Pornography: It’s a serious subject at the University of Toronto-but what would you know about that? It turns out U of T’s special collection of explicit material is a bit of a secret that few seem keen to advertise.

Which begs the question: if someone has the largest library of pornography in Canada, and no one knows about it, is it really a library?

Not that this affects you, but the university owns a vast collection of porn magazines (including a nearly complete set of Playboy) and more unusual erotic material such as antique sex tapes, downloaded dirty websites and therapy records of people who at one time or another were considered sexually deviant.

Called the Sexual Representation Research Collection, the library is-probably-not for your perusing pleasure. Access to its contents requires a declaration of research intent that must stand up under close scrutiny from the SRRC’s gatekeepers.

The library is located in U of T’s Centre for Sexual Diversity Studies, which officially opened its doors early this year. It organizes lectures, panel discussions, and special events that shine a spotlight on issues related to sexual diversity.

Erika Katzman, a student in the fledgling sexual diversity studies program based in the centre, was thrilled to learn about the racy collection.

“I think it’s awesome,” she said. “It could definitely be useful to my studies, especially in research concerning perspectives on and popular representations of gender and sexuality.”

Other students echoed Katzman’s reaction, and wondered why they had not heard about the collection before.

“I find it quite surprising actually to hear that we have a pornography library. It isn’t listed in any way on the library website,” remarked Ade Akin-aina, a psychology major at UTM.

“My sole reaction is [asking] how come it isn’t more publicized? Students clearly will not make good use of it if they are unaware of its existence.”

Not everyone is in the dark about the collection of erotica.

“I am surprised at the fact myself, but I actually do know about the pornography library,” confessed Dominic Alford-Duguid. “That said, I can’t remember when I heard about it, or who I heard about it from. I am in philosophy, English, and math…not exactly sexy POSts.”

The majority of the collection came as a donation from CBC producer Max Allen in May 2000. Though the university dragged its heels when it came to accepting the donation, students don’t see what all the fuss is about.

“It’s as legitimate as novels are for the English department,” contended Baillie Card, a fine art history specialist. Card went on to say that she saw value in the collection as a critical resource for studying, among other things, abuse, violence, and human rights violations. For others, the library is more than a collection-it’s a potential fountain of wisdom.

“Pornography should be embraced, for it educates and affects each generation in how it views sexuality,” said one student.