McGill Library Timeline

This period of “firsts” saw the genesis of library spaces and the building of collections, many of which were enhanced by gifts from alumni and friends of the University.  1821 Charter to establish McGill University is issued by Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of Canada. A certified copy is donated to Principal Cyril James and […]

This period of “firsts” saw the genesis of library spaces and building of collections, many of which were enhanced by gifts from alumni and friends of the University. 1893 The Redpath Library opens. Funded by Montreal businessperson Peter Redpath, it is the first purpose-built library building at the University. The library contains 35,000 volumes. A […]

As McGill grows, so does the Library. Redpath Library (now Redpath Hall) provides students with an inspirational environment, collections expand to include research holdings and re-cataloguing and re-classifying activities drive progress.

The exponential rise of e-resources significantly changes the ways the McGill community accesses and interacts with information. As the Library moves through the digital age, information and resources are delivered whenever, wherever and however the user needs them. By 1989, the 18 libraries in McGill’s Library system contain almost 5 million books, periodicals, government documents, […]