On this page:
Instruction
Faculty and instructors may create course reading lists in the library’s course reserves system. This ensures that students have easy access to all materials and that they are copyright compliant. Visit our course reserves page to get started.
Your subject librarian is available to support the development of research skills in undergraduate, graduate, and professional courses. This can be done by:
- Creating learning objects, tutorials, and guides based on information literacy and research requirements
- Providing tailored research skills instruction in person or online based on course assignments and learning outcomes
- Offering research consultations to students in your course
- Contributing to the assessment of research skills through rubrics (e.g. Journal Literature Search Strategy Rubric), quizzes, or assignments
Please reach out to your librarian for more information.
Research Support
Omni is our academic search tool that provides access to high-quality resources from Queen’s and 18 other Ontario university libraries.
You can use Omni to find:
- Background information
- Peer-reviewed journals and articles
- Books and e-books
- Videos
- Theses & dissertations
- Newspapers and other primary source material
- Music scores
- Microforms
- Maps and government information
- And more!
Start your search in Omni or use our Omni Search Tips guide for more information.
Librarians are available to assist with complex research queries. During a research consultation, you will meet with a librarian online, in-person, or by phone for in-depth, customized, one-on-one support. This may include:
- Defining and focusing your research
- Developing search strategies
- Recommending appropriate search tools and databases
- Evaluating information sources
- Advice on publishing
- Developing strategies for managing research data
Visit our booking calendar to make an appointment.
Librarians are available to advise or collaborate on knowledge synthesis projects such as systematic reviews or meta-analysis.
To meet with a health sciences librarian, please book an appointment through the booking calendar. For all other subject areas, reach out to your subject librarian directly.
Queen’s University Library offers a variety of research data management (RDM) services, including support for developing data management plans (DMPs), advising on issues related to research data storage, backup, and documentation, and assistance with preparing data for deposit into a repository. Check out the RDM webpage for more details.
If you are unable to find the book, book chapter, journal article, newspaper article, thesis, dissertation, or conference proceeding in Omni, you can place a request through our interlibrary loan (ILL) service free of charge.
ILL allows Queen’s University members to borrow items from other lending institutions. The library requests materials on your behalf from other libraries, organizations, and document delivery services.
For more instructions on how to make your request, visit our interlibrary loans page. Have other questions about ILL? Check out our ILL FAQ or ask us!
If there is a resource you need to support your research or instruction and we don’t currently have it, you are encouraged to recommend a new purchase for the collection. You can do this through our New Acquisitions Form or by contacting your subject librarian directly.
All of the library’s e-resources are available to students, staff, and faculty remotely through the web proxy. The proxy will automatically prompt you to login using your Queen’s Single Sign-On (SSO) using your NetID.
Library Accessibility Services
The library offers a variety of accessibility services, including materials in alternate format, training on adaptive technology, and mediated research help. We serve students registered with Queen’s Student Accessibility Services (QSAS).
Your students can meet with our Adaptive Technologist who can assess their adaptive technology (AT) needs, provide training on AT devices or software, assist in setting up accessibility features on personal devices, or advise on the purchase of AT products. For a list of available adaptive technology, visit our Adaptive Technology Guide.
Library materials
Patrons with a print disability may request alternate formats of library materials by contacting the Adaptive Technology Centre (ATC). The library also provides access to alternative format repositories for patrons with print disabilities to discover alternate formats of library materials independently. To learn more about this service, visit our Library Accessibility Services alternate format page.
Captioning of audiovisual library materials
Many of the videos in our video collections are captioned with transcripts or can be captioned upon request. Video captioning is only available for library materials. Video captioning may require substantial preparation time. Please submit your requests in advance of the semester to library.atc@queensu.ca.
Visiting Scholars
Our visiting scholars user group includes researchers who are visiting Queen’s and are affiliated with a Queen’s University department.
In order to gain access to the library’s print materials, visiting scholars must present a letter from their host department that outlines the terms of their visit. This can be presented at any of the library’s service points.
To access online materials, such as e-books or journal articles, visiting scholars will require a NetID. This can be requested through the host department’s IT administration representative.
Copyright & Scholarly Publishing
Learn how our Copyright and Scholarly Publishing library staff can support your research and instructional needs.
During your time at Queen’s you will very likely use copyrighted materials in some way for your teaching or research. The Copyright Act of Canada governs the making of photocopies, scans or other reproductions of copyright material. Certain re-use may be an infringement of copyright law whereas other uses may fall within Fair Dealing guidelines. For further copyright support check our Copyright for Faculty guide or contact our specialist copyright team at qcopy@queensu.ca.
Open publishing offers timely, broad exposure of your research to other researchers. Scholarly Publishing staff can answer your open publishing questions and provide support in using open publishing facilities such as QSpace, Queen’s research repository, and our open journals. The Scholarly Publishing team has many topic guides you can browse and can be contacted directly at open.scholarship@queensu.ca if you have further questions.
Archives & Special Collections
Archives and Special Collections at Queen’s University Library consists of the Queen’s University Archives, W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections, Government Information, and the Maps and Air Photo collection. Collectively, these unique collections encompass university records, private records, rare books, special collections, and digital and analog preservation initiatives.
The Archives located at Kathleen Ryan Hall manages, preserves, conserves, and makes accessible the information assets and historical record of the University in support of the teaching, research, service, and administration interests of Queen's University. As well it has private papers related to Kingston and the region and houses the City of Kingston Archives, which are available to students, faculty, and the public.
W.D. Jordan Rare Books and Special Collections, located in Douglas Library, is a research and teaching resource for students, faculty, and the larger community. It preserves and provides access to rare books, maps, posters, and ephemeral printed materials that cover all subjects, including Canadiana, natural history, classics, astronomy, modern languages, literature, politics, and history.
Maps and Air Photos, located at Stauffer Library, is a research and teaching resource for students, faculty, and the larger community. It focuses on local and Canadian cartographic material, consisting of more than 101,000 maps, 45,000 air photos, thousands of books and atlases, and thousands of licensed digital map and image files.
Government Information, located primarily in Stauffer Library but found across all library and archives locations, provides access to current and historical information, including microforms, from Canadian and foreign governments and intergovernmental organizations and is a research and teaching resource for students, faculty, and the larger community.
Library Policies
Here’s what you can expect when visiting library locations on campus.
The library welcomes gifts-in-kind that meet our acceptance guidelines, as well as donations of money designated for the purchase of print and/or digital library resources. Please check our Donation & Gift Policy for more information about acceptance guidelines and the donation process.
Please note that we cannot accept donation drop-offs at service desks unless it has been pre-arranged with a librarian.
The library is a centre of sharing ideas and intellectual growth, as such, we welcome educational and creative displays from the university community that highlights research and learning. We have a variety of venues that include exhibit areas and display cases. Please visit our Exhibit Policy for more information about requesting space.
We welcome all users and strive to provide a favourable and inclusive environment for everyone to positively engage in research, learning, and intellectual exploration. To ensure everyone can get the most out of all that the library has to offer, we ask that you please abide by all library and university-wide policies and practices.
For example, library users are expected to:
- Maintain appropriate noise levels and silence devices
- Follow any posted guidelines for dedicated quiet areas
- Avoid strong scents (i.e., perfumes, colognes, etc.) as they can negatively impact others
- Treat every individual in the library with courtesy, consideration, and respect
Please check our Code of Conduct for more details about expectations.