The beginning of automation in the University of Toronto Library, 1963-1972

In 1962, the Province of Ontario established five new universities and asked the University of Toronto Library (UTL) to help build libraries for them, which it did. The main task was to determine a record format, coordinated with that developed later for the Library of Congress's MARC project. Eventually, UTL established the University of Toronto Library Automation Systems. The early decisions have enabled the UTL to develop electronic indexes and full-text document distribution systems at a rate that has kept it among the world's leading libraries.