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The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library houses the Department of Rare Books and Special Collections including books, manuscripts and other materials; and the University of Toronto Archives and Records Management Services (UTARMS), which holds the official records of the University. The present building was opened in 1973. It is named in honour of Thomas Fisher (1792-1874), who came from Yorkshire to Upper Canada in 1821 and settled by the Humber River. There he operated a grist mill, and played an active role in the public life of the community. In 1973 his great- grandsons, Sidney and Charles Fisher, donated to the Library their own collections of Shakespeare, various twentieth century authors, and the etchings of the seventeenth century Bohemian artist, Wenceslaus Hollar. Since that time the Library has grown to approximately 600,000 volumes and 2500 linear metres of manuscript holdings.
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library's holdings are included in the main University of Toronto LibrarySearch. Advanced search can be restricted to the holdings of the Fisher Library. However, some material is described only in onsite finding aids or card files.
The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library is a non-circulating, closed stack library. Its resources may be used by all scholars and researchers, whether or not they are members of the University of Toronto community. Some material is hosted offsite.
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