Collections Overview

The collections of the Thomas Fisher Library are many and varied, reflecting the wide diversity of research conducted at the University of Toronto by its own faculty and students, visiting scholars, and the general public. Chronologically, the range is from a 1789 B.C. Babylonian cuneiform tablet from Ur, to original drafts and printed works of contemporary Canadian writers. The great strengths of the Library lie in the fields of British, European and Canadian literature, philosophy, theology, political science, the history of science and medicine, Hebraica and Judaica, and the art history of the book.

In addition to the general rare book collections, the holdings of books and other printed material are organized in over one hundred special author or subject collections, focussing on fields as diverse as AIDS, Aristotle, Birdsall Bindings, Darwin, Aldous Huxley, Incunabula, Libretti, Petlice, Printed Ephemera and the Spanish Civil War.

The Fisher Library is actively involved in digitization of our specialized print and manuscript collections with a view to providing increased access to our holdings. A list of digital projects completed is available on the Digital Collections page. Selections from the Fisher collections and additional information on Fisher resources and services is also available through our YouTube channel, Facebook page and Flickr stream. All digitized material is freely available.

For a downloadable brochure giving an outline of our holdings please click here.