Facts and figures

McGill Libraries include millions of volumes/items in its collections. Many printed books and journals are available but the number of e-journals and e-books has increased dramatically. Almost all items held are listed in the Libraries' online catalogue. Materials are arranged on the shelves according to the Library of Congress Classification system. These are the numbers for titles that are catalogued in the collection:

• Books (print): 2,222,762
• E-books: 6,069,377
• E-theses (catalogued): 155,663
• E-journals: 190,481
• Journals (print): 46,979
• Sound recordings (physical titles): 91,797
• Sound recordings (e-audios): 210,711
• Video recordings (physical titles): 24,049
• Video recordings (e-videos): 194,059
• Microforms: 86,623
• Musical scores (print): 58,850
• Musical scores (electronic): 102,102
• Online databases: 2,281
• Graphic materials (artworks, photographs, slides, etc): 1,406
• Maps (print): 8,665
• Maps (electronic): 14,954
• Government documents
  • print: 93,452
  • electronic: 950,944
• Other formats: 128,518
• Total: 10,653,673 titles

Collections data from June 2025, unless otherwise indicated

Another way to look at this data

Catalogued titles (print & electronic):

Total number of physical volumes/items in collection: 3,960,281

Total number of physical and electronic volumes/items in collection: 10,834,072

The Association of Research Libraries (ARL) ranks McGill Libraries 39 out of 118 member libraries in North America. This is based on the most recent ARL Library Investment Index (2022–2023).

In the 2025 MacLean’s University Rankings, released in October 2024, McGill Libraries ranked 1st in the percentage of its budget devoted to library collections in the medical-doctoral category, which includes 15 Canadian universities with medical schools and a wide range of doctoral programs.

Library assessment has as its primary objective the evaluation of the effectiveness of McGill Libraries’ collections, services, and spaces in meeting the teaching, learning, and research needs of university-affiliated users and outside researchers. We can help with:

• External requests for survey responses
• Requests for data for departmental accreditation
• Individual or unit assessment projects
• Analysis of existing library data
• Preparation of reports on assessment projects
• Locating published evidence to support decision making and practice

For help, please contact Giovanna Badia at giovanna.badia [at] mcgill.ca (giovanna[dot]badia[at]mcgill[dot]ca) or 514-398-7504.

Assessment initiatives

To inform decisions about library services and spaces, McGill Libraries undertake multiple assessment activities, such as collecting and analyzing usage statistics about our services and spaces, conducting observations, distributing surveys, and collecting feedback from our website and social media. Specific activities include:

• Administration of the LibQUAL user satisfaction survey
  • LibQUAL+ 2022 Survey Results notebook
  • ~11,300 LibQUAL+ survey responses have helped McGill Library continuously improve since 2003 (historical overview)
• Conducting library visitor surveys or census days
  • Thank you for participating in Census Day 2019
  • Census Day 2018 report: McGill Library received 15,117 visits during a 24-hour period