FAQs

It depends on which library the book is in.  Most University of Toronto libraries have a separate reference section where they keep dictionaries, encyclopedias, and other reference books. Ask for directions at the front desk of the library you're visiting. 

If the item you need is not in this location, please go to the call number location in the general collection (called 'the stacks') where older editions of each item may be found. 

If you still can't find the book you need, please visit the front desk or email libraryhelp@utoronto.ca.

The Help Desk is on the ground floor of Robarts Library (130 St George St., Toronto). You can contact them at 416-978-4357 or at help.desk@utoronto.ca.

Help Desk Hours

Hours are posted on the main Help Desk page at help.ic.utoronto.ca.

The Help Desk knowledge base has suggestions for many technical questions about using computers and other devices.

Most oversized books are on the ninth floor laid flat on the shelves in ranges 15-48 of the blue section.

Selected oversize Old Class journals are located on flat shelving in range 14 of the blue section.

The Book Room is located on the second floor of Robarts Library, behind the lounge and cafeteria area.

The Gerstein Library has many designated quiet study spaces and group study spaces.  Most are in our wireless zone which you can access on your laptop or mobile smartphone with your UTORID and a few simple steps.  

• Quiet study spaces
• Bookable group study rooms
• Wireless access

 Read the yelp reviews about the Gerstein Library

It depends on how you plan to use this type of software.  

Questions to ask yourself when shopping for a citation manager

• Do you want to be able to store PDFs in the program?  If so, how many GBs? 
• How much will you need to share and collaborate with your colleagues?
• Do you want to work offline?  Or would a web-based program be OK?
• Do you need the program to be compatible with your mobile device?
• Are you willing to pay for a program or subscription?

Compare your options

Click the image to view the full comparison table.

The following St. George campus libraries will accept TCard⁺ payment for printing and photocopying beginning in the summer of 2018:

• Robarts Library
• Gerstein Science Information Centre
• Engineering & Computer Science Library
• OISE Library
• Milt Harris Library, Rotman
• Earth Sciences Library
• Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library
• Map & Data Library
• Media Commons
• Music Library
• Bora Laskin Law Library
• John M. Kelly Library, St. Michael’s College
• Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies (PIMS) Library
• John W. Graham Library, Trinity College
• EJ Pratt Library, Victoria University
• Emmanuel College Library, Victoria University
• Department of Art Library
• University College Library

If you have questions regarding overdue items or fines, please call 416-978-8450, or contact the circulation desk of the owning library.

Hospital delivery is available to Health Science Information Consortium of Toronto (HSICT) members, and faculty, graduate students and staff who are affiliated with both the university and a participating hospital. Please check with your hospital library to ensure that borrowing arrangements are available.

If you are in the building and can leave your location, please report the noise to the Building Patrol staff at the main entrance or the entrance of Robarts Common. Otherwise, please call our Information Desk at 416-978-8450.

Phone conversations are allowed in the core areas of all floors, including the stack floors. 
 

The Interlibrary Loan requesting service is available to currently registered U of T students, faculty, staff, Alumni Readers, Research Readers and Associate members. Charges for different user groups and types of requests are summarized here.

We accept requests for University of Toronto Libraries' collections from other libraries and organizations through OCLC, DOCLINE, or through this webpage. Charges may apply.

There are several reasons why you may not be able to request items through LibrarySearch. The most common reasons are:

• Your library membership does not include the ability to request items (the Alumni Reader card, for example)
• The item is a reference item that cannot be borrowed.
• The item is "on order" or "received", but not available for borrowing yet

We love Google!  It's a great place to start searching for information, but if you're only using Google or Google Scholar to do university-level research, you're missing out.  Here are four good reasons to use the library when doing your research (besides the fact that your professor told you to):

1. Paywalls

Have you ever found a great article online, only to be asked to pay to view it? This happens to a lot of students, but you should never pay for articles because your tuition already gives you access to them through the library. Even if we don't have the article (or book or other material) in our collection, we can get it for you from another library at no cost to you.

2. Credibility

Literally anyone can publish something on the internet. So how do you know if a webpage you find is trustworthy or not?  There are lots of clues to help you figure it out, of course, but wouldn't it be nice not to have to worry so much?  

When you start searching from the library homepage you can trust that your faithful librarians, who are experts in the subjects studied at U of T, have curated a collection of the best and most scholarly sources for you. Instead of searching on the free web, why not try a controlled environment that has been customized for U of T students?

3. Findability

We have hundreds of subject-specific search engines (known as databases) that can help you find the best sources for your topic. Most of these search engines (including LibrarySearch) use special tags to make results more relevant.  You can use each search engine's filtering options to limit your results to the tags you want.

4. Diversity

“Library=books”, right? Well, yes, but that’s not the full story. University libraries nowadays have a huge variety of research materials that you probably wouldn't be able to access through Google. We’ve already mentioned scholarly journal articles, but we also have

• Data and statistics including health and business data
• Maps
• Historical documents, many of which have been digitized
• Online videos, including some feature films
• Current and historical newspapers from all over the world
• Rare books and manuscripts
• Dictionaries and encyclopedias

Pretty amazing if you ask us.

Wikipedia is a great tool for getting a quick introduction to unfamiliar topics, but many educators frown on the use of Wikipedia. Here's why:

• Wikipedia content is not necessarily written by subject experts, and may be inadequate or incorrect.
• Articles in Wikipedia may be changed or deleted between viewings. (See Wikipedia’s 10 Most Controversial Pages)
• For research papers, you need authoritative resources, so it is absolutely necessary to consult scholarly sources. 
• Anyone can search Google or find a Wikipedia article. To demonstrate academic skill and critical thinking, it is important to go beyond these basic tools.

To safely use Wikipedia for your assignments

• Scan the article to get general information and terms you can use as keywords for further searching.
• Scan the article for references. Sometimes these can lead you to excellent books or articles that you can find at the library, but make sure that you go beyond these basic sources.
• Cite Wikipedia articles in your paper only if you are pointing out something specific to Wikipedia.

Micromedex is available to students, staff and faculty on campus only. The Academic Licensing Agreement states this database is for the purpose of training students and demonstration only. The UofT’s  online subscription does not allow for it to be used while on clinical rotations, practicing, or teaching at a hospital, retail pharmacy, or any other patient care facility.

Robarts stacks floors are only available to people with a current U of T library card, TCard, or Robarts stacks pass.  In order to ensure that only these authorized people access the stacks, we check your card at controlled entrances. Currently, those entrances are P1-P3 elevators on the first and fourth floors of the buildling.

We open the staircase to the stacks in times of emergency, however.

LibrarySearch can customize your experience based on your interests and eligibility.  We recommend that you sign in every time you use LibrarySearch.

Signing in grants you access to the licensed e-resources that are only available to current U of T students, faculty, and staff.  

Current members of the U of T community can login with their UTORid and password. Alumni and other community borrowers* can login with the credentials provided to them. 

Logging in allows you to: 

• Access full-text content, e.g., articles, books, if you are current student, faculty, or staff 
• See which request and access options are available to you 
• Check on your loans and requests 
• Renew your materials  
• Save items and searches to ‘My Favourites” so you can get to them later, and from other devices. 
• View your search history 
• Set up alerts for newly added materials 
• Pay library fines online 

*Note that licensed e-content is not available to alumni and other community borrowers.  

Theses produced since 2009 as part the School of Graduate Studies' program requirements for Masters and PhD programs are included in TSpace, the University of Toronto's research repository.  

If you can't find a thesis, there could be a few reasons:

1. It is actually there

Try searching the thesis using different information.  If you tried searching by the author's name, try by the title of the thesis (and vice versa). Also double check that you have the correct thesis title and correct spelling of the author's name.

You could also browse through the list of School of Graduate Studies theses.

2. It wasn't part of the School of Graduate Studies' program requirements

Some graduate programs have research projects that are similar to formal theses, but not part of the School of Graduate Studies' program requirements.  These works can be included in TSpace, but aren't included by default.

3. It's too recent

Theses normally appear in TSpace five to six weeks after the author has convocated.

4. It's embargoed

This happens when the author requests to delay the release of their thesis in TSpace, usually because they are getting ready to publish their work in another medium.

If none of the above solved it, please contact us at TSpace@library.utoronto.ca

Once books are returned, they are removed from your library account.  If there are fees on your account that you feel should not be there, please contact the Circulation Desk of the library that the book came from, either in person or by phone. 

The Robarts Digital Studio has 2 LulzBot TAZ 6 3D printers. Students, faculty, and staff with a valid TCard can get certified to use the printers.

How do I use the printers?

1. Obtain certification to operate the 3D printers at the certification course in the Digital Studio.
2. Sign safety and liability waivers.
3. Pass a 3D printing knowledge test.
4. Reserve a 3D printer through the group study room booking website.

Your design is uploaded to the printer using an SD card, which must be formatted as FAT-32.

Where are the 3D printers located?

The printers are located in the Digital Studio on the first floor of Robarts Library.

When can I book time on the printer?

Printers are available by reservation only through the group study room booking website. The service will be open Monday to Friday 9:00 am - 5:00 pm.

How much does it cost?

The cost of using a 3D printer is $1.50 (includes HST) per 30 minutes of reservation time. Users must pay prior to their reservation time. Printing charges apply regardless of the success of the print.

What are the finished products made of?

The 3D printers at the Robarts Digital Studio use PLA (polyactic acid), a biodegradeable thermoplastic aliphatic polyester derived from corn starch. It's safe to use in our space.

We currently have filament in the following colours: black, neon orange, red, green, yellow, and translucent light blue! Unless otherwise requested, you will print your job in whatever colour is loaded into the printer when you begin your booking. If you would like to print in a specific colour that we offer, choose the filament colour when booking the printer. Please note that colour requests cannot be guaranteed.

If you have a library card but no UTORid, you will need to purchase a Guest Card for printing and photocopying.

Yes, you can check your balance, print account statements and add additional funds using any major credit card and Visa Debit via the online portal: https://www.utsc.utoronto.ca/tcardplus/.

TCard⁺ Guest Cards will replace the old Visitor Cards. Users with old Visitor Cards can have their remaining balance transferred to a new Guest Card at the Reader Registration Desk at Robarts Library (second floor), at no cost.

Current University of Toronto students, staff, and faculty members can visit almost all of the U of T libraries.

Exceptions:

• UTSchools
• Storage
• Downsview – material may
• be requested from Downsview, but it is not a visitable library

Some restrictions:

• Affiliated hospital libraries
• Pontifical Institute of Mediaeval Studies Library 

By appointment only:

• Massey College Library
• Gardiner Museum Library
• Downsview – in rare cases

In addition to printing and photocopying at most University of Toronto libraries, TBucks can be used at food outlets and vending machines on campus and at the U of T Bookstore. Additional merchants will be added in the future.