Until not long ago, anyone around the world had online access to the Toronto Star archives, from 1894 to 2015, through a daily, monthly, or yearly subscription. A daily subscription was about $7. Sometimes there were even free-access periods. In May 2015, I wrote a blog post about how to access the archives during a free-access period. It was a terrific resource.
That online access changed within the last year or two.
Front page of the Toronto Daily Star, May 23, 1919. Source: Toronto Star Archives, Toronto, Ontario.
Access to the Toronto Star archives is now only available from the Toronto Public Library (TPL).
This is terrific news is for TPL library card holders, who now have free remote access to the newspaper’s archives and access at any of the library’s many branches.
Bad news for people living outside Toronto
The big losers, however, are non-Toronto residents.
To access the Toronto Star Archives through TPL, non-Toronto residents must request a non-resident card valid for three months or 12 months. The fee for non-residents is $30 for three months or $120 for 12 months.
Okay, that’s a bit pricey, but doable.
But here’s the kicker. If you are a non-Toronto resident, you must request a card in person at one of the Toronto library branches.
This means that the archives of Canada’s highest-circulation newspaper are only available to people who live or work in Toronto or tourists who apply for a card in person while visiting the city.
In response to my message through their Facebook page, the Toronto Star Archives said they can no longer provide access through subscription because “our database was maintained by a company called ProQuest and ProQuest discontinued that service. Until our syndicate office comes up with an alternative, we’ve been told to direct to the next best option, Toronto Public Library.”
What is odd about that response is that ProQuest maintains the Toronto Star Archives database for TPL. It must be have been a cost or pricing issue.
At the time this blog post was published, TPL had not replied to a message sent Monday, asking if there was another way for people who live in other provinces to purchase a library card to access the Toronto Star archives. I hope the reason for the delay is because they are discussing how to make remote access possible from across Canada.
In the meantime, the challenge for genealogists who don’t live in Toronto is to find a card-carrying genealogist in the city or become friendly with relatives who live there.
To say nothing about the poor souls like myself who are from Toronto but live in England!
I thought that the world was moving forward via virtual technology……
I guess that I will just have t spend £2,000.00 and buy myself a plane ticket so that I can visit the Toronto Library in person 🙁
It seems like there is a new roadblock for genealogists every day. More people are interested but less have access to what used to be “out there”. I’ve forgotten the exact dollar value that genealogy/family history contributes to the economy but you’d think more places would be jumping on the bandwagon.
I live in Toronto but this is very problematic and unfair for those who don’t live near or in TO.
Yes if you are near to TO, you could borrow an address from a friend and present yourself at a library and produce a piece of mail with the address on it.
But if going to the Library is out of the question by distance, it will be impossible to access for these people.
I am sure that there are ways around it but many would be uncomfortable with that.
In my case, I have genealogy friends and relatives in Toronto who have offered to do look-ups for me. Still, I prefer to do the research myself and have paid for Toronto Star Archives subscriptions in the past. I especially liked the free-access weekends.
This is a timely post. I find myself in this predicament, researching my Toronto family history. I am getting to the point where I will just bite the bullet and take a trip there to get a library card. I am hoping to combine that with visits to the Ontario Archives. Looking forward to hearing what their reply is to you.
I will again try to explain from the librarian point of view. Databases have licenses. Some licenses dictate that the databases be restricted to library cardholders ONLY, those who pay taxes in the location. If they are found in violation, they lose the license. As for presenting yourself in person, it’s because we need to know you’re a real person who can pay if material goes missing. Yes, many genealogists want only to access online databases, but we can’t make exceptions just for genealogists. I’m speaking as a library worker from British Columbia, NOT from Toronto and am not affiliated in any way with the Toronto Public Library. While it seems petty and mean, there are reasons for these rules. Libraries are trying as much as possible to get away from too many rules, but some have to stay in place. Have you checked that your library doesn’t have access to an online database that also has access to the Toronto Star Archives? Or one close to you where you can get a membership more easily?
I do feel your pain. Vancouver Public Library has similar restrictions on some of its databases, which means I have to go there to use them. Frustrating as anything, but in the end, very much a first world problem.
Unfortunately, my library does not provide access to the Toronto Star archives. I can, however, access the Globe and Mail archives online through my Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec card, but they do not offer the Star archives.
To raise money, libraries should try to find a way to sell library cards to non-residents to only access online records, not printed publications. Perhaps that will happen one day.
Meanwhile, TPL hasn’t replied to the message I sent a week ago through their online form.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
It’s complicated. I agree it would be nice, but funders might not like non-taxpayers have access even if they pay a fee. Hopefully at some point it could be sorted as it would be a good revenue stream and helpful for all researchers.
Librarian or not, I think that the response was a week attempt at justifying a position of control the it comes to on line (non loose able) media been ‘checked out’.
I also think that it is very much 3rd world (and not 1st world) thinking. Surely those who are paying the taxes in support of their local library would not mind receiving a reduction in the cost of running libraries through fees that others (including genealogists) would be paying for the use of the on-line facility.
Really? A weak attempt? Come work in a library and then you’ll understand just how complicated this all is. It’s not just the tax payers, but the license restrtictions and the funders perceptions. I personally am not against this and most librarians, I imagine, would agree that it would be a good idea, but it’s not up to us and insulting me is just plain rude.
Thanks for the opportunity to comment.
Sorry to all if I was a little to vociferous..
Really? A weak attempt? Come work in a library and then you’ll understand just how complicated this all is. It’s not just the tax payers, but the license restrtictions and the funders perceptions. I personally am not against this and most librarians, I imagine, would agree that it would be a good idea, but it’s not up to us and insulting me is just plain rude.
Hi Gail,
Thanks for your interest in a non-resident Toronto Public Library card. Our agreements with database vendors stipulate rules governing use, which the library takes seriously. We are restricted from offering this product to customers beyond our service area. We encourage you and others following this issue to contact staff at your local public library and suggest they purchase a subscription to this resource for their customers.
Thanks,
Michele Melady, Manager of Collection Development, Toronto Public Library
Thanks for explaining, Michele.
My apologies – no insult at all was intended and it was indeed nothing personal.
My frustration is with the system – if you read my original post you can understand.
Again, no personal offence meant.
With sincerity,
Maxine
I’d like to point out that the digitized Toronto Star is still available through many other public libraries, particularly in Ontario, but it is worth checking for subscriptions held by other Canadian library systems. The New York Public Library subscribes, as do most Canadian universities (McGill, for example) and some US university libraries. (We can all use university libraries, no need to be a student or alumnus.) If you have explored all those possibilities and not found a convenient source, the Toronto Branch of the Ontario Genealogical Society offers a very inexpensive lookup service: https://torontofamilyhistory.org/research-services/.
Good advice, Jane. Thanks!
My Thanks to Jane – this is very helpful.