built and partially endowed in 1962 by the Massey Foundation and officially opened in 1963, though women were not admitted until 1974. It was mo ...

) * Ivey Library ( New College) * John M. Kelly Library ( St. Michael's College) * John W. Graham Library (

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

Wycliffe College Wycliffe College () is an evangelical graduate school of theology at the University of Toronto. Founded in 1877 as an evangelical seminary in the Anglican tradition, Wycliffe College today attracts students from many Christian denominations from ...

) *

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 ...

Library * E. J. Pratt Library ( Victoria College) Subject * Eberhard Zeidler Library (architecture) * Astronomy and Astrophysics 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 * Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library (East Asian studies) * OISE Library (education) * Engineering and Computer Science Library * First Nations House Library *

(Hong Kong studies) * Newman Library (industrial relations and human resources) *

Bora Laskin Bora Laskin (October 5, 1912 – March 26, 1984) was a Canadian jurist who served as the 14th chief justice of Canada from 1973 to 1984. Laskin was appointed a puisne justice of the Supreme Court in 1970, and served on the Ontario Court of ...

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 P. 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 Robert Harold Blackburn (3 February 1919 – 18 September 2019) was a Canadian academic librarian. He is best known for serving as the Chief Librarian at the University of Toronto from 1954 to 1981. Early life and education Blackburn was born i ...

, the university librarian from 1958 to 1982 and th
Librarians' Association of the University of Toronto (LAUT)
{{Authority control Toronto Libraries, University of