Anyone with or without a McGill ID or Libraries Borrowing Card is welcome to browse the items on the shelves and consult them on-site at our library locations during their opening hours.

With a McGill ID or McGill Libraries Borrowing Card, you can borrow library materials by checking them out at the Service Desks and self-checkout machines at each library location.

However, please note that many of the books, journals, and other physical items in our collection are stored off-site at the McGill University Collections Centre, so you may be missing out if you only browse our open stacks. Use the Sofia Discovery tool (i.e. our library catalogue) to find items you might be interested in and request them for pickup!

Retrieving Items from the stacks

If you’ve found a book in the McGill Libraries’ collection that you’d like to consult or borrow, and the item is marked Available in the catalogue, you can retrieve the item from the shelf.

  1. Take note of:
    1. the library location where the item is held
    2. the collection the item is part of (i.e. its shelving location)
    3. the call number of the item
      1. The call number is a reference number that is used to identify and locate items in the Library.
  2. Visit the library location where the item is held to find the item!
    1. There will be signs and maps at the library location that will help you to locate the item.
    2. If you need help, you can ask the library staff member at the Service Desk to point you in the right direction.

If the item is not available, is held at the McGill University Collections Centre, or if you’d prefer to pick the item up at the Service Desk of a McGill library location of your choosing, you can place a request.