We welcome any and all researchers and visitors. You will experience the unique way that information is organized in archives and special collections and the uniqueness of the materials themselves.

Search our collections at Discover Archives.

Archival materials cannot be borrowed. Our materials are arranged according to how their records creator/compiler organized them.

Please set aside enough time for your research at the Media Commons Archives. Factors such as the availability, accessibility, and condition of the materials mean that we require some lead time to make them available to you.

We require at least two weeks notice for appointments and material retrievals. All research appointments are subject to availability.

Research Appointment Steps

Email archives.mediacommons@utoronto.ca to request a listing for the collection you are interested in

Use the archival descriptions in our finding aids and listings to search our collections

Request specific items or boxes from that listing

Please note that some materials may be too fragile to withstand normal playback

We will inspect the materials before we make them available and notify you if they are unavailable

We are by appointment only. We will contact you for an appointment when your materials are ready

Materials will be available for you to view in our Reading Room or our Archival Digitization and Playback studio

The department has limited hours of operation. Please make note of these times (see Hours)

Media Commons Archives staff can:

Help you identify and locate materials related to your research

Help you read and understand finding aids and guides

Answer questions you have about accessing material and material availability

Media Commons Archives will not:

Conduct research on your behalf

Choose a topic on your behalf for an assignment

Select items on your behalf

Licensing footage/images

We do not hold the copyright for our archival materials. We require written permission from the rights holder to provide high resolution scans of our materials. We often – but not always – have the contact information for our donors or their heirs and, when possible, we can connect you with them.

Media Archives

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