Library

An integral resource across our three campuses, SFU Library continues to improve and pilot new services and enhance physical spaces in support of learning, research, and community engagement.

In today’s information-driven society, people throughout our community rely on library access 24-hours a day, seven-days a week, wherever they may be located. To meet these needs, SFU Library houses a rapidly growing electronic collection as well as an impressive print collection—including a broad range of unique content within our Special Collections and Rare Books.

The SFU Library is also a lively hub and active centre for learning. Physical spaces like the Student Learning Commons, the Indigenous Curriculum Resource Centre, and the Media and Maker Commons at the W.A.C. Bennett Library enrich teaching and research for students, faculty and instructors. Programs like the Non-Fiction Writer-in-Residence Program or the Community Scholars Program provide vital resources for both our immediate community and members of the public alike.

By the numbers

3 locations across Metro Vancouver:

• W.A.C. Bennett (Burnaby)
• Samuel and Frances Belzberg (Vancouver)
• Fraser Valley Real Estate Board Academic Library (Surrey)

779, 905 in-person visits per year

4.11 million visits online

3 million + print volumes and about 6000 print journal subscriptions

62,661 + online journal subscriptions and 10.25 million digital files

Highlights

SFU Library’s initiatives, collections, and physical spaces sit at the heart of the university. SFU Library’s iconic W.A.C. Bennett branch on Burnaby campus, designed by Arthur Erickson and Geoffrey Massey is a historically significant example of Brutalist style, reminiscent of the J. Edgar Hoover F.B.I. Building in Washington, D.C. and Boston City Hall.

It is also home to a rich array of material within Special Collections and Rare Books—a diverse collection from Canadian editorial cartoons to manuscripts and printed books spanning the Italian Renaissance to modern experimental poetry. Initiatives like the Student Learning Commons and Media and Maker Commons promote collaborative learning. The Knowledge Mobilization Hub and Digital Humanities Innovation Lab help researchers share their work within the SFU community and beyond.

Currently, SFU Surrey's Fraser Library has undergone a renovation to add a Digital Commons and Makerspace and, in 2024, the Bennett Library unveiled the Dick Kouwenhoven Book Arts Studio, to inspire and enrich students and faculty working in print culture and bookmaking.

Learn more

Ann McDonell
Director of Advancement, SFU Library 
ann_mcdonell@sfu.ca
778.782.9341