Tag Archives: MSES

You Can Use More Resources Than You Expect

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It was a nice sunny Saturday. I just walked out of a restaurant near Concordia. Nothing is better than a fruitful reading after a delicious meal. I was just about to take the 15-minute walk back to McGill campus when I received a call from my friend, who lived near Concordia and wished to have a conversation with me on her research paper. There was still nearly an hour before the scheduled time, and I didn’t want to bother to get back and forth between Concordia and McGill campuses. I just needed somewhere to read and work with a computer. So I simply went into the main Concordia library, presented the BCI card (Bureau de Coopération Interuniversitaire), which is a nice blue card for inter-university library services. This magic blue card enabled me to get a Concordia privilege card and a guest account for computer workstations in the library in just five minutes! With the guest account and that Concordia card, I was able to log in to the computer, access my material stored in Onedrive, print my documents and borrow books as conveniently as a Concordia student. Thanks to BCI, I could fill the time before my meeting in a super comfortable study environment in a nice library.

Yes, this is one of my privileges as a McGill student! A nice agreement called the Canadian University Reciprocal Borrowing Agreement has enabled all students, faculty and staff from McGill University to borrow books from any Quebec University Library. Just simply fill out an application form in the library. Then you can get a key to every Quebec library in a minute! Whether you want to enjoy the food around Concordia, or go to UQAM to reactivate your OPUS card, or maybe give a workshop at the University of Laval, you will always find a nice place to work and study afterwards. No more wasting time on travelling!

If you are a graduate student, here is something even more exciting: this access to libraries extends to the whole of Canada! Whether you are doing field work in Alberta, or attending a conference in Ontario, you will never worry about a lack of research resources. Remember to carry your McGill ID and BCI card. You are free to borrow books, learn and study and even write papers in almost any libraries nearby. You can even enjoy a library tour around Canada, which makes the trip more interesting and meaningful! Ask the loans desk in any McGill library during regular service hours, and enjoy this fancy service right away! You may enjoy more resources than you expect!

More information:

Special thanks to Mi Lin.

MSES Team

5 Things about Schulich Library That You Might Not Know

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You probably have been studying at McGill for a while. But do you know all the resources and services offered by the McGill Library, especially those that are available at Schulich Library? Here are some of the services that most students don’t know.

No.1 Online Reservation

Do you know that if you are looking for a book or an article, you don’t even need to come to the library?  You don’t need to find your book on the shelves. You only need to make your reservation online, put a hold request and select the pick-up location at any McGill Library branch. Library staff are going to get it for you. The service is called Requesting items for pick-up.

No.2 After-Hours Access (AHA)

Do you want to get access to Schulich after it is closed, even on weekends or holidays? Now here is a way. You can use the service at Schulich library called After-hours Access (AHA). With your student card and the password you choose, you can get unlimited access to the Schulich Library. No need to worry about the open hours of the library any more.  Note that this service is only available for graduate students.

No.3 Group Study Room Reservation

You want to find a group study room for a group project or for discussion? Here is what you should do. McGill Library has a lot of group study rooms. Some of them have the white board and projector for you to use.  It would only take you 2 min to make a reservation online.

No.4 Single Board Computer for borrowing

If you start basic programming and want to test it on a single board computer, this would absolutely be of interest to you. Schulich Library has Arduino and Raspberry Pi lending. Here is info about Arduino and Raspberry Pi lending. List of items in the catalogue.

No.5 Use the Wonderful Online Resources Easily

You can borrow e-books and e-audiobooks from McGill Library.  Overdrive makes e-audiobooks at McGill Library easily accessible to students. If you install Overdrive on your mobile device, using your McGill email and password you will have access to all the e-audiobooks at McGill Library. Here are the instructions for borrowing E-audiobooks and  E-books. The books are available to you here.

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