Members of the public are welcome to consult rare material at the Rare Books & Special Collections Library and at the Osler Library of the History of Medicine at no charge. To do so, please see the staff member at the front desk at either library. You will be asked to present a photo ID card and to fill out a registration form. The staff will create a McGill Library Consultation Card for you and show you how to submit an online request for the material. Material must be viewed on-site and staff will show you how to handle the items, which are often very delicate or fragile.
To save time, if you have several items to request, please ask us to retrieve the items ahead of your visit by emailing the rarebooks.library [at] mcgill.ca (Rare Books & Special Collections Library) or the osler.library [at] mcgill.ca (Osler Library of the History of Medicine). If you have already obtained your McGill Library Consultation Card, you may also place hold requests using the McGill Library Catalogue.
Note: Consultation Cards are valid only for consultation of rare items housed at these two libraries. The Consultation Card cannot be used to borrow books from the McGill Library.
