Art Gallery of Ontario / Musée des beaux-arts de l’Ontario

E.P. Taylor Research Library and Archives

A part of the Weston Family Learning Centre, the Library is located on the public Concourse Level, Chalmers Wing, of the Art Gallery of Ontario. Begun informally in 1906, it was actualized in 1933 through the stimulus of a grant and donation of 200 books from the Carnegie Foundation, Pittsburgh, PA.

Until 1970, the library was housed in the Goldwin Smith Library, The Grange, an historic house and the first home of the Art Gallery of Ontario, followed by temporary quarters from 1970 to 1991. The Gallery’s museum archive was amalgamated with the library in 1988. In 1993, the combined Research Library & Archives opened in a purpose-built facility designed by KPMB Architects, part of the Gallery’s Stage III expansion project.

The Library is a leading Canadian study centre for advanced research in art history. In addition to its inhouse mandate, the Library & Archives is open to the visiting public, and the museum and academic communities at large. It is affiliated with the university library of the Ontario College of Art and Design.

The Research Collections

The E.P. Taylor Research Library & Archives collections reflect the permanent collection and the public programs of the Art Gallery of Ontario:

• Over 165,000 volumes for general art information and in-depth research in the history of art, covering western art in all media from the mediaeval period on, Canadian First Nations and Inuit art, and African and Oceanic art
• Canadian, American and European art journals and newspapers
• Over 50,000 sales and auction catalogues (late 18th c. to current)
• Over 40,000 documentation files on Canadian art and artists, and contemporary artists
• Rare books from the 16th to the 21st centuries
• Contemporary artists’ books
• Photographs, multimedia, digital and microform collections
• Special Collections (individual archives) documenting Canadian art and artists, and Ontario cultural history from the late 19th century onwards
• Museum archival records document the history of the Gallery in textual records, architectural drawings, photographs and other media

For more detailed descriptions and access regulations, please visit: Rare Books Collection, Special Collections and AGO Institutional Archives.

Services and Fees

A Gallery admission ticket is not required for general Library services.

• Photocopying charges on site: $0.50 per page
• Photocopies sent by mail: minimum charge $15

• Interlibrary loans fee (charged to borrowing libraries): $30 per volume
• Library collections do not circulate

Hours of Operation:

Starting Nov. 19, 2008, the E.P. Taylor Library and Archives will be open to the public. Hours of operation are:

Wednesday to Friday, 1 to 4:45 pm

Other times available by appointment only.

Contacting the Research Library & Archives

• By Phone: 416-979-6642
• By Fax: 416-979-6602
• By Email: Library_Archives@ago.net
• By Mail:

  Art Gallery of Ontario Research Library
  317 Dundas Street West
  Toronto, Ontario
  M5T 1G4