Hello and welcome to the King's College Library!
When King's was founded in Windsor Nova Scotia 1789, books were rare and precious things. Purchasing books was costly, and owning books was an indicator of wealth, status, and education. One of the first priorities of the founders of the College was to gather a collection of core books for the Library which would be used by all the students and faculty. The first catalogue (list) of books in the King's Library, published in 1803, contained 840 entries. Today, all King's students have access to hundreds of thousands of books, journals, databases, streaming videos, and other items. Library staff are here to help you and teach you how to sift through this enormous collection to find what you need. Your student ID is your library card. It allows you to access/borrow the physical and the electronic collection of library resources at King's and beyond.
This is YOUR Library. The collection of print materials is approximately 80 000 volumes of works which have been curated specifically to support the academic programs offered at King's. Library staff work with faculty to select and purchase new books and resources every year. There are also books that you might want to read or browse for pleasure, such as our collection of art books (found in the Reading Room). All of the books and journals are shelved by topic and classified using the Library of Congress Classification System. If you don't know what that is, please ask us! All of the books (plus hundreds of thousands of electronic journal articles, books, and streaming videos) are "discoverable" by searching the Novanet catalogue at kings.novanet.ca Trust us: Novanet is better than Google for doing academic research! When you search Novanet you are searching not only the catalogue of the King's Library, but the libraries of most post-secondary institutions in Nova Scotia and some in New Brunswick. Can't find the item you are looking for at King's? Books can be shipped from any Novanet library to King's by request at no cost to you. Ask us how!
The Library building is also the home of the University Archives and Special Collections which are stored in the Treasure Room. Many of these items are unique, rare, and fragile. An eclectic mix of items from the Treasure Room are on display in glass cases in the Library, including an Assyrian cuneiform tablet (c. 880 BCE), portraits of past presidents, newspapers and photographs relating to the fire of the original King's in Windsor in 1920, and a display of local mineral samples. Many more items, such as the 1803 catalogue mentioned above, are kept in storage, but are accessible by asking at the circulation desk. Most of the items in the Treasure Room were donated to King's by alumni.
The building has different types of study space. You may want to spread out at a large table with friends, work alone in a study room or carrel on the lower level, or be near large windows in the Reading Room on the main level. The choice is yours.
We have a few rules that we will ask you to follow. Please show respect for those who have come to the Library because it is a quiet space. We also ask that you do not eat in the Library unless you are in the front vestibule. Water is permitted if you use a cup with a lid.
The King's Library staff hope you'll drop by to explore the Library early in the term. You will find us in the main quad. We're the building with the wide steps and the green roof, across from the A&A Building. Early in the term, some of the Library staff will be dropping by a FYP lecture to say hello.
We occasionally have visits from our friend Finnegan, a rather cheeky corgi who loves hanging out in the Library. If you would like a sneak-peak and explore the Library with Finn, follow the QR code. You can keep up with Library news by following us on Instagram @ukclibrary.