Robarts Library Carrel Services

About

Assigned carrels at Robarts Library are small, lockable study rooms for single occupancy, located side-by-side along the peripheral walls of each stack floor (floors 9 to 13). Each carrel is equipped with a chair and desk, bookshelves, and a drawer or cubby. They are assigned on an annual basis to eligible researchers in the Humanities and Social Sciences. As noise travels easily across neighbouring carrels, the use of these spaces is restricted to quiet study.

Assigned book-lockers are cube-lockers located in the core areas of floors 9, 11, and 13. Due to high demand for carrels, those who require a space only to store their research materials should apply for a locker and not a carrel. If interested in a locker, send your request to carrel.applications@utoronto.ca. The same eligibility conditions apply.

Eligibility

• Eligibility for carrels and book-lockers is restricted to graduate students, faculty members, and visiting scholars in the humanities and social sciences  – SGS Divisions 1 (Humanities) & and II (Social Sciences).
• Carrel applicants are grouped on the waitlist according to an order of priority set by SGS.

Priority groups 

Carrels are assigned according to the following priorities, which are established in conjunction with the School of Graduate Studies:

1. Doctoral students – Divisions I & II:
   Those in their 3rd year of candidacy and beyond. 
   Faculty members – Divisions I & II: 
   Those on leave or without office space on the St. George Campus.
   Post-doctoral fellows – Divisions I & II
    
2. Faculty members, including emeriti – Divisions I & II: 
   Those requiring library space for special projects.
   Visiting scholars:
   Those accredited by SGS Divisions I and II.
   Doctoral students – Divisions I & II:
   Those in their second year of candidacy.
    

3. Other doctoral students – Divisions I & II

   Those in their 1st year of candidacy.
    

4. Full-time master's students – Divisions I & II
    
5. Toronto School of Theology (TST) doctoral students
   Fifteen carrels are available for TST PhD students. These carrels are assigned according to a TST recommendation. TST students must apply through their registrar instead of using the form below.

Applying for a carrel

New applicants

• Serious needs only: In the best interest of the University's research community, apply for a carrel only if you have a serious need of one and plan to use it frequently, since demand exceeds supply.
• Application window: Submit your application between May 1 – August 31 (no sooner) for the academic year beginning in September.
• Lottery waitlist: Applicants who applied within the application window are grouped into priority categories and then ordered by a computer-generated lottery on August 31st to form a waitlist. Applications submitted after this date are added to the bottom of the waitlist in their respective priority groups.
• Timing of assignments: Vacancies are filled as they become available throughout the fall and winter terms, with most vacancies occurring in the fall. If and when you are assigned, you will be contacted with instructions to pick up your key.
• Waitlist is cleared on April 30th: Applicants who are not assigned to a carrel by April 30th are cleared from the waitlist, and, if interested, must submit a new application anytime between May 1st and August 31st to be considered for the subsequent academic year.
• Carrel-sharing: Those who wish to share a carrel must apply separately, each indicating the other's name in the field provided on the application form.
• Click here to access the application form.
  • Exception: Toronto School of Theology students must apply through their registrar.

Renewal applicants

• In the best interest of the University's research community, renew your carrel only if you have serious need of one and plan to use it frequently, since demand exceeds supply.
• Application window: Submit your application between May 1 – August 31 for the academic year beginning in September.
• You will be notified of your application's status in late September/October.
• Click here to access the application form, and be sure to indicate your current carrel number in the appropriate field. 

Carrel borrowing card

• When you are assigned a carrel, you will be issued a carrel borrowing card.
• It can be used to check out books to your carrel for in-carrel use only.
• These books must remain in your carrel at all times, as they need to remain accessible by staff in case they are needed by other library users.
• This card does not allow making requests for/placing holds on items—for that you’ll need to use your TCard.

When other library users request books signed out to your carrel borrowing card:

• Library staff will retrieve them from your carrel.
• To avoid this situation, you may borrow the items on your TCard, but then the onus is on you to return them if they are requested.
• When an item on your TCard is requested, you will receive an email notification and have 14 days to to return it or face fines at $2 per day late.

To see what is checked out on your carrel card:

• Visit the library’s online catalogue – LibrarySearch – and sign in to My Account using the barcode and password supplied by the Carrel Office 

Carrel Office hours & location

Robarts Library – 130 St. George Street, Room 1008
Telephone: 416-978-2305
Email: carrel.applications@utoronto.ca

In-person service

Robarts Carrel FAQs

See our carrel FAQs

Carrels in other libraries

Study carrels vary across U of T libraries with respect to size, layout, privacy, lockability, shareability, user eligibility, etc. For a list of offerings at other libraries, click here.

[Last update June 11, 2025]