<General Information<Academic Services and Support

Samuel Johnson once remarked that "the greatest part of a writer's time is spent reading; in order to write, a man will turn over half a library to make one book." This makes it easy to see why York's five libraries are at the intellectual heart of the University; we provide essential support to York's teaching and research activities. The largest of our libraries, Scott Library, holds our major collections in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. The Scott Library building also houses Archives and Special Collections, the Map Library, and the Sound and Moving Image Library. In addition to Scott, the Peter F. Bronfman Business Library, the Steacie Science and Engineering Library, and the Law Library are all located on the Keele campus. The Leslie Frost Library supports research and teaching on the Glendon campus. All told, these libraries contain over six million items including books, print periodicals, theses, archival materials, microforms, maps, films, videos, CDs, and DVDs.

Professional librarians are available in all these locations to assist with research needs. Assistance is available in person as well as by e-mail, telephone, and live Web chat. More formal instruction in library use and research methods is also offered by librarians in course-specific sessions and through general drop-in workshops. These classes provide an introduction to selecting and narrowing a research topic; finding books, scholarly journal articles, and Internet materials; and critically evaluating the relative merits of information sources. Students who attend these "information literacy" classes are better equipped to earn higher grades and, more importantly, to engage themselves as active learners in their courses. Because there is a direct relationship between the quality of the material that students consult during the research process and the quality of work that they ultimately produce, solid library research skills are just as important as solid writing skills.

The libraries have made both collections and services accessible on the Web. The Libraries' Web site is available twenty-four hours a day at http://www.library.yorku.ca. In addition to standard online services such as book renewal and transfer requests, our site functions as a unique gateway to more than 15,000 full-text electronic scholarly journals and other electronic resources including encyclopedias, dictionaries, subject pathfinders, government documents, and datasets. All licensed resources can be accessed by students and researchers with a valid library card from home or elsewhere beyond the library buildings. For additional information on how to access our resources remotely, please consult http://www.library.yorku.ca/Home/eResources/RemoteAccess.htm.

Even in this increasingly computer-mediated research environment, our print collections remain an important component of the resources to which we provide access. Because the Libraries exist to meet the information and research needs of the whole York University community, borrowing regulations are essential to ensuring fair access to collections, services, and facilities. These regulations include the designation of specific loan periods, restrictions on the circulation of certain library materials, the definition of borrower privileges and responsibilities, and the definition of access to and the use of library services and facilities. Privileges are granted subject to users' continuing adherence to established library regulations. For more information, please see http://www.library.yorku.ca/Home/About/Policies/LendingCode.htm.

Librarians and other library staff members are here to help students (and all researchers) get the most out of the libraries. Developing the skills necessary to access a broad range of viewpoints gives students the essential help they need to construct their own independent, yet credible and defensible, positions. Students who consult us first know that a solid foundation in research helps them turn in their best work.