About Us

Queen’s University Library inspires learning, sparks creativity and builds community. Entering our libraries – virtual and physical – our students and faculty feel the world at their fingertips, the knowledge of the ages and the potential of the future. Librarians and staff work closely with students and faculty in every discipline and in the spaces where they intersect.

We are your library. If there is something we can help you with, please let us know

Strategic Priorities

The library’s long-standing presence at the center of campus life fosters academic success, promotes research excellence, and cultivates human connections with diverse forms of information and knowledge.

Please see our Strategic Priorities 2022-2025 for more information

Service Philosophy

Queen’s University Library is a welcoming, inclusive environment that provides an exceptional student learning experience and facilitates research excellence.

We will:

Seek opportunities for meaningful interactions with you.
Adapt to meet your needs, and provide accessible, quality service that is respectful, convenient, and efficient.
Share our expertise and foster your ability to navigate the world of information.
Build long term, supportive, attentive relationships in an effort to anticipate and exceed your expectations.
Work together as a team to facilitate learning and innovation to support academic programs and research.

Collaborations 

Our best innovations happen through collaboration – across the library, with our faculties and schools and through our regional, national, and international partnerships.

Our collaborations include: 

Association of Research Libraries (ARL)
Canadian Association of Research Libraries (CARL)
Canadian Research Knowledge Network (CRKN)
Center for Research Libraries  (CRL)
Confederation of Open Access Repositories (COAR)
HathiTrust
Keep@Downsview
Matariki Network libraries’ Open Matariki initiative
National Indigenous Knowledge and Language Alliance (NIKLA)
North/Nord: the Canadian Shared Print Network
Ontario Council of University Libraries (OCUL) & Scholars Portal
ORCID-CA Consortium: The ORCID Consortium in Canada
Public Knowledge Project (PKP)
Scholarly Publishing and Academic Resources Coalition (SPARC)

Library Leadership Team

The Library Leadership Team facilitates connections across the library in support of our services and operations. The Library Leadership Team consists of the Vice-Provost and University Librarian, the Associate University Librarians, and Heads of functional divisions and units. The Administrative & Finance Assistant, Business Officer, Communications Coordinator, and Human Resource Officer are resources to the team.

Mark Asberg (Vice-Provost and University Librarian)
Barbara Kern (Associate University Librarian)
Sarah Wickett (Acting Associate University Librarian)
Ken Hernden (University Archivist & Associate University Librarian)
Sylvia Andrychuk (Head, Humanities and Social Sciences)
Amy Kaufman (Head, Law Librarian)
Meghan Goodchild (Acting Head, Digital Initiatives and Open Scholarship)
Nathalie Soini (Interim Head, Education)
Ian Robson (Head, Information Resources)
Michael White (Interim Head, Engineering and Science)
Doug Ottney (Manager Facilities Operations)
Brianna Storms (Head Reference and Information Services Librarian)
Amanda Ross-White (Acting Head, Health Sciences)
Gladys Ndungu (Director, Human Resources)
Nancy Petri (Manager, Finance and Administrative Operations)
Jen Amos (Communications Coordinator)

Group of students at a help desk talking to a library representative.

Values

We find ourselves, as we often do, in a period of change filled with both challenges and opportunities. These values serve as guiding principles that shape how we relate and interact with each other, helping us foster collaboration and build trust internally and externally with the communities that we serve. Values create a shared understanding of what is important to Queen’s University Library.

While these values may not provide precise instructions on how we make decisions, they offer a framework for ethical and consistent decision-making, encouraging us to explore alternative solutions when the current options seem insufficient. Values encourage us to be intentional and mindful in our choices, rather than hasty or accidental. They guide us to think critically, steering us away from arbitrary actions or simply relying on past practices.

Collaboration

We foster enthusiastic collaboration within and beyond the Queen’s University Library, encouraging interdisciplinary partnerships, community outreach, and service excellence. We exhibit inspiring energy for our work to build connections locally, regionally, and globally.

Curiosity and Learning

We cultivate curiosity for all through meaningful experimentation, reflective practice, and embracing mistakes as an essential part of learning and growth. Our approach sparks inquiry and imagination while reinforcing evidence-based learning, assessment, and intellectual freedom.

Inclusion, Diversity, and Belonging

We champion inclusion, diversity, and belonging within the Queen’s University Library and beyond by weaving fairness, accessibility, and equity into the fabric of everything we do.

Building Trust

We nurture honesty, civility, and accountability, recognizing trust as a cornerstone for growth, innovation, and collaboration, building confidence in ourselves, each other, and the institution.

Wellbeing and Connection

We advocate for individual and community wellbeing, fostering psychological safety, connection, and care in our work. We actively build a culture of support and enthusiasm, cultivating safety, collaboration, and fun.