John P. Robarts Research Library

Not sure about the library itself as a whole, but great place to see the cherry blossoms in Toronto 🌸 I really appreciate the accessibility of the cherry blossom trees. Way easier to get to than High Park! I’ll come back for the flowers next year, and maybe even go inside the library itself next time!

The library's reputation may speak for itself but I have a few words. It's the megahub of libraries, in my opinion? It's the 'Library of Alexandria' for Toronto. Student behaviour could be 'optimized', if you know you know. But other than that, it's a large, vast collection of information that UToronto and the City of Toronto must protect.

Robarts, as U of Toronto faculty and student would affectionately called it, has been around since 1973. It is U of Toronto’s largest library and is a popular place to study with its many study pods. Its brutalist architecture with its massive, raw cement and unusual geometric design is a must-see for design and urban architecture buffs. The added bonus of cherry blossoms on its compound brought a touch of beauty not often seen at a library. The library is not opened to public.

As a UTM student all I have to say is that I don’t understand how people study in this library and dont lose their minds. The architecture is so dark, gloomy and ominous especially the upper floors which trigger a fight or flight response from me. Apart from my beef with the architectural choices, the library does have ample seating which is respectable but then again I don’t comprehend how anyone can enjoy sitting/studying/working in a building that looks so depressing…

Robarts Library at the University of Toronto is one of the best libraries I’ve ever seen. It boasts an extensive collection of books, journals, and digital resources, making it a key destination for research across all disciplines. The library offers a variety of study spaces, from quiet corners for individual work to areas designed for group collaboration, all equipped with modern technology and research tools. Access requires a U of T student card, ensuring it remains a dedicated space for academic work. Robarts is a true hub for learning and research at the university.

Reasons to visit this library: 1) Rare book Fisher library is in the same building.An amazing place to visit. 2) Best libraries to study for university of Toronto students 3) Best place to check cherry 🍒 blossoms during spring after High park. But it's better as it's less crowded 4) The library has awesome food court with many food options

One of the Cherry blossom locations in Toronto. We went here on the peak day of the season in 2024. Just a few trees. But very beautiful. It's easily accessible by subway . closest Subway stop: museum station and about 5-10 mins of walk to reach the spot. Go during off hours to avoid crowds.

Good place to study, food court could be improved a lot, whether from the quality of food or the capacity of seats. You find no seats in rush hour, and you have to stand and finish your food.

Went in today to print 12 pages. T-Card wouldn't open the front gate. Had to wait for assistance. Then, the ONLY machine to put cash onto your T-Card to print was out of order, so I reluctantly tried to add "T-Money" ("the currency you convert to if you'd like to print a document yippy") online, but my BMO Mastercard was declined 3X (three times filling out name, address, name (again, tho same), and delivery address (again, tho same) ... Asked someone if I could pay them to print for me? No. Trinity Library recommended -- even though they don't have a cash-to-T-Card machine. Another dead-end. Again, "Can I just pay someone to print for me?" "No, sorry." Sought solutions in 2 different shops OFF campus and the 2nd was fast, pleasant, easy, with a stapler, file folders, and for less than $2 CASH over the counter. Thank you cement turkey.

In comparison to Ryerson's library, I miss this place - a lot. Starbucks sucks though. They don't take the points card and may charge you for a cup of water. Also, they always mess up orders, and are terribly slow. The library itself has an outlet at every table, and it's well ventilated, as well as clean. Everyone is actually quiet here (except for certain parts of the building). The glass rooms are first come first serve - however, aren't very sound proof. They also extend hours for the first floor during rough seasons. However, there are stories about people getting cozy in the stacks. Anything above the 5th floor needs a TCard! Printing is quick and easy here as well. The conference/booking rooms are actually well equipped. Great to practice presentations in! If you wander to the special library (forget the name, but it's within Robarts), it's quite a treat!

So call me crazy, but I actually really like the way Robarts looks - I think there's something really impressive and grand about the architecture. The place is HUGE - extremely overwhelming, even the large escalator stairwell is hard to navigate. The entrance is currently under construction, but even that doesn't detract from the gravitas of the place. Luckily there is staff at almost every single floor (or at least the first handful) who are always so glad to help if you need it. Great place to study - quiet and very academic setting. The area around the library is fairly safe too, so I never feel too bad about leaving the library and walking back late at night.

Ah, the stone peacock. Perhaps the ugliest building on campus, Robarts is desperately need in some renovations inside (hard to change the exterior looks), and fortunately it is getting it. While the stacks (all zillion floors of them) used to be primary colours, they will soon be calming neutrals and have new tables and chairs. I kid you not that this library is divided into three coloured sections on each floor, red, yellow, and blue. It is a visual nightmare. The bathrooms used to be just as bad, but they are also scheduled for renovations. If you head to one of the newer ones (the main floors), they are actually quite nice and high end looking. Undeniably, Robarts has a great selection of books - but what else would you expect form a library that massive? They don't just have textbooks, but lots of popular fiction and non-fiction as well. It is also the only (in my knowledge) 24/hr a day library (study space only) on campus. This means that it is absolutely PACKED during exams, but it's the best place to park yourself for an overnight study session. This is also a less "intense" library, if you will. People are more tolerant of chatting (though not much), but they will tell you to keep it down eventually. This could be because the more open space in the study areas means that it isn't as obvious where the voices are coming from? Peacock Facts: - It was once on an episode of Friends, where it was "the hospital" - When it was built, they were planning it for graduate students only - They thought they would install a state of the art book grabbing / returning system for the stacks, if you go up there they still have the tracks for it installed - It's the third largest library in North America (or was last time I checked Wiki) - I wonder how many people thought these facts would actually be about peacocks? (Note: the female peacock is called a peahen).

(This review is for the library's study areas; I've never checked out a book there or actually used the stacks.) Being that Robarts Library is home to the largest academic collection in Canada, you'd figure they'd treat the space with a little more reverence. But having spent the last few weeks holed up there while studying for finals, I gotta say -- it's not the nicest place to spend 9+ hours a day. First: why are the bathrooms on the upper floors so gross? It seems the ones on the lower floors get attended to multiple times per day, but the ones on floors 9+ are not only non-renovated, but they're often littered with paper towels on the floor or around the sinks. I go to school across the way at Rotman where the building is often occupied 24-7, and it's always clean. I usually either end up waiting till I get home or walking across the street if I have to "go" because the bathrooms at Robarts squick me out so much. Also, the study hours at Robarts are ridiculous. No late night study hours on Sundays during finals? WTF? I did part of my undergrad at NYU and finished at a shitty university in Florida and both had areas open 24/7 during finals time. I'll give it this much -- the view on the 13th floor is quite nice to look out on when you need a break from studying. But other than that, Robarts needs some serious help.

I was surprised to encounter the most unfriendly and unhelpful librarians at this place. Aren't Canadians known for being friendly/polite? Ha ha... I was in the neighborhood and wanted to check my email and according to the two workers I spoke with, they don't offer guest internet access. Whaaaat? I've got over 10 years of public and university library experience and there's always been a way we could get someone connected to the internet. Whatever, I may have just asked the wrong people, but I hope they are nicer and provide better customer service to the students, staff, and faculty.

Robarts is the biggest university library in Canada and also top 5 in North America! The collection of books is amazing, but what this space is really good for is mad cramming right before your exams. The study rooms are open all night on lower floors for a good part of the academic year but they are also always packed. The food options aren't great but the library is close to late night eateries on Spadina! As has been said previously, the cleanliness also leaves a lot to be desired as does the attitude of the sometimes very rude staff. If you are not a U of T student, also beware that they will card you if you try to get in at unusual hours. Overall so much could be improved in this library, but there is also a lot to be proud of. I love Robarts!

this terrible monstrosity of a building is supposed to be a peacock of some sort. IT is known as possibly the ugliest building in Toronto. Or at least it is in the top three running. But there is a strange ass logic to this library. It houses one of the largest book collections that is strangely generally easy to get through. the U of T library system is really generally simple to navigate and well.. I got the books that I needed and Robarts acts as a central library for circulation so whatever library I get my book from, I just drop it off at Robarts and it magically gets to their home library via fairly-paid book gnomes that call themselves grad students by day. Some floors are even confusingly nice with great big windows and nice common space to study quietly. I can't tell you which floors these are because I am always so stunned when I see them that my brain just blanks after the shock of seeing something acceptable looking in such an ugly building. It also houses offices. Some pretty funky ugly offices in those little jutting corners of the building. If you enjoyed small secret spaces this is definitely the library for you. If you enjoy appealing architecture this might make you decide to impale yourself on a blunt object- perhaps a book- in the most inconvenient way possible.

O muses, let me sing of my love for the concrete chicken. Robarts always reminds me of the line about architects and their mistakes - "plant vines". There aren't enough vines in the GTA to cover the dodgy angles at Robarts. The simple fact is that it has the most beautifully massive collection you'll find outside the Toronto Reference Library, but you can take things out. The strange 70s colour scheme, the peculiar angles, the kafkaesque elevators all fade in significance next to the feeling you get when you walk amongst tens of thousands of books, all for the browsing. I used to come here whenever student life got overwhelming. I'd smell the books and grab things off the shelves that looked interesting (a book of last words; a book of sea creatures; poetry; a little book published in the 18th century) and find a window seat. You could look over Toronto for miles; I remember watching snow falling ten stories down over the Annex. At many great libraries you need to fill out a web form or a little slip of paper and petition the great and powerful Oz to provide you with your book. This is methadone compared to the beautiful drug of unattended access to the stacks. My recommendations for Robarts users: 1) master the insanely complex system for periodicals searches. This will raise your GPA in ways you can't imagine. 2) make friends with the reference area; there are books in there that will help you find what you're looking for (e.g. all the reviews of a book published in a given year) 3) don't sit outside the caf exit unless you want to be chatted up. 4) speaking of the caf, the tuna isn't bad. 5) the study rooms on the first few floors are intense places - good if you have trouble focussing 6) getting the proxy set up on your home computer will mean you can research the periodicals from home! 7) enjoy it while you got it, because last I saw, an alumnai card cost almost $100

My first time really experiencing the environment and study areas. Used to study/work at York so basing my opinion vs that environment. Pro: very quiet in the study areas. People are generally respectful of each other and take phone conversations and food out into the main stairway area. With the # of floors ( over 8) there is bound to be some seats....at the very least you'll get your cardio for the day!!! Cons: While reviewers do comment on the selection off on spadina, I don't like the commute that needs to be made for some decent food. Wish the selection at the library for food was a little less like stopping at a truck stop off the highway (pizza pizza, subway, etc). The Starbucks though is brutal! Had a chai latte and got what felt like hot water with milk...not a really good experience. Cleanliness is as others have said...I'm not sure if it's the actual cleanliness that is bad or just that the design and lighting and location of furniture that gives it an unkempt and highly disorganized look! Both, regardless, need to be improved. Comforts something I always felt at Scott in York. However even with the couch like chairs here, they just felt uncomfortable....what I imagine prison chairs would be like. Lights in the building are neat, an assortment of triangles ( look it UP next time u r there - sorry couldn't resist!). But it's disappointing that where there is access to windows they don't really have views. For new comers I'm not really sure how u can access Internet or wireless but would be great if you could access it. Overall there are a lot of floors so I look forward to maybe finding one that I can say I like studying on...but for now the fourth floor and second are just plain blah.....

The grey building where dreams die. They say the architect jumped off the roof. probably the most depressing area of U of T during exam time. If you ever find yourself here in the dead of night, please reconsider your management of time and life. Floor 5 is the nicest looking level, it is like night and day compared to the other grey and dim levels of the library. It is like the only modern and renovated area. One time I got lost, and I think one of the upper floors 9-12, there is a small room that is made up of around 8-10 lockers. These lockers are just big enough for a small person to lock themselves in from the outside world, with a small desk. It looked like a war jail cell. I am pretty sure they were occupied by some stressed out Asian student, but I didn't stay long enough to check. There are much nicer libraries than Kobarts.

Robarts is quite intimidating the first time you're there. It's not as pretty as some other libraries on campus but it is big. The first floor is full of computers an printers and things like that. There are also rooms designed for groups to work on presentations. They have a computer and big screens in there. Moving on up, the second floor is where the food court and designated eating areas are. I think this level also just got renovated with seemingly unnecessary things like random glass panel things. From my knowledge.. there are two ways to go up. You can continue to walk up which brings you to about the 5th/6th floor, or you need to take the elevator to get into the "stacks". However, you need to show your T-card in order to be allowed to go into the stacks. There are a bunch of study areas in the upper floors. I think the upper floors have somewhat of the same layout (some sort of triangular pattern). Overall, it's an OK library.. I wouldn't personally come here to study though.

The first 4 floors of Robarts aren't so hot, but if you come in via the north-east entrance and go straight up, it's a fantastic and dramatic building with an INCREDIBLE collection, and a labyrinthine quality that's kind of fun. I love to sit on the radiators/benches in the massive windows and work with a skyline view. I've also been known to get so immersed in stacks that I just sit down on the floor. A babe in the woods of knowledge! No library deserves less than 3 stars, but this one keeps an extra star in my heart for all its ugly, complex grandeur. Plus, as Evelyn W and I agree, it smells like hot chocolate packets.

Pretty good place to study. Gets pretty busy sometimes and parking is a b*tch because it's downtown, but compared to other places I've been, this one is usually fairly clean and quiet.

This is THE place to get shit done. Don't go on any of the free floors (1-6) because theres quite a lot of old creepers there that just go there and check out students more than they read their books or newspaper. Wifi can be a little bit shoddy at times but idc, as long as it works. Im not here to game. There seems to be a whole crowd at starbucks 24/7 seems like theres a group of people who live on this floor and have fun.

Robarts is a great library in the heart of the University of Toronto St George Campus. It's multi-level library has anything and every educational literature you could possibility want. A hotspot for studying and reading with university locales. There are internet terminals you can use there. By now they must have Wifi access, I know that they do in the Arts and Science building. The library opens late hours, though I do believe that you need a student card to access certain parts of the library.

Robarts is such a good library that I used to steal my friends' student cards to get access so that I actually had books to use for essays. If you go to Ryerson, you should do the same -- their library BLOWS. But even if you can't borrow a card, you only need the student card to access certain parts of Robarts -- the rest are open to the public, but you blend in more if you're wearing the university student uniform of sweatpants and that permanently tired look on your face. During exam periods its open late late (sometimes 24 hours I think?) and it's so nice and quiet here that you can also take small nap breaks between studying if necessary. Once again, it is so unlike the Ryerson library, where there's a party on every floor, even the quiet ones. Not only is it better atmosphere-wise, but Robarts has a huge selection of resources on all topics from all periods in history. Definitely worth checking out, even if you just need somewhere quiet to read.

Wow--reading all the other reviews, I'm quite surprised people are saying Robarts is as bad as they think it is--because I think otherwise! It's actually a kick-ass library! Furniture along with lights and floor were all renovated/replaced not very long ago in order to provide students with optimal studying conditions. Spacing and air circulation is excellent as well--so even when it's crowded (eg. midterm/exam season), it's not suffocating. Student and staff are respectful of people studying, which makes it a very peaceful and quiet library. Excellent caretaking service as well--it's a very clean library! Washrooms, floor, seats and tables are all regularly maintained to keep everything as neat and clean as possible. Not to mention the awesome and wide range selection in books. How much more do you want out of a library?! Try studying at other libraries--and you'll see how fortunate you are to have the option of going to Robarts to study ;).

Robarts is supposed to look like a peacock, but all I see is ugliness and many hours of wasted youth. Oh, how I kid. Sorta. Every University of Toronto student has a complex relationship with this building. In my first year, I was pretty much too afraid to even attempt to actually use it- except the AV library, which is the coolest, and on the far-less intimidating third floor. That meaning that it's still accessible from escalators, not the secret elevators that start on floor one and take you up into the windowless stacks that can feel a little like a maze, in a cave, in hell. But it most certainly is a valuable resource, being the centre of the largest university collection in the country- and fourth largest in North America (that yes, I always took for granted until my Ryerson-going sister offered me a glimpse of what they had), and being open, for most of the year, 24-hours a day. I think this is where the biggest points come from me. Incalculable are the number of hours I spent in this monster, using their very nice computer workstations or monastery-like reading rooms, when home proved an impossible place to concentrate on reading or essay-writing all nighters. The stacks don't stay open, but the first three floors do, and the hours will just fly by as you sustain yourself with chips and pop from the vending machines, and consequently crash, head first into a book, where no one will ever notice you, ever.

Compared to the other UofT libraries (UTSC), I enjoy this one the most. it has a decent amount of space to study and great selection of books (very easy to skim through it). Although it looks quiet scary from outside, and well inside it's somewhat intimidating also; Its pretty good, quiet and clean. Computers on the first floor are mostly crowded however study rooms with decent computers are available. Get here early if you're looking for a seat or mid-afternoon past 5:30pm. Avoid during reading week, exam week as well... It does have a food court and a Starbucks that closes at 7pm on weekends. So no big need to starve while you're studying. It also has a decent cafeteria with plugs a nice tables if in need for study groups or want to eat and study at the same time. Security is nice, perhaps not during exam period: past 10pm security checks for IDs.

I'm of two minds about Robarts: first, as the biggest university library in the country, I can't help but be impressed by the collection, and take it for granted when I need to find (as I have) a particular scholarly article on Old Icelandic sagas, and the like. However, there's a reason that this brutalist architectural monstrosity is nicknamed "Robots" and "The Turkey". The layout is bizarre: the stacks are way up on the top floors, not all the elevators serve the same floors, the entrance points are awkward and uninvitingly dark. To be fair, the layout of the stacks themselves (in rings which reportedly influenced the labyrinthine library in In the Name of the Rose) is more manageable than some university libraries I've used over the years. Keep in mind you do need show a U of T card to get to the stacks and (duh) take out materials. The Media Commons collection is a great place to borrow DVDs for free, although be warned that materials must be returned directly to them, not through Robarts' outside book drop. That means you can only do so during the opening hours of the library itself, which may not always be convenient (especially during the reduced summer hours).

Outside of its questionable aesthetics, this library is a wonder and a treasure. First off disregard the comments from non-students(sorry, but this place isn't a public library.) This Library is an extensive depot of some of the hardest to find documents/books/videos/resources in North America, and a ready and willing staff to help you learn to find an access them. As a student it's top 5 floors offer quiet and needed study space that is a perfect climate in all 4 extreme seasons with an abundance of tables/plugins/evenwifisignals combined with late hours(much later than most the other campus libraries). The Starbucks in building is a lifesaver and the 'ask a librarian' chat feature on the website allows you to get help anywhere in the building without moving. TOP TIP they have a book sale every Tuesday I think 1-4pm where you can find some amazing books cheap!!. I would like to see more full spectrum lights, comfy chairs and a little better way of dealing with the 'sleepers'. But all in all this Library is soo much better than most campuses I've visited around the world.

You know when you get behind on your reading and you really need to get down to it but while at home you notice your entire apt needs to be cleaned and all your furniture needs to be re arranged and oh, that show you wanted to watch is on tv and someone posted on your facebook wall? Well here is the place to avoid all distractions and get your stuff done. I like this library beacuse they usually have 3 copies of the books I need (or at least needed last year). Showing up early on a saturday or sunday guarentees one of the private rooms with outside windows on the 11th floor. Once I remembered how library stacks worked (wow its been a while... seriously) I found everything I needed and I usually dont need to ask a librarian anything. I also enjoy the self service check out so I can spend the whole day in itunes land and not have to communicate with any human other than eye flirting with the cute guy whos working on a history paper who's probably too young for me anyway. I prefer the E.J Pratt Library to work in because of the view, and the fact that I am not freaked out about being in the building late at night. Robarts friends IS HAUNTED. and yes I did take my meds today.

a beautiful library, with a great cafeteria on the second floor (and a Starbucks!) sometimes the wifi gets a little slow (probably because there are SO MANY people in this building trying to connect to it and use it. I don't usually come here unless I know it's not a popular time, because it gets hard to find a seat during midterm/finals season. the service is usually awful. I was looking for a stapler once and I got a bunch of attitude from the person at the desk....(why?!) and I needed help with loading my tcard once too and they were ZERO HELP and also made me feel shitty.

What I love: the atmosphere of everyone heads down studying, the open concept of the study rooms and long opening hours compared to other libraries in Toronto. It's also accessible by ttc and parking is relatively easy to find when I arrive in the evenings.

For a libary, fairly it's a good one. A lot of available sources, a good place to study (well I guess you have to roam around first to get a suitable quiet place, don't worry you'll get one) and it's huge, meaning there will be a space for everyone. If you're hungry their are mobile eatery located in the streets that will serve you outside the main entrance (only during meal times) and its close to spadina so its easy to fill your tummy with asian foods everywhere. Coffee shops are also within reach.

I've tried to like Robarts. I really have. I know it has unparalleled collections, top-notch research librarians, and performs a valuable public service. And I appreciate that many of the problems I have with the library are structural in nature and can be traced back to insufficient funding, internal politicking, and the fact that an institution of its size will inevitably experience some bureaucratic inefficiency. Yet after three years of regular use I've learned that before I go visit the giant peacock I have to take some deep breaths and steel myself for an experience that will almost inevitably end in frustration and/or disappointment. This should not be the case. I'm an ideal patron: I go out of my way to be polite to the librarians at the circulation desk; I've never returned a single book late; I take care of all the materials I check out to the extent that when I make marginal notes in pencil I go back and erase them before returning them; I don't talk on my phone when I'm in the stacks (this one is admittedly just a matter of basic courtesy), and prior to switching to the automated machines I even lined up the barcodes before I took books to the front desk to be checked out. It's not like I expect some kind of direct karmic transaction for being a good patron. I know I'm just a barcode to Robarts, and that's okay. But I'm sick to death of being treated like I'm personally affronting some of the circulation librarians when I need to pick up a hold and they sigh like walking three feet to the holds shelf is asking a special favour of them. I'm sick of the employees at the entrances to the stacks not even looking when I flash my t-card because they're too busy watching the Real Housewives on Megavideo. I'm sick of being told to "go back and check again" when I've looked several different times for a book that the catalog says is available and want to put in a search request. That's just the personnel side of things. I'm sure the front-line staff at Robarts get treated poorly by a whole lot of people on a daily basis, and I know it's not a customer service job per se. I get it. And to be fair, there are some circulation librarians who are personable and helpful, who return your smile and who say "you're welcome" after being thanked. Three cheers for those kind souls. But then there are the operational issues, such as the fact that I frequently have to search multiple floors for footstools so I can look for books on top shelves that inevitably aren't there anyway. Or that the stacks are inaccessible until 1 o'clock on Sundays. Or that all the elevators rarely work at once. Or that I have the number that you call when you've returned books but they still show up on your account programmed into my phone because that happens so often. The most recent frustration happened just yesterday: the change machine that loudly spat out 20 loonies in exchange for the $20 bill I inserted, not the 3 $5 bills and 5 loonies it advertised. On its own this would barely be an inconvenience, but in context it's emblematic of my entire relationship with the library. And even when Robarts tries to do me a favour, like assigning me a carrel, it's almost unusable because the windows are caked in yellow grime to the point where I can barely see outside, the lock constantly jams and requires a caretaker to come open it, and all winter cold air blows out of the vent, necessitating the wearing of gloves, a hat and a scarf in order to read comfortably (and making it more or less impossible to type without my fingers freezing). The other libraries on campus should thank Robarts for setting the bar so low. Graham, Kelly, Pratt, OISE - these libraries are efficient in and of themselves, but in comparison to this behemoth they're downright humanizing. Although come to think of it, perhaps Robarts deserves some kind of credit for inspiring me to devote part of my Friday night to a Yelp review of something that's not even an actual business; maybe I should use this site to find a therapist instead.

Ever wonder what it feels like to be a criminal in your own safe studying space provided by the university? Well, look no further! UofT's Robarts library ensures to provide an experience like no other (and by that I mean literally, no other university). It seems as though the security is more occupied with kicking out their own students, than maintaining the safety of them. Unfortunately, I arrived to that realization when my Tcard was stolen, and as a means of reward I got the boot around 11 PM when I was unable to show it (although offering to provide both student number and login proof). As a paying student of this university, I do not appreciate to be treated like I am doing something wrong when my only intent is to study for a midterm the very next day, which was very apparent considering I was using the database which requires log in info. I am incredibly upset, angered, and disappointed that UofT chooses to promote discrimination among students who do not attend or fail to provide proof that they attend UofT, unlike other universities that are accepting and understanding, encouraging unity. We are all 'on the same boat' in regards to pursuing our choice of education and special treatment should not be given to basic necessities purely because of the name we carry. I hope to see change in the future.