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| - I'm of two minds about Robarts: first, as the biggest university library in the country, I can't help but be impressed by the collection, and take it for granted when I need to find (as I have) a particular scholarly article on Old Icelandic sagas, and the like.
However, there's a reason that this brutalist architectural monstrosity is nicknamed "Robots" and "The Turkey". The layout is bizarre: the stacks are way up on the top floors, not all the elevators serve the same floors, the entrance points are awkward and uninvitingly dark. To be fair, the layout of the stacks themselves (in rings which reportedly influenced the labyrinthine library in In the Name of the Rose) is more manageable than some university libraries I've used over the years.
Keep in mind you do need show a U of T card to get to the stacks and (duh) take out materials. The Media Commons collection is a great place to borrow DVDs for free, although be warned that materials must be returned directly to them, not through Robarts' outside book drop. That means you can only do so during the opening hours of the library itself, which may not always be convenient (especially during the reduced summer hours).
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