Comments on: University of Toronto Library gives public the cold shoulder

By: Forugh

Forugh — Tue, 10 May 2011 15:55:53 +0000

Visitors to the Robarts Library can use LIRA workstations using a temporary 24-hour login and password.The LIRA computers are reserved for academic research only. Email, chat, games, gambling, programming and recreational Internet searching are not permitted. Patrons are requested to restrict use to 30 minutes .

http://help.ic.utoronto.ca/content/51/166/en/locations-of-library-computers-available-for-visitors-lira-workstations.html

Michelle, you can Request Books and Journal Articles in RACER( Interlibrary Loan)
UofT’s interlibrary loan management system allows registered users to search for items in all Ontario university libraries (and other collections) using a single search interface, and to conveniently place borrowing requests for items not found in the Home University Libraries’ catalogue.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 03:27:20 +0000

This is probably another blast from the past for you when you read it, but I am also currently a student at another undergraduate university. My problem is that I am living more than 200km away from home and in residence, so if I can’t find what I need in my school’s library, it isn’t like I have easy access to information.

After checking on the U of T website, I found that they had ALL of the books I needed, but of course they are all in the Robarts Library Stacks. And to even get to U of T takes an hour and a half for me, I don’t want to wait for the stack retrieval. The library on my campus is open to the public, and they are allowed to walk in a read whatever they want. I really wish U of T was like that.

By: Catherine M

Catherine M — Wed, 15 Dec 2010 14:57:10 +0000

The cost for a U of T Research Reader charge has gone up to $250! I paid $150 last June. Does anybody know why the increase is so much ?

By: Kamath

Kamath — Fri, 19 Nov 2010 16:35:39 +0000

I have been to Robarts library as a visitor, and I was given the cold shoulder as well. I think its very high handed of the University of Toronto to not even allow visitors to have a look at their catalogue of books. Its not as if the public is in the even vaguely interested in stealing the books.
I graduated from the University of Windsor, and although they do no allow the public to borrow the books, the public is free to enter the library and make use of the books as long as they remain in the library, which I think is a decent way of doing things.
The library does not have worry about losing their books yet at the same time they allow the public a measure of access to books which otherwise they might have difficulty finding.

By: Karen Quinn Fung

Karen Quinn Fung — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:37:06 +0000

Thanks for comment, Sajjad. It’s been almost 4 years (!) since I wrote this entry, so it’s interesting to re-visit the comments that have accrued here since.

As I mentioned in the post, I was (and have remained) ignorant of the history of why Robarts restricts physical access (and thanks to the Tim for providing some of that), the bottom line is, the University of British Columbia and Simon Fraser University (where I did my undergrad) somehow manage to make it work for both their suburban campuses and their central city locations — one of which is next to one of the most deprived neighbourhoods in the developed world. It’s something I’m grateful for and enjoy, on behalf of those who might otherwise not get to access it but who do derive benefit.

Public access says a lot to me — about what the role of education is, who it’s for and who’s entitled to it. For those who might take an interest in U of T’s mandate as a public educational institution, it might be interesting to ask what barriers exist to providing public access and what it might be able to learn from other universities who are able to NOT have turnstiles near the stacks.

Turnstiles at the subway station are another matter altogether.

By: Sajjad K

Sajjad K — Sun, 20 Dec 2009 20:06:04 +0000

uToronto’s library isn’t a public library. It doesn’t need to be open to the public. It’s the same as a library in someone’s home. You simply can’t walk in and borrow books simply because they lend books to their friends.

Kelly library is St.Michæls Collage’s library, and has it’s own rules, as do Trinity and Victoria’s libraries, so you can’t compare them to Robarts.

By: David Warde-Farley

David Warde-Farley — Thu, 24 May 2007 19:41:07 +0000

As a high school student, I had no problem accessing the Kelly Library in order to do research on some mandatory religion class something or other. I couldn’t borrow of course. I’m now a finishing undergrad, soon to be grad student, as well as an employee of the University of Toronto, so maybe I’m not the most objective source, but I’ve found that outsiders seem to have no trouble getting into (and sometimes causing trouble in) all parts of a number of other libraries, including Sigmund Samuel previously mentioned. So I think it’s probably fair to say that Robarts is fairly unique in this attitude. On the other hand, there’s a lot to protect in there.

By: Tim

Tim — Fri, 27 Jan 2006 01:45:04 +0000

I studied at U of T and worked at Robarts for 7 years or so. The policy dates back to the time when Robarts was meant to be a research library exclusively for the use of graduate students and faculty. Another main library, Sigmund Samuel, served the needs of the undergraduate population. There are also many college libraries, some as large as other university’s libraries (Vic, SMC). Sometime in the 1990s Sig Sam had its collection partially moved to Robarts and became a Science Library. For most members of the public and undergraduates at U of T Robarts is “the libary” but it is just one of about 50 or so. Almost all the others provide easy access to the public. I am not trying to excuse the policy but just offer some context. The privatization of access to electronic information is another story. I agree that it is outrageous that one needs a UTOR ID to even look at the catalogue. Additionally I know of quite a few publications that are now only subscribed to in electronic format and no longer available to the general public as a result.

By: carolyne

carolyne — Sat, 31 Dec 2005 22:21:41 +0000

I’m alumni and I cannot get in either.