About Mark Robertson
Mark brings more than 24 years of experience in academic libraries to his role as dean of libraries. He joined TMU in 2023, after serving for seven years as university librarian at Brock University. As a member of Brock’s senior administrative council, Mark developed a new strategic plan and master space plan for the library, saw the opening of a new makerspace and provided leadership for the establishment of an open access policy. His work to strengthen the library acquisitions budget resulted in a significant rise in the library's performance in the Maclean’s Magazine rankings of comprehensive universities in Canada.
Prior to Brock, Mark spent 17 years at York University, including eight years as associate university librarian for information services. An active member of the board of directors for the Canadian Research Knowledge Network, Mark also chairs the Canadian Association of Research Libraries Impact Framework Working Group and is a longtime member of the Ontario Council of University Libraries and Canadian Association of Research Libraries directors.
Mark earned his bachelor of arts from the University of Toronto, followed by a master of arts in philosophy from McMaster University, and a master of information studies from the University of Toronto. He attended the Harvard Leadership Institute for Academic Librarians in 2009 before participating in the prestigious Association of Research Libraries Leadership Fellows Program. His professional interests include library space design, library impact frameworks, the institutional strategic alignment of libraries and leadership development.
About TMU Libraries
TMU Libraries is a vital support to learning, teaching, and scholarly, research and creative activities at the university. Its primary role is to collect, organize, preserve, disseminate, and provide access to essential information resources. The library collaborates across all parts of the university to foster critical thinkers and lifelong learners.
The library's collection consists of over 500,000 books; 2,000 print journal titles; and a rising number of electronic resources (e.g., 26,000 e-journals; e-books; databases and indexes; geospatial data; catalogued websites; electronic documents). These holdings reflect the breadth of programs available at Toronto Metropolitan University.
Electronic resources can be accessed on-site through library computers or laptops that have wireless connectivity. Authorized users can also gain access from off-campus locations.
The library supports an extensive information literacy program that is designed to build students’ university-level research skills. This program includes on-site research support, chat reference, and specialized classroom instruction at the course level.
The library was instrumental in the development of the new Student Learning Centre at the corner of Yonge and Gould streets. This centre houses many essential services to support students and faculty in a state-of-the-art facility.