York University Libraries

York University Libraries is the library system of York University in Toronto, Ontario. The four main libraries and one archive contain more than 2,500,000 volumes.Established in the 1960s under the direction of Thomas F. O'Connell, a former librarian at Harvard University, the need to build large collections in a short space of time was immediate and pressing. Accordingly, O'Connell 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 and soon the Libraries owned impressive collections in American history, French Canadiana, and later sociology and psychology. Archibald Macleish formally dedicated the Libraries on 30 October 1971.BranchesToday, the W.P. Scott Library houses collections in the humanities, social sciences, and fine arts. Separate film/music and map/GIS libraries are also located within the Scott Library. Science-related items are at the Steacie Science and Engineering Library. The Leslie Frost Library at Glendon College houses collections in all disciplines with a significant proportion of research materials in the French language. The Peter F. Bronfman Business Library serves the Schulich School of Business and related programs, and offers many electronic resources, including the Bloomberg Terminal, to its users. Finally, the Clara Thomas Archives and Special Collections 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.