FAQs

Library of Congress call numbers are arranged alphabetically and numerically. Read call numbers from left to right and from top to bottom.

What do the numbers and letters in the call number actually mean?

LC call numbers begin with letters that represent subject divisions. Following the initial letters are numbers that help define the subject of the material.

This call number system allows materials on related subjects to be shelved in the same area. For example, if you go to the book shelves to locate the call number QP376 .A4225 2009, other books on Neurophysiology will be found nearby.

Shelving

Letters in the first line of the call number are shelved in alphabetical order.

Q QA QM RM

The second line of a call number is shelved in numerical order.

The third line is the trickiest part of the call number. The letter is shelved alphabetical. The numbers, however, are shelved in decimal order as if there was an invisible decimal between the letter and the number.

The final lines of the call numbers may include dates, volume indicators, and copy numbers. These annotations are read after the call number.

Example

The Lives of the Brain: Human Evolution and the Organ of Mind by John S. Allen.

This entry has been adapted from this page by Mindy Thuna.

Factiva's YouTube channel can help you learn the basics of searching for news.

ProQuest has a YouTube channel with instructional videos that cover the basics of searching in ProQuest databases.

For more personalized help, please contact library staff by phone, email, or chat.

Learn to use RefWorks online from video tutorials created by RefWorks'. Also consult the libraries RefWorks Guide.

• Getting started with RefWorks'
• RefWorks' YouTube channel

We offer live RefWorks training during the school year, so keep an eye on our workshops page.

3D Printing @ Gerstein + MADLab is a 3D printing studio located in the MADLab at the Gerstein Science Information Centre. The service includes in-person and remote service options.

The service is available for all University of Toronto students, staff, and faculty. To use the 3D printer, you must first complete a certification training. You do not need any prior 3D printing experience.

A Course Reserves search has been added to LibrarySearch.

As you start typing search words, you can choose to search for those words in just items placed in Course Reserves.

Search words can include the name of the course instructor as well as the course code and title.

• IMPORTANT: This search will not find everything on a course reading list since some material will only be provided to students of a particular class, not to all students at U of T
• The preferred way to see everything on a course reading list is to check in the Quercus course shell for that course.
• Searching by Course Code is not recommended since the codes need to be in an exact format
   

Different formats are found in Course Reserve search results

• The search results show a mix of online course reserves and print course reserves
• For print course reserves, check the library location listed in the catalogue record to know where to go.
• In Robarts, the physical course reserves are kept 1st floor loans desk.
   

Different filters appear in Course Reserve search results

• This example shows LIBRARY LOCATION, as well as INSTRUCTOR and COURSE CODE filters

What Course Reserve search will NOT find

• Journal articles
• Scanned copies of print books: This is copyrighted material, made available only to students in the class via the Quercus course shell.
• Book chapters of print or electronic books
• Videos
• Websites
• Material not owned by U of T Libraries

The University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) offers open access publishing agreements and article processing charge (APC) discounts with a range of scholarly publishers, reducing the financial obligations on researchers who publish their work openly. These are negotiated into institutional licenses with the publisher or through paid memberships. UTL does not offer a general open access fund. 

Refer to the Publisher OA Agreements and Discounts webpage for an up to date list. 

These agreements and discounts are available to corresponding authors affiliated with the University of Toronto. This includes faculty, staff, students, and those with cross-appointments at affiliated hospitals and organizations. 

A corresponding author is generally understood to be the individual who takes primary responsibility for communication with the journal during the submission, peer review and publication process. 

It is always preferable that you submit your manuscript using your @utoronto / @mail.utoronto email address or by selecting the University of Toronto as your primary affiliation. Not doing so may preclude you from the deal or delay the publication process. 

In January 2021, the library upgraded to a new system. Before then, you had to search for items in our collections – called the 'catalogue' – course reserves, and articles, separately.  

Our new tool, LibrarySearch, searches all of these at once though a user friendly and mobile-responsive interface, and it has more functionality than the previous tool.

For example:

• It makes it easier to open article PDFs and to browse recent issues of a journal.
• It shows peer-reviewed status of articles
• More filters are available to help you refine search results, e.g., open access.
• You can choose from 7 citation styles in which to format the books and articles that you find, as well as easily export citations to applications like Zotero or Refworks.
• It also provides you with a customized experience when you log in with your UTORid. 

For more information on using all the many features and functions of LibrarySearch, have a look at this guide on using the new system.

Our loan services page has a chart that tells you how long you can check out library items based on your status at the university.

Loan privileges may vary at some libraries.

Our loan services page has a chart that tells you how many items you can check out based on your status at the university.

There are 40 libraries located on three university campuses: St. George, Mississauga and Scarborough.

Photocopies cost $0.10 per side. You must have a TCard, alumni card, library card or guest card to use the photocopiers. Load your card with TBucks for printing and photocopying online, or at a Guest Card & Cash Loading Station at Robarts Library or the Gerstein Science Information Centre.  

To print you must use either a TCard or a guest card. Load your card with TBucks for printing and photocopying online, or at a Guest Card & Cash Loading Station at Robarts Library or the Gerstein Science Information Centre.  Please note that legal size printing is not available. 

Black & white printers

$0.15 per side for letter size paper

Colour printers

• Colour printouts
  • $1.00 per page for letter (8.5 x 11)
  • $2.00 per page for tabloid (11 x 17)
• Black & white printouts:
  • $0.20 per page for letter
  • $0.40 per page for tabloid (11 x 17) 

Scanning is free at Robarts or Gerstein libraries.

Depending on the scanner, you will need the following to get the machine to work:

• a USB key only
• a USB key and a TCard with some value on it

Payment for in-person 3D printing is $1.00 + HST per 30 minutes of reservation time. For example, if you reserve the 3D printer for 2 hours, for example, the cost will be $4.00 + HST. 

The amount is included in your booking confirmation email you will receive upon an approved reservation. Please bring that email to the Gerstein service desk just before your booking time to pay and pick up a keyfob to access the lab.

For more information, please visit the Gerstein 3D Printing Services page.

Unless you are preparing a paper for a particular psychology journal, you will most likely be using the American Psychological Association's citation style, commonly referred to as APA style.

There are many copies of the Publication manual of the American Psychological Association at the library to help you construct your citations.  You could also consult an online resource such as Purdue University's Online Writing Lab APA guide.

Your library account will be cleared within 15 minutes after your online fine payment has been authorized.

Blocks on the release of official transcripts due to library fines will be cleared the following day.

You will receive an email when your requested material is available for pickup. The email will indicate where to pickup your item and how much time you have to pick it up. Make sure to have your TCard/Library Card with you upon pickup.

For requests that are fulfilled electronically, you will receive an email containing a link to download the file. 

To access the library's online resources, you must first submit a TCard Permission Letter Request to obtain a UTORid, on (or after) the scheduled start date of your course. 

Permission letters

Issued on or after your course's start date, you can request the permission letter:

• By email to learn@utoronto.ca 
• By telephone by calling 416-978-2400

Your letter will be ready one business day following your request.

The usual method to login to the online resources is to use your UTORid and password. If this is not working, then please contact the Circulation Desk at one of the libraries.

If you’re a newly hired research assistant entering a university lab or office soon, check out the information below to help get you up to speed:

• Explore our 40 beautiful libraries with a library tour and find the discipline-specific library dedicated to your subject
• Become an expert in researching and writing systematic reviews
• Strengthen your comprehensive searching skills (geared toward health sciences)
• Save time by using citation management software to store and cite sources
• Learn the important steps for research data management
• Request items from other libraries and institutions when we don't have what you need

The Tri-Agency Open Access Policy requires grant recipients to ensure that peer-reviewed journal publications arising from Agency-supported research are freely accessible within 12 months of publication. 

This policy applies to all grants awarded by NSERC or SSHRC from May 1, 2015 and onward; and by CIHR from January 1, 2008 and onward. Researchers holding previously awarded grants are also encouraged to adhere to the requirements of this policy.

How to comply with the new policy

1. Deposit your work into an open access repository

2. Publish in an open access journal

For more information on this policy or to schedule a consultation, please visit the following link: https://onesearch.library.utoronto.ca/copyright/funding-policy-cihr-nse…;

At this time, libraries are open to current University of Toronto students, faculty and staff only. 

If you do not have a TCard or Library Card, you can place an interlibrary loan request for Downsview material through your local institution. 

Yes.  We can send you materials by courier, but you will be responsible for costs involved with their return. Additional information is available on our website.

You should never be asked to login nor to pay for access to a journal or an article which is subscribed to by the UofT Libraries.  When this happens:

• Check to see if there are other copies of the journal from the ejournals search page or through LibrarySearch
• Contact the library for more assistance