Hold Requests for Physical Media

It is possible to access physical films through various UofT Libraries (UTL) and in some cases, submit Hold Request to have videos delivered between campuses (e.g., St. George, Scarborough, Mississauga, Downsview) or retrieval of films for pickup. For streaming content, visit UTL Streaming Collections or the UTL Film Resource Guide. 

Physical Collections and Viewing Stations at UofT Libraries  

Robarts Library - Films, TV, Viewing Stations & Screening Rooms

• (130 St George St) Please be aware that the 3rd floor service desk has closed.
• For questions about access and room bookings, please get in touch via phone or email <media.commons@utoronto.ca>. 

Accessing films from Robarts Film Storage: 

• When searching for films, use the Format filter to limit the search to Video and then limit the library location filter to Robarts
• Submit Hold Requests to borrow films and tv series for home-viewing or elsewhere!

Watch films while on campus:  

• On-site viewing stations (VCRs, BluRay players, and All region DVD players available on the 3rd floor of Robarts). 
• Bookable screening rooms at Media Commons for group viewings on the 3rd floor of Robarts.
• External disc drives that you can borrow and connect to your own laptop.  

Victoria University - E J Pratt Library (Film / Video)

• (71 Queen's Park Crescent East)
• Films can be borrow at the library's circulation desk. 
• Some computer work stations have CD/DVD R/W Drives installed. 

St. Michael’s College - John M. Kelly Library (Films / DVDs)

• (113 St Joseph St)
• DVD collection for home-viewing only. 

Music Library  (Audiovisual Collections, Viewing Stations)

(80 Queen's Park Crescent)

• Listening/viewing stations equipped with CD/DVD/Blu-ray players and headphones. Select stations also support VHS tape playback. 

Innis College Library -  Animation Kiosk  

( 2 Sussex Ave, R. 220E,  above the Registrar's Office)

• Innis College Library is fortunate to house an Animation Kiosk that is a joint venture with ASIFA Hollywood (www.asifa-hollywood.org) and Stephen Worth (animationresources.org), the kiosk contains biographies of animators, producers, and comic book artists, as well as rare animation, drawings, cels, and other artwork.
• Book a timeslot to use the Animation Kiosk (1 user at a time) onsite (Library's main floor, R. 220 E). 
• Please bring your own earphones that can be plugged in (USB or headphone plug). 

UofT Students can apply for Toronto Public Library Card (or TPL Digital Access Card).

Your TPL card provides access to: 

• Digital Video through Hoopla and Kanopy and Digital Music through Hoopla and Naxos (also ebooks, audio books and magazines) 
• Physical film and music (Film / TV - DVDs or Music - CD, Vinyl, Sheet Music)

If you encounter an error message, please let Kate know. 

TIFF Film Reference Library

Film Reference Library (TIFF) The Library maintains the world's largest resource of English-language Canadian film and film-related materials as well as a wide range of local, national and international film resources.

• Hours and Location 

• Collections

• Tips for Searching Collections Online (PDF Guide)
  • Periodicals including American Cinematographer (1954+), The Motion Picture Herald (1951-1958 & 1960-1978), and numerous other popular & trade journals from the studio era and earlier days of film can be found using the advanced search by title (Note: use quotation marks around the title of the periodical in the search and select result that contain 'periodical' as the object name)
  • Special Collections include the documentation of the early work, script development and production by some of Canada numerous other popular & trade journals from the studio era and earlier days of Canada's great film auteurs. The Collections boast all three drafts of David Cronenberg’s Naked Lunch, a handwritten script for Atom Egoyan’s Speaking Parts, and the original script from Don Shebib’s classic Goin' Down the Road. In addition to scripts, the Collections also feature storyboards, notes and other documentation, music scores, set designs and memorabilia.
  • Exhibitions include artist and curation statements, in addition to images of exhibitions held at TIFF. These include exhibitions on industry creatives and stars, production design, and cultural investigations around cinema. Some notable names include David Cronenberg, Mary Pickford, Richard Kerr. 
  • Canadian Film Encyclopedia (CFE) includes over 750 film title, biographical and subject entries, covering some of Canada’s foremost historical and modern films and filmmakers. The film title entries include plot summaries, commentary and credits, and the biographical entries have a comprehensive list of film and video works indicating the person’s key creative roles.
  • Edith Nadajewski Scrapbook Collection (c.1920s-1990s) contains scrapbooks of photographs, magazine and newspaper cut outs of Hollywood actors and actresses throughout the 20th century. Images include paparazzi shots, professional photoshoots, movie advertisements, behind the scenes, and film scenes.