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Monday 10am - 6pm Tuesday 10am - 6pm Wednesday 10am - 6pm Thursday 10am - 6pm Friday 10am - 6pm

Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre

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Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre

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Reference and research service supporting Slavic and East European studies.

The Petro Jacyk Central & East European Resource Centre (PJRC) was founded in 1994 through the generosity of Petro Jacyk, a Toronto businessman and philanthropist, and his foundation. Our staff is here to:

Offer bibliographic, research, and instructional services for information on Russia and central and eastern Europe;

Facilitate access to collections in all Slavic, Baltic, and Finno-Ugric languages across the University of Toronto Libraries;

Identify and locate electronic resources at the University and around the world;

Support teaching and research for the Centre for European, Russian, and Eurasian Studies, the Department of Slavic Languages and Literatures, and the five research chairs in Estonian, Finnish, Hungarian, Polish history, and Ukrainian studies.

10/27/2026

Yesterday, a donor came by to drop off her grandparents’ old books and photographs. These treasures opened up a very rare glimpse into the little-studied Ukrainian community in Toronto from the late 1910s and early 1920s.

The items shown here show off the musical side of their owner, Dmytro Matuliak. The book, “A Methodical Textbook to Learn Musical Notes” was published in New York in 1917. The two group photos, dating from 1918 and 1919, show the Ukrainian Musical Society in Toronto named after Mykola Lysenko.

Dmyto Matuliak likely taught himself how to read music from his book, before joining the band in 1918.

A unique snapshot of Toronto’s Ukrainian history!

10/13/2026

Join us for a thoughtful conversation with Ukrainian Canadian artist Lesia Maruschak as she presents her artist’s book TRANSLATIONS 19,546, VOL. I to the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto on Thursday, October 29, at 2pm.

https://libcal.library.utoronto.ca/calendar/8054/translations

09/23/2026

Yesterday, together with the Munk School CEES at the Munk School we celebrated the 25th anniversary of the Petro Jacyk Programme for the Study of Ukraine!

Here are some of the books about this brilliant Ukrainian-Canadian philanthropist that will tell you his incredible life story, especially the one by John Lawrence Reynolds (second slide), which is available at Robarts!

The inscription on one of the Ukrainian-language biographies, written by Jacyk himself, reads:
“On the rare coincidence of the publication of this book at the opening of this Centre in my name. With gratitude to the Lord.” November 29, 1994.

This book was one of the first books donated to the PJRC.

08/21/2026

✨️📚 A new school year is just around the corner! Stop by the PJRC to explore our refreshed Free Books Display and find your next great read. We also have dust jacket covers available for anyone looking for materials for creative projects.

07/09/2026

06/06/2026

The PJRC mourns the passing and celebrates the life of a friend of the University of Toronto Libraries. Professor Potichnyj was a tremendous contributor to the UTL, regularly donating books to the circulating collection in Robarts, and most significantly establishing the Peter J. Potichnyj Collection in Insurgency and Counter-Insurgency in Ukraine at the Thomas Fisher Rare Book Library, University of Toronto. This collection was officially opened nearly thirty years ago, in Spring 1997, with a reception at the Petro Jacyk Central and East European Resource Centre.

Celebrate the life of Dr. Peter Potichnyj, leave a kind word or memory and get funeral service information care of Markey-Dermody Funeral Home.

04/17/2026

Spring is here!
And that means that the latest edition of the PJRC update is here too!
Keep an eye out for this 17th edition around Robarts , or come pick up a copy at our desk on the third floor.

Only while supplies last, so be sure to get your copy!

Read online here: https://archive.org/details/pjrc-update-spring-2026-web/mode/2up

04/01/2026

The PJRC team wishes everyone a very happy Easter!

Here is a sample of some of the beautiful books on Easter themes we have from 🇭🇷🇩🇪🇵🇱🇺🇦🇨🇿🇱🇹

03/27/2026

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🇺🇿
This week’s post showcases a unique item we found in the stacks!

Printed in 1834, this three-volume travelogue follows the journey through Central Asia of Sir Alexander Burnes (cousin of Scottish poet Robert Burnes). Burnes, shown here wearing traditional Uzbek clothing, travelled throughout the region as a diplomat and translator until his assassination in Kabul in 1841.

His engravings are priceless depictions of the region, such as the image of the giant ancient Buddhas of Bamiyan, destroyed by the Taliban in 2001.

Just one of the treasures found by chance in the Robarts Stacks!

Address

Rm. 3008, 130 St. George Street
Toronto, ON
M5S1A5

Opening Hours

Monday	10am - 6pm
Tuesday	10am - 6pm
Wednesday	10am - 6pm
Thursday	10am - 6pm
Friday	10am - 6pm

Website

http://pjrc.library.utoronto.ca/

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