You can find the status of your active requests by signing into LibrarySearch and checking under "My Requests" in your account.
FAQs
A DOI can be found in a journal article, usually along with other citation data, such as author names, journal name, volume, issue, etc.
- Under the author information,
- Under the article title, or
- At the top or bottom of the first page.
DOIs can also be found in database search results, or by clicking on the detailed record for the article you are interested in.
If the database does not show the DOI for an article, search for that article by its title on the public web—you may find a citation to the article (not the full text) on the journal publisher's website, with a DOI.
Journal Citation Reports lists the impact factors of journals from science and social science disciplines.
Please see our guide for finding newspapers.
For a list of major open education repositories, sources of open university courseware, and affordable course material offered by the University of Toronto Libraries, see UTL's LibGuide on Open Education
For openly licensed content, resources, and courses created by University of Toronto faculty and researchers, see Open.UToronto
Our extensive online research guides will direct you to the best places to search for your topic and discipline. Some courses even have their own guide.
Sample guides:
- Newspapers
- Canadian Government Information
- Bora Laskin Law Library Guide to Finding Law Journals and Journal Articles
- Systematic Reviews in the Sciences and Health Sciences
See the full list of guides
There are 5 self-charging laptop lockers available at the Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library on the 8th floor of Robarts Library.
By using our laptop charging lockers, you are agreeing to abide by the following terms and conditions:
1. Liability:
The Cheng Yu Tung East Asian Library will not accept any liability for lost, damaged or stolen items caused by using the charging lockers.
2. Each locker has: 1 USB jack and 2 AC outlets.
3. Charging cables:
Charging cables are available for loan from the Robarts Library 1st floor loans desk.
4. Hours of use: lockers are available for use during the East Asian Library’s opening hours. They must be emptied before the library closes.
5. Eligibility:
The charging lockers are available free of charge to any library user. A library card is not required.
6. What if I forget my 4-digit combination code?
You are responsible for remembering your 4-digit combination code to access the locker.
If you forget your code, submit the Laptop Charging Locker Problem form to the East Asian Library Loan Services Desk. Patrons must be present with Photo ID when devices are retrieved.
7. What if I leave my device in the locker overnight?
Lockers are cleared out every day before the library closes. Devices found left in the charging lockers will be treated as Lost & Found items and handed over to library security.
8. The Prime purpose of the lockers is to protect your laptops or other electronic devices. The following items MUST NOT be placed in the lockers:
- Library materials;
- Food or perishable items;
- Illegal substances
9. Misuse or physical damage of the lockers may lead to disciplinary actions specified in the University of Toronto Library Conduct Regulations.
For clarification, questions or concerns, please contact Helen Tang (helent.tang@utoronto.ca), Public Service Librarian.
Robarts Library has a Reflection Room for quiet meditation, prayer and other spiritual practices is located in Room 8045 on the 8th floor across from the Richard Charles Lee Canada-Hong Kong Library. Use the P4 elevator to get there.
Robarts Library
- First floor
- Third floor (also high resolution book scanner)
- Fourth floor
- Fifth floor by the Map and Data Library
- Twelfth floor
- Thirteenth floor
Gerstein Science Information Centre
- Main floor (also high resolution book scanner)
OISE Library
- Concourse
- Second floor
Engineering and Computer Science Library
- Main floor (attached to four computer workstations)
EJ Pratt Library
- Main floor, South Information Commons
Did we miss a scanner? Let us know!
University of Toronto staff, students, and faculty with a valid TCard can study overnight at Robarts Common during the fall and winter terms.
Other libraries may have extended or overnight hours during exams:
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.
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.
According to priorities established by the School of Graduate Studies, those eligible include:
- Graduate students
- Faculty members
- Visiting scholars and post-doctoral fellows
Graduate students in the third year of their PhD and beyond have first priority. Currently, SGS has a three-year limit on carrel use for those in Priority 1 (third year and beyond), but this time need not be used consecutively. Those in lower years of the PhD may also apply without using their three-year allotment. The three-year limit is activated only when you reach Priority 1. A summary of assignment policies established by SGS is available on the library’s carrel services page.
Often, there is a shortage of quiet work space for researchers at the University, especially close to library resources. Therefore, those who find that they are not utilizing this space regularly are encouraged to relinquish it to those of the community who are in greater need. The library and SGS wish to allocate this precious study space as equitably as possible to those with the greatest needs.
Robarts Library
Closed carrels are available to researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences Divisions (Divisions I and II) of the School of Graduate Studies.
Gerstein Science Information Centre
Closed carrels are available to researchers in the Physical and Life Science Divisions (Divisions III and IV) of the School of Graduate Studies.
Kelly Library (St. Michael's College)
Carrels for the use of Advanced Degree students who are registered in the Faculty of Theology at the University of St. Michael’s College are available in the Kelly Library.
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.