The Toronto Metropolitan University Library is committed to providing equal access to services and collections to all students, faculty and staff of the University. Where use of our library facilities and/or services are difficult or impossible, we will accommodate users to examine sources, retrieve materials, and access services.
Handouts and library promotional materials can be provided in accessible formats upon request (e-text, Braille, MP3 and large print).
For more information, please see our Customer Service Policy.
sonya.panangaden@torontomu.ca
Our Services
- Research Help Services
- Accessible Formats Services
- Media Captioning Services
- Physical Access and Emergency Procedures
- Retrieval of Items, Book Renewals, Extended Loans and Photocopying
- Available Adaptive Software
- Book a Private Study Room
- Free OCR Tool (Create Accessible PDFs)
Research Help Services
You can get research guidance via Ask a Librarian. The Ask a Librarian service is provided to assist all library users with their research needs off-site.
We offer research help via email, live chat, online research guides and by phone. Check out Research Help for more information.
For assistance with obtaining accessible formats of research materials, please contact Sonya Panangaden at sonya.panangaden@torontomu.ca
Accessible Formats Service
For more information on getting course content in an accessible format, please see Accessible Format Production.
Media Captioning Services
For more information on getting media like videos captioned, please see Closed Captioned Media
Physical Access and Emergency Procedures
The Library entrance is on the 2nd floor of the Library building at 350 Victoria Street. Elevators are available at street level and in the Library.
- Accessible washrooms are available on floors 4 and 7
- A wheelchair accessible printer is available on the 2nd floor.
- A few larger computer tables on the 2nd floor offer priority access to persons in wheelchairs or mobility devices.
Where the library building or facilities restrict access, do not hesitate to ask for assistance. Please send any concerns, questions, complaints to: kdermody@torontomu.ca
In Case of Emergency
Emergency telephones are located near the elevators on each floor.
During a fire alarm, if you are unable to evacuate the building please go to an emergency phone and dial 80 to speak to security to let them know your location and situation.
Retrieval of items, Photocopying, Book Renewals, Extended Loans
Retrieval of items from the Library’s shelves
We are happy to retrieve books for persons who are unable to reach the items from our shelves on floors 5 through 10.
Please provide a list of call numbers to the staff at the Circulation Desk or the Accessibility Services Librarian.
For best results, plan ahead! Depending on timing and staff availability, retrieval may be immediate, or take up to 24 hours.
Contact us:
By phone: (416-979-5055, option 2, or 416-979-5000, ext. 553093) or
By email: The Library’s Borrower Services at access@torontomu.ca or the Accessibility Services Librarian, kdermody@torontomu.ca
Photocopying
Assistance with photocopying is available for students with mobility impairments. Please contact Academic Accommodation Support at 416-979-5290 or the Library at 416-979-5000, ext. 556899 or dkinder@torontomu.ca
Renewal of Books
To renew an item that you currently have on loan, connect to Your Library Account which is accessible from the library home page or from the Library catalogue.
Those who would like to phone or email to renew their loans can do so by calling the Circulation Desk at 416-979-5055. To renew by email please contact kdermody@torontomu.ca.
Extended Loans for Reserve Materials
Short term loans may be extended. Students registered with Academic Accommodation Support should ask their counsellor to contact Don Kinder dkinder@torontomu.ca for more information.
Adaptive Technology and Software Lab
Adaptive Software
The following technology is available on all computers in the library:
- Kurzweil 3000
- Microsoft Ease of Access (Magnifier and Narrator)
- Apple Accessibility Tools (Magnifier and Voice Over)
Student Learning Centre Adaptive Technology Lab
The Adaptive Technology lab is located on the 4rd floor of the Student Learning Centre. It consists of five computer stations that are reserved for Academic Accommodation Support registrants only.
First time users must first register with Academic Accommodation Support or with the Accessibility Services Librarian.
- JAWS
- Kurzweil 3000
- Read&Write
- Inspiration
- Dragon Naturally Speaking
Book a Private Study Room in the SLC
To book the private study rooms in the Student Learning Centre, log into the Study Room Booking tool with your torontomu username and password.
Software in the private SLC Rooms:
- JAWS
- Kurzweil 3000
- Read&Write
- Inspiration
- Dragon Naturally Speaking
For more information on adaptive technology please contact:
Suzanne MacArthur (suzanne.macarthur@torontomu.ca ) 416-979-5000, ext. 557662.
Free OCR Tool to help make your own text documents more accessible
The TMU Library is proud to provide an online OCR tool that performs optical character recognition (OCR) on documents in an effort to improve their accessibility.
If you have a document that was created by scanning a printed text document, or any text document that has “non-selectable text” (you cannot select the text, then copy and paste it into a new document) that document is not accessible for users of certain adaptive software such as text-to-speech applications
You can upload an inaccessible document to our online OCR Tool and it will return a document with machine-readable or selectable text, rendering it more accessible.