Dear colleagues,

As another academic year begins, our campuses are alive once more with students and faculty returning to their studies, teaching, and research. I want to take this moment to thank you for the energy and commitment you bring to our libraries each fall. The work you do makes our spaces welcoming, our collections accessible, and our services essential to the life of the university.

This year, innovation will continue to shape much of our work. Over the summer, the University released its AI Task Force report, which sets an important path forward in how we think about technology and teaching. Within UTL, we are contributing to this future through the launch of ChatGPT EDU, supported by the Licensed Software Office, and through new tools like our AI Literacy Framework and LibGuide that help our community engage with AI thoughtfully and responsibly.

We are also continuing to reimagine our physical and digital spaces. At Robarts, our newly renovated fifth floor will soon open with more student-centred areas for collaboration and study, including the reopening of the Map & Data Library as an important hub for geographic and data-driven research. Today, we unveil our new U of T Libraries website, designed around discovery to make it easier than ever to search, navigate, and connect with the resources and expertise we provide. Alongside the website, the new discovery experience (NDE) for LibrarySearch is also launching, with an updated interface and design that extends our physical library services into the digital environment.

Our digital collections—featuring more than 80 million research articles and 3.5 million e-books—together with our online services, used millions of times each year, are central to learning and research. They form the virtual U of T library, accessible anytime and anywhere.

For the first time, we are also embarking on a system-wide campaign: Your UTL. This initiative will highlight our services, spaces, people, and the virtual library and tell the story of how one system connects many libraries and vast amounts of information. I encourage you to share and amplify this campaign in your own communities.

At its heart, our mission is to help people find what they need—whether that is knowledge, a place to belong, or the spark of discovery. In a time of disruption and rapid change, libraries remain a steady presence: where ideas are tested, context preserved, and curiosity nurtured. In the year ahead, I hope we continue to show our essential role in shaping informed, connected, and inspired communities.

With best regards,

Larry

Larry P. Alford
University Chief Librarian
University of Toronto Libraries

Welcoming the new academic year at UofT Libraries