Hello and Welcome to SFU Library!

SFU library welcomes Aboriginal students, faculty and staff, and visitors. For more information on getting started at SFU Library (e.g., getting your library card, checking out books, interlibrary loans), please refer to our Services for Undergraduate Students, Services for Graduate Students, and Services for Mature Students guides.

Library collection

The library has many books, journal articles, DVDs and more in online and print format.  You are welcome to make use of them.  A significant portion of the SFU Library collection is electronic and thus can be easily accessed from off-campus.

Some print materials may be accessed via the library's Telebook service. Telebook service provides delivery of print material such as library books and journal articles to eligible students who are not readily able to visit the library and check out materials themselves.

Aboriginal students eligible for Telebook services include:

• those SFU or Thompson Rivers University Open Learning TRU-OL students enrolled in an SFU distance education course,
• Aboriginal students currently registered in the SFU Faculty of Education, and
• those Aboriginal students who are registered in a course where special Telebook privileges have already been arranged.

Non-eligible Aboriginal students may use Telebook for a fee.

Librarian Services

SFU librarians are always happy to help Aboriginal students with their research. We assist Aboriginal students with a wide range of questions, for instance:

• recommending particular resources for finding information on your topic
• suggesting the best strategy to approach your research question
• helping with search techniques
• citing documents in a reference list/bibliography
• helping you track down hard-to-find items.

The liaison librarian for First Nations Studies is Moninder Bubber, and a complete list of liaison librarians (e.g., Criminology, Education, etc.) and their subject areas can be found at Liaison Librarians. Please contact the liaison librarian for the course or field you are working in by phone or email if you require research assistance.

If you are conducting research on Aboriginal/Indigenous topics, we have a research web guide, First Nations Research Resources, which outlines the key databases, journals, encyclopedia/reference sources, associations, and more that may inform your research. Similarly, we maintain research guides for all of SFU's taught disciplines that will point you to key resources. Browse research guides by your subject area.

The Library also offers a variety of course-oriented library workshops, taught by the Liaison Librarian for that academic department. See the schedule of these workshops, or ask us.

Student Learning Commons

The Student Learning Commons is a part of SFU Library. The SLC provides writing and learning support services to Aboriginal students across all three SFU campuses, through workshops, personal consultations, print and online resources, and classroom collaborations with faculty and other instructors.

RefWorks

RefWorks is a web-based citation management software program. The SFU Library provides access to and support for RefWorks. With RefWorks you can:

• store your references online
• instantly format bibliographies,
• access your account from anywhere in the world via the web, and
• easily export citations from a variety of article databases.

Aboriginal/Indigenous Research

The library is currently working on making research with an Aboriginal/Indigneous perspective more identifiable to researchers. In particular, we are in the process of working with the Indigenous First Nations Student Centre to create an SFU First Nations Scholarly Community in SUMMIT - SFU Library's Institutional Repository  where works with an Aboriginal/Indigneous perspective are readily identifiable.

The SFU Institutional Repository is a full-text collection of SFU-produced scholarly documents relating to teaching, learning, or research. All Aboriginal faculty and graduate students may submit their scholarly output (e.g., journal articles, dissertations, scientific data sets, etc.) for inclusion. Once in the Institutional Repository, these materials become readily available to a wider audience, accessible to researchers around the world for free via the web.

If you are interested in locating SFU theses or dissertations with an Aboriginal/Indigenous perspective, we have a general guide for locating theses at SFU library. All SFU theses and dissertations can be found in the library catalogue, and electronic copies can also be accessed via the SFU Institutional Repository (most theses/dissertations written since 2002), the University Archives (in-house, read-only copies), and through the subscription database, Digital Dissertations. Please feel free to contact your liaison librarian if you require further assistance locating graduate research projects of interest.

Additional Links

You are welcome to make use of the services offered by SFU's Indigenous First Nations Student Service Centre.

Working on your term paper, thesis or dissertation? Save yourself a lot of time wtih  Thesis Assistance: Templates and Resources for Preparing and Submitting.