Services for you

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Welcome to the SFU Library!

We offer a wide range of services to our community. See below for quick introductory information -- or Ask a librarian.

Library services for students

Undergraduate students

For a quick overview on facilities, collections, and services for undergraduates on all three campuses, see our Undergraduate students guide.

Indigenous students

The SFU Library welcomes Indigenous students, faculty and staff, and visitors. To find out more about our services, start with our Indigenous students guide.

 

Graduate students

SFU Library's Research Commons supports the research endeavours of the University community, with particular focus on graduate students during all stages of the research lifecycle.

For an introduction to Library services for grad students, see our Graduate students and postdoctoral fellows guide.

Students with disabilities

The SFU Library provides materials in alternate formats, adaptive technology, bookable study rooms, and other services to students with disabilities.

To find out more, or to contact us, see Services for students with disabilities.

 

Other students

See also our guides for:

 

 Library services for SFU faculty and staff

Borrow and access library resources

Use your SFU ID to borrow library materials, and access the Library's online resources. 

Support for faculty 

The SFU Library offers a suite of research, collections, and teaching support to faculty, including instructional services.

Contact our liaison librarians for an introduction to Library services and resources.

Support for non-credit instructors

We also welcome non-credit instructors!

Please check Services for non-credit students and instructors to learn about Library services and resources available to you.

 Alumni services

Welcome back! We encourage SFU Alumni to continue their use of Library resources and services in their pursuit of life-long learning opportunities. See our Alumni guide to find out more.

 Fraser International College (FIC) instructors and students

We are pleased to provide support to Fraser International College instructors as well as to Fraser International College students. Welcome to the SFU Library!

 External borrowers 

Individual external borrowers, non-SFU students, and companies

Many SFU Library services are available to:

  • individual external borrowers (members of the general public who are not affiliated with SFU and who opt to purchase a SFU Library card)
  • companies (through a Corporate / External Organisation Borrower card). 

UniverCity residents

UniverCity residents are welcome to use books and other library resources within the SFU Library branches at Burnaby (Bennett Library), Vancouver (Belzberg Library) and Surrey (SFU Surrey Library).

 

Community Scholars

The Community Scholar Program provides leaders in charitable and non-profit organisations in British Columbia with access to the latest research and knowledge in their fields.

IB / Secondary school teachers and students

The SFU Library also provides some services and resources for International Baccalaureate (IB) / Secondary school teachers and their students.

 

General public

Members of the general public are welcome to use books, public computer workstations, and other Library resources while at the SFU Library branches. 

 

 

 Research assistance and instruction

Research help

The SFU Library's research help services are available in person at all three campuses as well as online.

For research help day or night, start with Library research guides, created by librarian subject experts. 

Assignment Calculator

Writing a term paper?

The Assignment Calculator is a time management tool to help you break down your writing assignments into a series of steps -- and also provides links to more resources for every stage of the writing process.

Workshops and classes

We also offer orientation and classes in Library research.

See our Schedule of Library classes for listings of workshops offered by the Library, Student Learning Commons, and Research Commons.

 Accessing research materials

Borrowing

See the Borrowing Library materials guide for more information on library cards, loan periods, intercampus delivery, reserves, and interlibrary loans (document delivery service). 

SFU faculty, staff, and students also have borrowing privileges for the 22 university libraries that make up the Council of Prairie and Pacific University Libraries (COPPUL). See the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement for details.

Distance students, students in the Faculty of Education, students in the Executive MBA in Indigenous Business and Leadership program, and some other students are also eligible for Telebook, an SFU Library service that delivers library materials to the home of eligible library patrons.

Tools for easier access to online resources

See Accessing online resources from off campus for tools like the LibKey Nomad browser extension -- to make it easier and faster to view paywalled resources without coming in through the Library's website.

Current awareness resources

The Research Commons provides access and assistance with a range of Current awareness resources, including search alerts and Browzine.