As part of TMU Libraries’ review of electronic resource subscriptions, we have made the decision to discontinue our subscription to Web of Science and Journal Citation Reports effective January 1, 2027. Decisions about subscriptions are made through an ongoing assessment of cost, usage, overlap with other resources, and the evolving research landscape.

The decision to discontinue Web of Science is largely due to overlap with other similar products.  Web of Science substantially duplicates the content and functionality from Scopus, another major multi-disciplinary citation index (both cover the sciences, social sciences, and humanities). In addition, OpenAlex is a freely available, open scholarly index that provides extensive discovery and research analytics capabilities.

A comparison of scope and coverage of Web of Science and Scopus can be found here and here.

TMU will continue to have full access to Scopus. We recognize that the Web of Science has been an important resource for many researchers. Work indexed through Web of Science will continue to be available, and authors will have access to the free Web of Science interface.

In the lead up to the cancellation of this product, we want to know more about any unique researcher use of the product, in order to manage the transition and find solutions for instances where Scopus or Open Alex are not viable alternatives. Please get in touch – or share any other questions via our Google form.

TMU Libraries remains committed to providing access to scholarly resources that support all academic programs and research.

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FAQ

Will I still be able to access my Web of Science profile/Researcher Profile? 

Yes, a library subscription is not required to create or maintain a researcher profile.

 

Will my indexed work still be available in Web of Science?

Yes, your works will remain on the Web of Science and may be accessed through the free interface.

 

I have an EndNote citation management account through Web of Science. How can I retain access to my EndNote content?

The free interface does not include access to EndNote. You can consider a personal subscription to EndNote. You can export your records and import them into another citation management tool.

 

Will I still be able to access EndNote Web?

Complimentary access to EndNote Web is no longer available. An alternative to EndNote is Zotero, a free citation management tool.

 

How can I find Journal Citation Information without Journal Citation Reports?

Journal Citation Reports (JCR) is only available to current Web of Science customers. For Journal Citation Information, we suggest using eigenfactor.org, Scimago, Google Scholar Metrics.

 

How can I get help with using Scopus?

Scopus tutorials

Scopus Academy offers a self-paced, online introductory training designed for researchers and students

You may also contact your subject liaison librarian.

 

 

 

 

TMU Library (downtown campus) and the Bikram S. Dhillon and Family Medical Library (Brampton campus) are launching a six-part online series designed to support professional development and sharpen research skills within Health and Medicine.

This series covers everything from developing research questions with PICO to screening and managing results. 

Register now! 

Fall 2026 Lineup (Wednesdays | 12:00 PM – 1:00 PM)

• Oct 21: Defining an Answerable Question: Identifying Gaps in the Literature, PICO, and FINER. 
• Nov 4: Smart Searching, Better Sources: Building Your Research Toolkit
• Nov 18: From Results to Relevance: Mastering the Screening Phase

Who Should Attend? TMU students, faculty, clinical instructors, researchers, and staff in Medical and Health disciplines—though all members of the TMU community are welcome.

 

**Upcoming winter topics include strategic reading, data extraction, journal publishing, and ethical AI integration!

 

The Toronto Metropolitan University Libraries is pleased to announce this year’s 2026 Open Educational Resources (OER) Grants, supporting the creation and adoption of openly licensed learning materials.

OERs are educational materials that are free to use, adapt, reproduce, and share. These resources can take many forms, including courses, modules, textbooks, multimedia, assessments, and other supplementary content.

The OER Grants program aligns with TMU’s commitment to open education, innovation, inclusive teaching, and enhancing student learning. It builds on the Libraries’s strengths in digital scholarship, Open Access, and OER publishing and dissemination. 

The Libraries is pleased to be offering the TMU Libraries Open Education Resources (OER) Grant. 

Offered and supported by The TMU Libraries, these Open textbook and multimedia creation grants have been offered by TMU Libraries since 2018. A total of $30,000 is available in two categories of grants: 

Category 1 – Creation or Adaptation of an OER Textbook refers to significantly adapting existing content and adding additional materials. For examples of University-created OER textbooks, see the list of books on the TMU Libraries publishing site.

Category 2 – Creation of Openly Licensed Immersive Content refers to the creation of learning and teaching materials using collaborative virtual reality and immersive media. For more information about the development of immersive content at TMU, please visit the TMU Libraries Immersion Studio. 

The deadline for all three grants this year is October 26, 2026.

 

 

Learn to formulate solid research questions, borrow textbooks, and access the Media Creation Studio and Digital Media Experience Lab. It’s all at the Library!

 

Research help

Researching for a project, essay, or assignment? Visit the Library.

Librarians can help you understand every step of the research process. Whether you are new to research or a graduate student, it’s important to know the resources, process, services, and opportunities available to help you succeed.

Research help is offered in a variety of ways: you can drop in at the Library, request an online appointment, chat in real time, or sign up for a workshop.

It’s easy. Just ask!

Check out these helpful services and resources:

• Learn to formulate effective research questions
• Get research help
• Access the Research Help Guide
• Take a workshop to sharpen your research skills

 

Access the information you need!

TMU Libraries’ academic search tool allows you to seamlessly access and search the collections, as well as 18 other Ontario university libraries—all in one place, at the same time!

Not only do you have access to hundreds of thousands of ebooks, electronic journals, magazines, professional publications, newspapers, and streaming videos through TMU Libraries, but you can also access over 25 million physical items from 18 other Ontario university libraries.

Feeling overwhelmed and wondering where to start?

Subject librarians can help you understand how to search for, access, and use resources. Find your subject librarian.

Subject guides are curated by subject librarians. These are excellent resources that contain access to research and information in specific subject areas.

Take advantage of the Media Creation Studio and Digital Media Experience Lab

These spaces and studios are for you! Regardless of what you’re studying, you have access to photography, video, sound editing, and podcasting equipment.

The Media Creation Studio is a beginner space where you can learn video editing, podcasting, or still photography.

The Digital Media Experience Lab is the Libraries’ makerspace. Here you have access to media stations, 3D modelling software, 3D printers, sewing machines, and so much more.

Staff are onsite to assist you whether you’re a beginner or an expert!

 

Borrow textbooks, laptops, camera kits, and microphones

Of course, you can check out print material at the Circulation Desk, but did you know you can also borrow textbooks, laptops, cameras, tripods, GoPros, and microphones?

Check the loan periods and the equipment borrowing and lending pages for more information.

 

Specialised collections and spaces

Material ConneXion is an onsite textile and material collection you can explore and research. With this collection, you can gain a tactile understanding of materials. Each sample also includes information about the item: the type of material, its composition, and whether it is sustainable.

While it is available to all students, it is primarily used by interior design, fashion, engineering, architecture, and business students.

The Geospatial Map and Data Centre (GMDC) provides access to specialised geospatial software, data, and statistical resources. The Centre is staffed by data, map, and GIS librarians and analysts, as well as a statistical consultant and learning specialist. Here you can get assistance with GIS information and software, locate and access statistical information and data, and learn how to analyze and present it. There is also a large print map collection!

Special Collections offers access to rare books and primary source material like Canadian World War II comic books, Late Victorian avant-garde magazines, an original chromolithographic edition of the Grammar of Ornament, a thank-you note from Winston Churchill, and so much more. Explore unique research opportunities spanning everything from the history of fashion and graphic design to women artists in the 19th century.

TMU Archives holds the historic record of the university from its origins as a polytechnic institute to its status today as a university. Explore images of campus life from the first days of nursing studies, activism, journalism, and even the construction of the Library building.

 

Study spaces, computer stations and labs

There are nine floors (2 – 10) available for work and study, each offering different types of spaces and seating options. 

There are computer stations and labs, group study rooms, open group tables, and individual carrels and soft seating. 

Learn more and find your favourite study spot!

 

 

As the Spring/Summer 2026 wraps up, please ensure any outstanding fines are paid and overdue items are returned. Students with fines more than $25 or overdues will not be able to view their grades until their accounts are cleared.

You can pay fines at the Circulation Desk (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, or OneCard) or by phone at 416-979-2149. We do not accept personal cheques.

For questions, contact us at access@torontomu.ca

Good luck with your exams!

For their Live Audio Production class, James MacLean, a support lead at the Libraries’ Digital Media Experience (DME) Lab, and his Media Production classmate needed the perfect space to record a live, instrumental performance for their major fourth-year course assignment.

The assignment required students to plan and execute a live audio event utilizing multiple sound channels. Some classmates opted for live karaoke or comedy shows, but James focused on developing an immersive live audio-visual performance.

To do this, he booked the Libraries’ Media Creation Studio, which provided the ideal setup to execute a technically challenging musical and visual live recording. While James and his classmate brought in some of their own equipment, the ready-to-use Studio saved them from having to source or rent extra gear.

The partners split the production responsibilities: one took on the instrumental, and the other, James, used the Studio’s lighting set up to curate a subterranean environment. For the musical piece, they brought in a Roland sampler to create evolving synth texture tracks. James’ classmate took the sampler, a specialized instrument often used by DJs, and ran it directly into a large analog mixer he’d placed on the Studio floor. To complement the direct audio from the sampler, the pair positioned two microphones on either side of the Studio to capture the natural room tones reverberating through the room. 

To match the moody tones of the music, James transformed the room into a minimal, yet immersive atmospheric environment. Utilizing the Studio’s three-point lighting setup–equipped with Amaran 300D lights favoured by content creators and filmmakers–he completely altered the room’s colour palette. “I wanted the room to be this deep red,” says James. “We used those lights to create this amazing look in the room.”

James also borrowed a video camera and tripod from the DME to capture the whole performance, filming against the Studio’s white back wall and shooting the entire piece in a single, continuous shot.

The result was an experimental sonic live performance set in a mesmerizing atmospheric environment.

For these two, the Media Creation Studio provided the space and resources to produce a highly technical, creative performance. When asked why they chose the Media Creation Studio, James highlighted its ease of access. “The best thing about the studio is that it’s already set up for you,” says James. “The lights are mounted, the backdrops are ready, and the gear is super accessible.”

Because of that accessibility, this duo were able to walk in, perform their set efficiently, and walk out with an incredible audio-visual project.

 

 

Please note there will be a Digital Course Readings/ARES Outage due to a necessary server upgrade July 3 from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. The course readings via the Course Readings tab in Brightspace by D2L will not be available during this time, nor will instructors be able to edit or add readings.

 

Special exhibition and collection showcase 3rd-year student work

Article by: Lindsey Craig

For most students, a class project ends when the semester does.

But for some TMU photography students, their work becomes part of the university’s permanent record — preserving not only their artistic and creative development, but also a snapshot of the issues, experiences and ideas shaping a generation of emerging artists.

A collection a decade in the making

Since 2015, TMU Libraries has teamed up with the Image Arts program and the Photographic Historical Society of Canada, as donor partner, to build a unique collection of student photobooks.

The work comes from MPS507 – The Photographic Book, a third-year course in which students conceive, design and produce original photobooks using their own photography.

Each January, the books are displayed in an exhibition at Artspace TMU. A panel of professors, artists and industry professionals then selects five or six standout works, which are purchased from the students and added to TMU Libraries Special Collections.

The initiative gives students the chance to have their work recognized, exhibited and – for the award winners, whose work is selected for the collection– preserved in a growing archive available to the TMU community and the public.

“The award provides incentive for students to achieve early recognition that will have a lasting legacy in a collection,” said Alison Skyrme, special collections librarian and The Creative School liaison librarian at TMU Libraries.

Read the full article by Lindsey Craig

 

 

Due to an upcoming planned maintenance, all listed services and websites will be temporarily unavailable from Sunday, June 28 at 10 p.m. until Tuesday, June 30 at 11 a.m. 

During this time the following services will not be available:

• Accessible Content e-Portal
• Ask a Librarian (virtual reference)
• Scholars Portal eBooks
• Borealis
• Scholars Portal GeoPortal
• Scholars Portal Journals
• Odesi
• Publishing Services

Please plan your research and coursework accordingly to avoid any disruption. We appreciate your patience and understanding as these necessary system updates are completed. 

 

TMU Libraries is excited to announce the launch of Covidence to support the TMU research community. Covidence is a web-based software platform that is designed to manage and streamline knowledge synthesis work (systematic reviews, scoping reviews, literature reviews, etc). 

To support this launch, we have the following options to help onboard (or welcome) TMU to using Covidence:

• A Covidence 101 webinar for the TMU community is scheduled on Thursday, June 25, at 10 a.m. – 11 a.m. Please register to attend. This live session will be delivered by Covidence. If this date doesn’t work for you, register, and they will send you the recording.
• To begin learning about Covidence at any time, please use:
• • TMU Libraries’ Covidence libguide, which includes instructions on how to register for a Covidence account, link an existing account with TMU’s Covidence subscription, and more. 
  • Covidence’s extensive collection of Webinars on Demand
  • Covidence’s extensive Knowledge Base, featuring searchable, step-by-step instructions on all features of the software

If you are new to Covidence, please use the resources above to learn how to use the software and to set up an account connected to TMU. 

For further assistance linking your Covidence account to TMU’s institutional subscription, please email refdesk@torontomu.ca