York University Libraries (YUL) is the library system of

York University York University (french: Université York), also known as YorkU or simply YU, is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is Canada's fourth-largest university, and it has approximately 55,700 students, 7,000 faculty and sta ...

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geographic eastern half of Canada, but it has historically and politically been considered to be part of Central Canada. Located in Central Ca ...

. The four main libraries and one archives contain more than 2,500,000 volumes.

History

The first York library opened in 1961 at

Glendon College Glendon College is a public liberal arts college in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formally the federated bilingual campus of York University, it is one of the school's nine colleges and 11 faculties with 100 full-time faculty members and a student po ...

and was housed in Falconer Hall. In 1963 the library moved to its own building, named after recent Ontario premier

Leslie Frost Leslie Miscampbell Frost (September 20, 1895 – May 4, 1973) was a politician in Ontario, Canada, who served as the province's 16th premier from May 4, 1949, to November 8, 1961. Due to his lengthy tenure, he gained the nickname "Old Man O ...

. The first library on the large Keele campus was the Steacie Science Library (now the Science and Engineering Library), which opened in 1965, and was named after chemist

Edgar William Richard Steacie Edgar William Richard Steacie (December 25, 1900 – August 28, 1962) was a Canadian physical chemist and president of the National Research Council of Canada from 1952 to 1962. Education Born in Montreal, Quebec, the only child of Richard St ...

. The large W.P. Scott Library opened in 1971. The need to build an appropriate collection in a short space of time was immediate and pressing. Accordingly, chief librarian Thomas F. O'Connell, formerly at the

Harvard Library Harvard Library is the umbrella organization for Harvard University's libraries and services. It is the oldest library system in the United States and both the largest academic library and largest private library in the world. Its collection ...

, made arrangements to purchase the entire stock of two bookstores: the Starr Book Company in Boston and Librarie Ducharme in Montreal. An early decision was also made not to duplicate research strengths at the

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 as King's College, the first institution ...

and soon the Libraries owned impressive collections in American history, French Canadiana, and later sociology and psychology. Archibald Macleish was awarded an honorary degree at a special convocation at the official opening of the building on 30 October 1971.

Branches

The system has four branches, one containing two smaller libraries and an archives. * W.P. Scott Library (for humanities, social sciences and fine arts). Separate film/music and map/GIS libraries are located within. * Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections (named after York professor

Clara Thomas Clara Thomas (née McCandless; May 22, 1919 – September 26, 2013) was a Canadian academic. A longtime professor of English at York University, she was one of the first academics to devote her work specifically to the study of Canadian literatur ...

), also inside the Scott Library; it contains the literary and personal papers of many notable Canadian cultural figures such as Margaret Laurence, Rohinton Mistry, Av Isaacs, Adele Wiseman, bill bissett, Jean Augustine, and others. * Steacie Science and Engineering Library. * Leslie Frost Library at

, with a significant proportion of research materials in the French language. * Peter F. Bronfman Business Library. In addition to almost 150 full-time staff, approximately 40 academic librarians are responsible for faculty liaison, collection development, and research instruction across every major discipline and field taught at York. Other libraries at York, which are not branches of YUL but work closely with it, include: * Nellie Langford Rowell Library *

Osgoode Hall Law School Osgoode Hall Law School, commonly shortened to Osgoode, is the law school of York University in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The law school is home to the Law Commission of Ontario, the Journal of Law and Social Policy, and the ''Osgoode Hall La ...

Law Library (the largest law library in Canada) The Archives of Ontario is on York's Keele campus but is not affiliated with York. York Outdoor Art.jpg, An outdoor art exhibit outside of Scott Library, Keele Campus David_Partridge,_Strata_(1969).jpg, David Partridge's "Strata" (1969) (in Scott Library) SteacieLibrary6.jpg, Steacie Science and Engineering Library

Partnerships and collaboration

The Library is a member of the

Canadian Association of Research Libraries The Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL) was established in 1976 and brings together thirty-one research libraries. Twenty-nine members are university libraries, plus Library and Archives Canada (LAC) and the National Research Council ...

, the

Association of Research Libraries The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) is a nonprofit organization of 127 research libraries at comprehensive, research institutions in Canada and the United States. ARL member libraries make up a large portion of the academic and resea ...

and the

Ontario Council of University Libraries The Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) is an academic library consortium of Ontario’s 21 university libraries located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Formed in 1967, OCUL member institutions work together to maximize the expertise and r ...

, and is a contributor to Open Content Alliance.

Chief librarians

* Douglas G. Lochhead: 1960–63 * Thomas F. O'Connell: 1963–76 * William Newman (acting) 1976–78 * Anne Woodsworth: 1978–83 * Ellen J. Hoffmann 1983–2001 * Cynthia Archer: 2001–14 * Catherine Davidson (interim): 2014–15 * Joy Kirchner: 2015– The position has been known by various titles through the years, changing from Director of Library Services to Director of Libraries to University Librarian, and then to Dean of Libraries.

Notes

References

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External links

York University Libraries

YorkSpace: the institutional repository for York University, hosted by York University Libraries

York Digital Journals: the journal hosting platform maintained by York University Libraries

York University Digital Library: the preservation repository for York University, maintained by York University Libraries

Nellie Langford Rowell Library
{{Authority control Academic libraries in Canada Archives in Canada York University Libraries in Toronto Libraries established in 1961 Library buildings completed in 1971