Toronto Metropolitan University Library

Not to be confused with Ryerson Library or Ryerson & Burnham Libraries.

Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries (formerly Ryerson University Library) are the central academic resource for the students, faculty, and staff of Toronto Metropolitan University, in Toronto, Canada, providing access to extensive collections, resources, information services, and study spaces. Over time, it has grown to become a robust library system that includes the Main Library at 350 Victoria St. and two specialized branch libraries: the Law Library, supporting the Lincoln Alexander School of Law and the Birkam S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library, supporting TMU’s new School of Medicine. The libraries' core mission is to support the teaching, learning, and research activities of the university community. In 2024, the TMU Libraries significantly expanded resource access by implementing the Omni^[1] search tool, which provides users with unified discovery and direct access to over 25 million print items held across various academic institutions throughout Ontario. Omni is part of the Ontario Council of University Libraries, Collaborative Futures program– an initiative to increase collaboration and enhance scholarly research opportunities.

Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries
TMU Library building south east corner, looking from Lake Devo (2024)
Location	Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Type	Academic library
Established	1974
Collection
Items collected	Books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, databases, maps, drawings
Size	500,000 books, 3,700 journal titles
Other information
Director	Mark Robertson
Website	library.torontomu.ca

Book stacks on the 9th floor

History

First operating out of the original Ryerson Hall (Toronto Normal School) building in 1948, the library moved many times as it continued to grow. In the late 1960s, discussions of a library building began, with construction beginning in 1972. The Library building was designed by Webb Zerafa Menkes Housden Partnership and opened in 1974 at the corner of Gould and Victoria. The 11-storey tower is an example of Brutalist architecture.

The library has changed names over the years. First named the Learning Resources Centre in 1974, it then became Ryerson University Library and Archives, and finally TMU Libraries in 2024.^[2]

Archives and Special Collections

The Toronto Metropolitan University Archives serves as the institutional memory of the university.^[3] The Archives acquires, preserves, and makes accessible a broad range of primary source materials which provide an administrative, academic, fiscal, legal, social, and cultural record of Toronto Metropolitan University. Special Collections was established to help support the learning and teaching needs and facilitate the scholarly, research and creative activities of the TMU community by acquiring and preserving photography, film and cultural history objects. The Archives help students and staff gain access to primary source materials and aid them in the interpretation of those objects.