Get Library Help

A current Emily Carr University OneCard or Community Borrower card is required to borrow materials. If you haven't used your OneCard in the library yet, come visit us at the Service Desk and we will activate it!

How long can I borrow things for?
Our semester-long loan periods allow students, staff, and faculty to borrow books, graphic novels, and exhibition catalogues until the end of the semester, unless another patron requests them. Please keep an eye on your email for recall notices and bring items back promptly if we ask!

Some of our other items have shorter loan periods:

Course Reserves are selected by instructors for required or suggested readings. These high-demand items have short loan periods in order to allow equal access to all students. You can check the Reserves List online to see if we have any items associated with your courses available.

How many things can I borrow?
You can have up to 25 items out to you at a time! That may be too many to carry home in one visit...

How much are late fines?
The ECU Library is delighted to be a FINE FREE Environment! We strive to make your library experiences inclusive, accessible, and positive. Beginning in 2019, the ECU library stopped charging fines on all library materials, except for those borrowed from other institutions.

While we do not charge traditional late fines, if you have borrowed an item and it is over a month late, it is assumed to be lost and your account will be billed for the replacement fee. But don't worry, if that item is returned within a reasonable time period, the replacement fee will be removed from your account.

One of the first things you will see when entering the Library is the Service Desk to your right. This is where you go to check items out, pick up holds, look for items on course reserve, return items, buy book sale items, purchase print credit, and get answers to basic queries.

What can we help you with?

• Library account problems
• Activating new library cards
• Questions about finding books
• Checking books in and out
  
• Basic IT assistance
• Directions to other library & campus services
• Paying for and using the public printers
• Exchanging your old print card for online credit
• Providing amateur plant care advice
• What you should watch next on Netflix

What else can you borrow from the Service Desk?

The Research Help Desk is a good early stop when starting a project or looking for library help. Our friendly staff are available to help you at any stage in your research process. The desk is staffed:

Monday - Friday 11:30am - 1:30pm and 3-5pm

Research help is also available by appointment, (in person or on Zoom) at any time upon request. Ask at the Service Desk or make an appointment by email - library@ecuad.ca

There are liaison librarians available for different programs in the school - if you're looking for a subject specialist, try contacting one of the following:

Ana Diab - Art and MFA programs
D. Vanessa Kam - Design + Dynamic Media and MDes programs
Hillary Webb - Culture + Community and Continuing Studies

What can we help you with?

• Concept mapping
• Developing a search strategy
• Searching databases and selecting resources
• Accessing resources
• Evaluating resources
• Organizing and annotating your resources

Help is also available via AskAway, a chat reference service. It is staffed by ECU Library folks on weekdays (during the semester) from 12-4pm, and by staff from other BC libraries Mon-Thurs 9am-9pm, Sat 11am-5pm, and Sunday 10am-9pm. You can find the chat box on our home page, while doing a general search, and on many of our research guides. Ask away!

We also have research guides available to connect you to resources on course-related topics, demonstrate library research processes, and provide details on our collections.

We have an excellent guide on starting your library research, if you are looking for some self-directed research assistance. There's even a guide on copyright available, if you need help understanding Canadian Copyright laws!

What's an Interlibrary Loan??

If you're looking for something that we don't have in our collection, we can probably bring it in for you! Current students, staff and faculty can request books, journal articles, and eBook chapters from other libraries by using our free Interlibrary Loans (ILL) service.

To place an interlibrary loan request, use the form on our website or contact the ILL department at ill@ecuad.ca.
You'll be notified by email when your request is ready for pickup.

ILL Timeframes

Working days are Monday-Friday. Allow 3-5 working days for journal articles, which will be emailed to you via a download link, and up to 10 working days for books (or longer if material is coming from outside BC).

If you are on a tight deadline, it may be faster to borrow items from other BC post-secondary libraries in person as a reciprocal borrower.

Loan Times, Renewing and Returning

All loan periods are set by the lending libraries and are typically 3 weeks. The loan period will be indicated on the item. Unfortunately you cannot always renew ILL items. To request a renewal, contact the ILL department by phone or email, or come visit the library service desk. Please return all ILL materials to the Emily Carr Library, NOT to the lending library (i.e. where the book came from).

The best ways to get in touch with us at the ECU Library + Archives are: visiting us in person, sending us an email, or by giving us a call at (604) 928-8314.

If you are looking for information about specific services we provide, or are wanting to make requests online, there may be a more specific email or request form available for you - see below!

Frequently Used Forms:

Emails:

Interlibrary Loans + Media Bookings

Course Reserves

Research Help

Acquisitions / Purchase Requests

The library is staffed by a friendly bunch - some library technicians, some librarians, and one archivist!

In 2021 we created a series of fun staff profiles to help you get to know some of the folks who work here. Take a look and see who we are! You can also find contact information for the entire library staff in the Staff Directory portion of our About + Contact Page.

We welcome all our faculty members to use the Library! For details on what we offer, take a look at our Faculty Resources page.

The upstairs floor of the library is where you enter our space, and where you can access most of our services. It is home to our main Service Desk, as well as our Research Help Desk. You can also find some of our specialized collections on the upstairs level, as well as various display spaces.

The downstairs level contains the majority of our collections. Here you can find our books and media, as well as a variety of other resources and spaces, including:

We have a small mezzanine which houses our Games & Stuff Collection. This collection consists of board games and sports equipment that are available for checkout. We also have a Kids' Corner! If you are visiting the Library with your youngsters, or are just looking for a bit of old fashioned LEGO fun, take a peek.

This summer we created a short, entertaining walkthrough of our space, highlighting our services, resources, and physical spaces. If you're curious about the Library feel free to enjoy this virtual tour!

The ECU Archives is found on the lower level of the Library + Learning Commons space. It acquires, preserves and makes available records documenting the history of Emily Carr University of Art and Design, its various faculties, departments and governing bodies.

The Archives also collects the papers of faculty members, administrators and alumni; as well as the records of independent student, alumni and employee organizations. The holdings consist of a broad range of materials including publications, textual records, course calendars, video recordings, audio recordings and photographs dating from 1925 to present.

While we are still working on making many of these records findable, you can access digitized material including photographs, student publications, posters, and academic calendars through eCollections @Emily Carr. For more information about Archives and the ECU Archival holdings check out our Archives research guide.

Contact our Archivist, Kristy Waller, to arrange a research time, schedule an orientation or a meeting (in person, phone, or zoom)!

Our print collection contains a ton of neat stuff - and we are constantly adding new items. Our collection focuses on supporting research, creative practice, and curricular activities occurring across the University with a focus on art, design, and media related works. If you have any suggestions or requests for purchases, we welcome you to either email us your requests, or fill out the online request form!

• 30,000+ Books
  
• 2100+ Artists' Books
  
• 6100 Exhibition catalogues
  
• 700+ Graphic novels
  
• 150 Magazine subscriptions
  
• 1175 Artist files
  
• 150+ Zines

The Artists' Books and Special Collections Room houses two of our more unique collections. These collections are library use only, and viewing requests can be made at the Service Desk, Reference Desk, or online.

The Artists' Book collection contains over two thousand books crafted, published, produced or altered by an artist or artist collective with the intention of creating an independent art work. In addition to self-published artists' books, the collection also includes limited edition publications resulting from collaborations with art organizations, artists' books from both independent and mainstream presses, and a growing collection of artists' audio works. We currently collect contemporary, limited edition print publications that exemplify the international collaboration occurring between designers, typographers, visual artists, poets, writers + curators and publishers.

The Special Collections contains a variety of notable materials, including:

• Rare and out-of-print exhibition catalogues
• Special magazines
• Type-specimen posters
• Comics
• Sound recordings
• Vinyl
• Videos

Our media collection consists of DVDs, films, videos, and sound recordings, as well as streaming video. There are instructional and documentary videos, feature films, independent and experimental films, animation, video art, and new media works.

Physical media items include:

• 2800+ DVDs & Blu-Rays
• 1450 VHS tapes
• 180 16mm films
• 450+ Sound effect CDs
• 10,000 Slides
  

We also provide access to 34 streaming databases, including the following:

• Criterion-On-Demand
• NFB Campus
• Audio Ciné
• World Cinema Collection
• ArtFilms
• Kanopy
• AVON/Alexander Street
  
• Feature Films at ECU

This collection consists of games and tools that promote joy, togetherness, and wellbeing. Check out a board game and enjoy a bit of downtime with your friends! Borrow the basketball and hit up the courts down the street! Pump up your bike tires so that you can make it home!

• 75+ Board games
  
• Embroidery kits
• Sports gear (frisbee, basketball, soccer ball, croquet set, badminton set, bocce set)
  
• Bike gear (pump, multitool, patch kit, lights)

The ECU Archives collects the papers of faculty members, administrators and alumni; as well as the records of independent student, alumni and employee organizations. The collection consists of a broad range of materials including publications, textual records, course calendars, video recordings, audio recordings and photographs dating from 1925 to present.

• Institutional/historical documents
  
• ECU publications, posters, & promotional materials
  
• Photographs (prints, slides, negatives)
  
• Audio & video recordings
  
• Faculty archives
  
• Menu Collection

This platform collects, showcases and preserves works created by the ECU community and items related to the University’s history. Content is freely accessible to the public. Our current collections include

• ECU Masters' Theses
  
• Degree Exhibition documentation
  
• ECU Academic calendars
  
• Student publications
  
• Archival photographs
  
• Wosk Masterworks

We are currently focused on building digital collections that highlight the scholarly and creative output of ECUAD students, faculty, and staff.

The library provides access to many online resources to support learning at ECU. Defined as a "searchable electronic index of published, reliable resources", the ECU Library features a carefully selected array of databases that cover a broad range of subjects, from general humanities to specialized material.

• Journal, encyclopedia, & news article
• Scholarly and Peer Reviewed Databases ( such as JSTOR and Academic Search Premiere)
• e-books (including O'Reilly for Higher Education Online Books)
• Open Access resources
• Linkedin Learning (formerly lynda.com)
• Images (Artstor)

There are many ways to access eBooks. Not all of our eBooks come from the same source, so there can be different steps to follow. Consult this libguide for more information.

There are 22 databases for eBooks, but you can also search for specific titles in the General Search on our home page. Many of our eBooks are provided by EBSCO - if we have an eBook version provided through them, the record will look like this:

You can at that point just click on PDF full text and read it in your browser. If prompted to login, use your ECU credentials - this login is your ECU email username, and your email password.

You can download up to 100 pages without creating an account. If you wish to download the full title, you will need to create an EBSCO account. EBSCO accounts are personal and not managed by the ECU Library - if you have any issues with your personal EBSCO account you will need to contact their help desk.

We have 34 different streaming services, which range from documentary to experimental to feature length films. Many films are discoverable by using the library search function, but you can also look for titles directly in the service.

For Hollywood Blockbusters and full length animation, check:

• Criterion-On-Demand
• Audio Ciné

For Documentaries, check:

• Academic Video Online / Alexander Street Videos
• or, for a more curated collection within: Film Platform: Alexander Street

For Classics, try:

• World Cinema Collection

Some Open Access (no login required) options include:

• Black Film Archive

• British Pathé Historic Newsreel Films

• Internet Archive Software Collection

This list features just a few examples of what can be found in our collection!

Please note that we only use Kanopy Streaming Service to provide films requested by faculty for curricular requirements.

For resources that require a login in order to view streaming content: this login is your ECU email username, and your email password. This is different from your Library account login - you can tell when to use your webmail credentials, as the login page will look exactly the same as the webmail login.

We have access to a wide variety of online journals, which will ask you for a login. This login is your ECU email username, and your email password. This is different from your Library account login - you can tell when you to use your webmail credentials, as the login page will look exactly the same as the webmail login.

There are two printers at the library, both of which can print either black and white or colour. You can print from our public access computers, or you can install the ECU Printing software on your own personal devices. When printing on campus, you will need to know your MyEC username and password to log in to the print system.

For information about the printing system, or for assistance with your print jobs, please visit the IT website.