LibGuides: Royal Ontario Museum: Royal Ontario Museum Libraries

General Information

Facility:	Royal Ontario Museum Libraries
Address:	100 Queen's Park Toronto, ON M5S 2C6
Phone:	(416) 586-5595 or (416) 586-5718
FAX:	(416) 586-5519 or (416) 586-5877
Email:	library@rom.on.ca or fe.library@rom.on.ca

About the libraries:

The Royal Ontario Museum Libraries are reference libraries open to the public. As such, their collections are non-circulating. There are two libraries and an archives, all located within the Royal Ontario Museum. Their collections can be accessed online through the University of Toronto's online catalogue.

The two Royal Ontario Museum Libraries are the Main Library and the Bishop White Committee Library of East Asia. For more information regarding the Asian collection, please contact that East Asian librarian at (416) 586-5718 ext. 2 or by email.

Hours of Operation

Online Resources

Bishop White Committee Library of East Asia Research Guide
Information about the Library of East Asia.
In 2017, the H.H. Mu Far Eastern Library was renamed the Bishop White Committee Library of East Asia, in honor of the Bishop White Committee.
ROM Archive Finding Aids
Search the collections or browse.
ROM Research Guides
ROM Library Guide to Fashion Plates

Resources and Facilities

Give Us Your Feedback

For all comments and questions about the Guide, please e-mail us:

mlaguide@nccjapan.net

Summary of Collections

Collection size: as of June 2014 the library contained nearly 132,000 volumes of which approximately 4,600 items are in Japanese. The Main Library's collections focus on western arts & archaeology, as well as the earth and life sciences. The Far Eastern Library's collections focus primarily on the arts & archaeology of Asian, Egyptian, and Near & Middle Eastern cultures. The ROM Archives' collections focus on historical documents relating to the museum.

Databases

Collection Database
A database of images of material from the Royal Ontario Museum's collections
ROM Flickr
A collection of images from the Royal Ontario Museum's rare book collections, digitized for use by researchers worldwide.
ROM Magazine index and Annual Report Database
ROM Magazine indexes by author, subject, and volume, as well as a collection of ROM Annual Reports from 1949 to 1958.
Reports and Policy Collection
More recent ROM Annual Reports (1999/2000 and onwards), as well as policies set by the Board of Trustees.

Access

Directions

How to Use the Facility

Visitor Guidelines
Library and Archives Research Appointment Request Form
Use this online scheduler to request an appointment.

Using the Collections

The ROM Libraries are open and free for public use. The Far Eastern Library is occasionally required to close due to understaffing, and requests that patrons call in advance of visits if possible in order to ensure access to the materials. Far Eastern Library materials may also be requested in the Main Library, although immediate retrieval is not guaranteed.

Please note: the ROM Libraries are scent-free environments. Patrons are asked to please refrain from using personal scented products when visiting the libraries or archives.

Photocopying and Scanning

Scanning is free of charge, and requires a USB mobile storage device to save files. One overhead, self-service book scanner and one flatbed scanner are available in both libraries for use. Photocopying is also available in both libraries, at a cost of $0.15 per black-and-white page, while color photocopying is available in the Far Eastern Library for $1.00 per page. Public access computer terminals also allow color printing at $1.00 per page in each library.