FAQs

Microsoft has excellent Excel tutorials available for free online. 

As a student, staff, or faculty member at University of Toronto, you also have access to Coursera for University of Toronto, which includes several Excel tutorials for all levels.  

 

Some articles may not have a DOI.  For example, articles published outside of the sciences tend not to have DOIs.  An article may also not have a DOI if it was published before DOIs existed (though some older articles will have had DOIs added!).  

DOIs are becoming more common in the scientific community, so recently published articles tend to have a DOI assigned to them.

Source. Reproduced with generous permission of author.

U of T students, staff, and faculty members use their TCards to borrow books. Alumni and external researchers can purchase library cards to borrow books.

No. If the performance takes place in your classroom and is presented primarily to University students or instructors for educational purposes, and the copy of the movie or TV show was not obtained from an unlawful source, you do not need to obtain a license or permission from the copyright owner.

Yes. Because the social event is not primarily for University students, and the showing is for recreational purposes rather than for education or training, a licence will be required. It makes no difference whether or not an admission fee is charged.

Even if the event is “not for profit” and without “motive of gain”, the movie is being shown for recreational purposes, not for education or training, and a licence will still be required.

Your TCard is required to access Robarts or Gerstein. Visit the TCard website to learn how to get your TCard if you don’t have one yet.

Other libraries may have different policies. Check their websites before visiting. 

Yes.  The library still provides full text access to The Globe and Mail and the Toronto Star online.  However, the reading interface will look different than you are used to seeing.


Lost and found items on St.George campus are sent to:

Caretaking Headquarters
256 Mccaul Street, 3rd floor
416-978-6252
 


View Larger Map

Exceptions

  • OISE lost and found items are sent to the Building Operations office on the Concourse Level of the OISE building.

Gerstein has a microwave in the UnderStudy cafe. Robarts has three microwaves in the cafe area on the second floor. 

Find all of the microwaves on the St. George campus with our interactive map.  There's a layer for microwaves under the food option.

Eating is restricted in most libraries (including Robarts and Gerstein) to designated cafeterias and lounge areas.

Yes, we do. The National Film Board of Canada's online portal should give you access to all films including those marked CAMPUS.  If you are off campus, you will be asked to log in with your UTORid and password.

In order to make clips, you must sign in using the link in the right hand corner of the screen.  At this time, that function is restricted to faculty only.

You can access many online dictionaries, including the Oxford English Dictionary, through the library catalogue.

See a list of popular online language dictionaries, science dictionaries, or topical dictionaries.

Unfortunately, the Ontario Ministry of Education does not have archived OAC (Ontario Academic Credit) curriculum documents. The OISE Library does have print copies of the curricula, some of which may have already been moved to the Ontario Historical Education Collection (OHEC). If you need assistance locating OAC curricula, or if you would like to book an appointment to view the OHEC, please feel free to contact us.

We do not collect audiobooks at this time.  If you are blind or visually impaired, please visit our services for persons with disabilities for help with alternative formats.

There seems to be very few documents on the inception of the French Immersion program in Ontario. This is probably due to specific school boards being responsible for creating their own programs in the earlier immersion years. We have copies of some of these board-specific programs in print and on microfiche. The following documents may also be helpful to get you started on your search:

  • Core, extended, and immersion French : the Ontario curriculum, grades 9 and 10, (1999).
  • Teaching and learning French as a second language : a new program for Ontario students (April 18, 1977).
  • Planning outline for programs in French a a second language (1980).
  • French as a second language, Ontario Academic Courses (1986).
     

You can practice your presentations in Gerstein Library’s Room 2000, bookable online via the Gerstein homepage [click the Group Study Room button].  Located on the 2nd floor (Heritage Wing), this presentation practice room is equipped with the following:

  • TV and remote control
  • HDMI and DisplayPort cables
  • speakers
  • chalkboard
  • whiteboard
  • wifi access and network cable
  • large tables

Room 2000 is subject to the same booking policy as our group study roomsAfter you have booked online, and prior to entering the room, please remember to:

  • Bring your own laptop and adapter to connect to our HDMI or DisplayPort cables (for TV use).
  • Retrieve the room key and submit a liability waiver form at the Loans Services Desk (main floor).

(For spaces to hold meetings, tutorials and other classes, please contact the Office of Space Management or your Department).
 

The Robarts Library 1st floor loans desk offers technology accessories including headphones with mics.

Some library vending machines sell office supplies sometimes including earbuds.  In Robarts Library, these vending machines are on the third and first floors.

Books usually count as academic sources, but it depends on what kind of book.  Textbooks, encyclopedias, and books published for commercial audiences often do not count as academic.

Consider these questions when you're deciding if a book is academic or not:

  • Who is the author? Google them. The author should be an expert in the topic of the book with graduate degrees and preferably a current position at a research institution like an university. 
  • Where does the information come from? There should be lots of references and other evidence in the book to support the arguments or findings.
  • Who is the book written for? The book should not be written for laymen.
  • Who published it? Academic book publishers are often university presses, like Oxford University Press, but you will encounter other academic publishers, like Routledge, Palgrave or the American Psychological Association. 

If you're still not sure, the best thing to do would be to ask your instructor or a librarian for confirmation.

U of T Facilities and Services maintains battery recycling stations at Robarts and the Law Library. To view other battery recycling stations on a map, filter by "Green U of T" then choose "recycle."

Yes.  The OISE Library collects all of the textbooks that are placed on the Trillium List by the Ontario Ministry of Education.

Copies that can circulate are in the Curriculum Resources Collection

A second reference copy of each textbook is included in the Approved Learning Materials (ALM) Collection. 

Both collections are located on the third floor of the Library.

Look up your textbook in the library catalogue to see we have a copy.  Your instructor might also have put it on course reserve.

Some libraries have special leisure reading collections.  These books are often not included in the library catalogue, but it is still a good place to look if you are interested in a specific title.

Yes, the library subscribes to DynaMed, a clinical reference tool created by physicians for physicians and other health care professionals for use at the point-of-care.  

You can also access this resource from the Gerstein Science Information Centre homepage: https://gerstein.library.utoronto.ca.

 

Yes, University of Toronto Libraries has ISO, IEC, and other standards available online.  

Several different systems are used to arrange books on the shelf across the University of Toronto's 40 libraries.  

In general, all of these systems are designed to:

  1. Help you find items on the shelf using a code found in the library catalogue called a "call number"
  2. Group similar items together on the shelf
  3. Describe the content and format of an item in the library catalogue

Library of Congress system

  • Used most often at the University of Toronto Libraries
  • Call number has both letters and numbers
    • E806 .G635 2012
    • UA600 .V36 1988
    • HC120 .L3 M37 2012
  • How to use it

Dewey Decimal

  • Used at OISE Library
  • Call number has mainly numbers, but letters are also sometimes present
    • 025.56 AL817L
    • 917.1 L786ca
    • 301.4120971 N277C
  • How to use it

Old Class

  • Used for books that were catalogued pre-1954 at many libraries
  • Robarts 9th floor storage – storage retrieval form
  • Call number has mainly letters with some numbers
    • P Med M
    • Pamph. HAm. S.
    • EcF G5784g
  • Developed at University of Toronto
  • How to use it [PDF] *Please note that the locations in this document are no longer correct.

CODOC

  • Used for many government documents and publications
  • Call number has both letters and numbers with punctuation interspersed
    • CA1..FN....-2006A11
    • US1..CM.100..S71
    • UN5..EWA.......-U51 1979+
  • Items are arranged on the shelf by country and government body, not by subject
  • How to use it

Audio Visual search terms

  • Used at the Media Commons
  • Call number has material format followed by number
    • VideoDVD 758910
    • Videocass 005288
    • AudioCD 450071
  • Developed at University of Toronto
  • Media Commons materials are retrieved only by staff, so you do not need to know how to use it.

–Updated April 18, 2023