The Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, Canada’s largest, is essential for scholars of many disciplines who seek the broadest collection of materials relevant to their research. More than 13,000 students, visitors and scholars from around the world come to the Fisher Library each year to research, study and attend lectures and exhibitions, and thousands of others visit it online.

Within the University’s Boundless Campaign, the University of Toronto Libraries (UTL) will engage donors in Canada and around the world to help maintain the stature and excellence of the Fisher Library, founded in 1955.

The goals are to create a permanent endowed fund of $2 million for the position of Director of the library; raise $2 million for Collection Development; establish a $4 million endowed fund for preservation and access and secure a $600,000 endowment for a Librarian Fellowship.

A successful campaign will allow the Library to attract a highly-qualified rare book librarian to continue building its collections and services, networking with peer institutions around the globe and forging relationships with scholars, collectors, book dealers and donors. The endowment of the Directorship will allow the library to continue to attract the best and brightest professional staff and provide specialist reference, collection development and instructional services to its patrons.

The Library will build on strengths such as the history of science and medicine, and by furthering materials deepen its collections in recognized areas of excellence at the University, such as Medieval Studies. An endowed preservation and access fund will address backlogs, to provide access to previously “hidden” collections, especially twentieth century politics, philosophy and Canadian literature holdings which have taken a back seat to antiquarian collections, but which will form an important corpus of research materials for scholars of the future.