Archives and Special Collections

Ryerson Press Collection

The collection contains books published by Ryerson Press in Toronto between 1862 and 1971. Subjects include educational texts and guides, Canadian history, religion, fiction and poetry. The collection also includes 3 boxes of records from Ryerson Press, ... »including authors contracts, correspondence, and memorandums.

The Jack Layton Collection

The Jack Layton Collection was donated to Toronto Metropolitan University in late 2011 by Olivia Chow and the Layton Family. Included in the donation are over 1400 books. Approximately 500 of these are available for circulation at the TMU Library. The remainder, many of which were annotated by Jack during his time as a professor and politician, are housed in the Archives. The collection also includes artifacts, framed items, textiles, and textual records

Robert MacIntosh Collection on the History of Toronto

This collection of rare books and pamphlets was carefully curated by the collector, Robert M. MacIntosh, an author and longtime Toronto resident. Books were published from 1807 to 1988 and topics include historical accounts, biographies of notable Torontonians, tourist keepsakes through the years, maps, centennial publications and TTC brochures.

TMU Periodical Collection

A collection that is still evolving with the changing campus, the Archives houses a varied collection of the University's publications - both student and administrative. The earliest publication is the Ryersonian newspaper, a periodical that became part of the Journalism program, from 1948. The Archives continues to collect this paper along with Ryerson's independent student newspaper The Eyeopener, which began publishing in 1967. University created periodicals include the Ryerson Magazine, the Alumni Magazine, Technikos, The Forum, and the Rambler. There are also program specific publications such as The Golden Ram newspaper, The Commerce Times, and various departmental newsletters. Aside from informational periodicals, the Archive also has a complete run of the White Wall Review, a literary journal of poetry, prose, and short stories written by members of the TMU Community.

Peter Di Gangi Papers

These papers contain research related to indigenous governance in Canada. The content includes published and unpublished materials and topics include: policy and research papers on indigenous law and policy, federal and Ontario government reports and statistics, draft reports and intervenor submissions prepared for the Royal Commission on Aboriginal Peoples (RCAP), etc.

TMU Campus blueprints and floor plans

Transferred and donated to the Archives from both internal and external donors, the Ryerson Archives houses an interesting assortment of blueprints and floor plans for buildings on campus. Included are plans for Unit III of Howard Kerr Hall, donated by Burwell Coon Ltd and copies of drawings for the original building on site - the Toronto Normal School.

Polaroid Camera Collection

The collection contains Polaroid cameras and accessories. Material includes a variety of cameras, containers, publications and ephemera relating to Polaroid and instant photography

Paddy Sampson Fonds and Robert Hackborn Fonds

These fonds contain textual, photographic, audiovisual and artifacts related to the history of film and television in Canada. These records were compiled during Sampson and Hackborn's careers with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation in television production and set design.

The Ryerson Family Collection

The TMU Archives maintains a collection of records and information on Egerton Ryerson, including Ryerson family papers, oil paintings, and books written by Egerton Ryerson. The Ryerson Family papers are a collection of documents and correspondence pertaining to four generations of the Ryerson Family and assembled and organized, scrapbook-style, in a leather-bound volume. The documents date between 1783 and 1946. There are four paintings, two of Egerton Ryerson, one of his wife Mary and one of their son.

The Archives also has copies of many of the books written by or associated to Egerton Ryerson. These books are searchable through the Library catalogue.

Please see this document for additional sources on Egerton Ryerson and the Residential School System.