Libraries

The Astronomy Library is located on the 13th floor and can be used at any time. It is locked at all times but if you ring the bell the Librarian will let you in. If you need to use the library in the evening, please see the Business Officer for the code.

When you first use the library, it's a good idea to stop into Marlene Cumming's office and introduce yourself. This helps her to keep track of who is coming in and out, and she will be happy to answer any questions you have.

Recent preprints, and recent issues of journals such as Nature and Science, are kept in the Astronomy lounge on the 14th floor rather than in the library. The library maintains a very complete collection of recent preprints, and you can conduct preprint searches using the PC on the circulation desk if you know the author or a title keyword. You can also ask Marlene to send you by e-mail or paper mail a weekly list of new preprints and books received, and to add you to an e-mail distribution list for NASA news releases.

Sky surveys (e.g. a glass copy of the Palomar Sky Survey) are kept at the library at the David Dunlap Observatory, in Richmond Hill about 20 miles north.

The Physics Library is on the 2nd floor and is locked during the evening. Visitors would not have access in the evening.

Our access to the Astronomy and Physics libraries is through the courtesy of these departments, and we ask that you make every effort to follow their rules and be courteous to other users.

The main library for scientific books is the Gernstein Science Library on King's College Circle. To use this or other libraries on campus you will need a library card which can be obtained through through the Robart's Library services (ask the Business Officer for details). The general philosophy is that this library contains the main book collections while the departmental libraries contain the main journal collections. However, unlike many departmental libraries, the Astronomy library has an excellent assortment of books as well as journals. The University of Toronto library catalog is available on the Web.

Seminars

One odd tradition at Toronto is that seminars and meetings scheduled on the hour usually begin 10 minutes late, to give people with classes ending on the hour time to arrive. Thus a seminar scheduled for 3:00 p.m. begins at 3:10 p.m. However, if the schedule says 3:10 p.m. then the seminar really does begin at 3:10 p.m.; also, if the schedule says 3:30 the seminar will begin at 3:30.

The seminars and colloquia of most interest are: CITA Seminars (Mondays, usually at 3:10 followed by coffee and doughnuts/cookies); Astronomy Colloquia (Wednesdays at 3:10, followed by coffee and doughnuts in the Astronomy lounge on the 14th floor); and Physics Colloquia (Thursdays at 4:10, preceded by coffee in the lounge behind the elevators). From time to time groups within CITA organize informal series of talks or journal clubs at lunchtime on Thursdays. Subjects that have been covered in the past include high-energy astrophysics, dynamics, and solar system formation.

Upcoming seminars are posted on the CITA website.