FAQs

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.

Yearly renewal is part of how we monitor carrel use. Current holders of carrels and lockers must renew their allocation once a year in the fall. 

All current carrel occupants must submit an application between May 1^st and August 30^th in order to renew their occupancy for the subsequent academic year.

Upon renewal, we will deliver a written confirmation to your carrel or locker. If the carrel is not renewed, then it must be cleared out and the key and borrowing card returned by the end of the summer session.

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.

The University of Toronto Library does not have a book appraisal service.  

We recommend that you contact a reputable second hand book dealer or visit one of the following websites:

• AbeBooks
• Antiquarian Booksellers' Association of Canada
• Atticus Books
• Blifaloo
• BookFinder
• Hugh Anson Cartwright

Our Citing Sources research guide can help you cite properly.

You can also contact us directly with a specific question.

The Information Commons Help Desk on the first floor of Robarts Library can help you with your UTmail+ or UTORexchange email.

• (416) 978-4357
• help.desk@utoronto.ca
  

There are vending machines with school supplies located on the Ground Floor and 3rd floor of the Robarts Library, and on the Concourse Level of the OISE Library.

The Arts & Sciences Student Union has a fax machine available for student use. 

Email help.desk@utoronto.ca, or visit the Help Desk in person on the first floor of Robarts Library.  

Know your current password? Change it online

Forgot your password? Reset it online (set-up required)

The only way to link to full text in End Note web is to download the document and attaching it to the record in the appropriate field. 

With the software, 

To Link to Full Text Articles through the University of Toronto Library's subscriptions, follow these steps:

   From the EndNote Tool Bar, choose EDIT - Preference - Find Full Text

•    Open URL Path:

               http://bf4dv7zn3u.search.serialssolutions.com

•    Authenticate with URL:

               http://myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/login

Note:  also ensure that all full text search options listed are also checked off (Web of Knowledge, DOI, PubMed, OpenURL).

Book reviews are listed in our main article database:

• Start at the advanced search screen
• Type the title of the book you are search for reviews of in the search box
• Click "book review" in the list of available formats
• Click search

For more sources of book reviews, try the two research guides linked below under "more information".

The MyMedia help page has video tutorials, documentation, and lists of known issues. For further help, please contact help.desk@utoronto.ca.

Resolution

We believe we have fixed the issue that caused the error message of "disallowed key characters" to appear when searching from the library homepage.

If you see this error again

Clear your browser cookies and try to search again.  Alternatively, open a private/incognito window and resume searching.

If clearing the browser cookies does not resolve the issue, help us troubleshoot by sending an email to utl-catalogue(at)library.utoronto.ca with as much of the following information as you can:

• The exact search words you used
• Which page you started from
• The URL of the page giving you the error
• Your browser's version
• A screenshot of the page
• Your on or off campus status

If you're stuck, try searching the library catalogue directly or an individual database instead of our main search.  We can help you find the best alternative for your specific research needs.

Writing at the University of Toronto has advice for specific writing styles including annotated bibliographies.

Criterion-on-Demand is a video streaming service subscribed to by the University of Toronto Libraries featuring thousands of films, including recent Hollywood blockbusters.

Troubleshooting

Access to this resource while off-campus will require UTORid authentication. Also note, films labeled as "Restricted" can only be viewed while on campus and connected to the U of T network.

If you are experiencing issues streaming, please try the following:

1. Update your operating system and web browser to the most recent version.
2. Try a different web browser. 
3. If attempting to stream on a mobile device, switch to a desktop computer or laptop instead.
4. Clear your web browser's cookies or site data. 

• Clear site data in Google Chrome
• Clear site data in Firefox
• Clear site data in Safari

If issues persist, please contact us for further support.