Art Gallery of Ontario. Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives

Identity area

Type of entity

Corporate body

Authorized form of name

Art Gallery of Ontario. Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives

Parallel form(s) of name

Standardized form(s) of name according to other rules

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Identifiers for corporate bodies

Description area

Dates of existence

1933-

History

The Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives at the Art Gallery of Ontario is a leading Canadian centre for research in art. It collects published and archival materials related to the collection, exhibitions and public programs of the AGO, and Canadian art in general with a geographic focus on Ontario.
The library holds more than 380,000 items including books, rare books, artists’ books, multiples, and artist files. Archival collections include the archives of the Art Gallery of Ontario and extensive special collections (artists’ archives and related collections).
The library was established in the library of the historic Grange House in 1933 when the gallery received a donation of 200 books on art from the Carnegie foundation. That same year the library opened to gallery staff and members of the public, and was soon supervised by a librarian.
The gallery’s Stage II expansion in 1977 provided a larger facility for the library, which was renamed the Edward P. Taylor Reference Library and became part of the Curatorial Division. The current facility for the Library & Archives was opened in 1993 with the gallery’s Stage III expansion. In 2017 the entrance of the Library & Archives was expanded to include a lounge space as part of the revitalization of Grange Park.
The AGO Archives, which consists of records created by the gallery, was established in September 1975 under the direction of Margaret Machell, who worked as Keeper of the Grange and AGO Archivist until her retirement in 1981. Following her departure, the Archives reported to the gallery’s administrative branch until 1989 when it merged with the Reference Library to become the Edward P. Taylor Research Library & Archives. The department was renamed the Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives in 2017.

Places

Legal status

Functions, occupations and activities

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Internal structures/genealogy

General context

Relationships area

Related entity

Art Gallery of Ontario (1900-)

Identifier of related entity

Category of relationship

hierarchical

Type of relationship

Art Gallery of Ontario

controls

Art Gallery of Ontario. Edward P. Taylor Library & Archives

Dates of relationship

Description of relationship

Access points area

Subject access points

Place access points

Occupations

Control area

Authority record identifier

Institution identifier

Rules and/or conventions used

Status

Final

Level of detail

Full

Dates of creation, revision and deletion

Revised by Al Stanton-Hagan February 25, 2025.

Language(s)

Script(s)

Sources

https://ago.ca/research/library-and-archives
AGO Fact Sheets. AGO Archives.
Programme and educational bulletin: season 1933-1934. Art Gallery of Toronto Educational Department.

Maintenance notes

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