The Health Sciences Library has come together with McMaster University Library in a new, campus-wide system collectively called McMaster University Libraries.
The new system now encompasses all four of McMaster’s libraries, including the Health Sciences Library, H.G. Thode Library of Science and Engineering, Mills Memorial Library, and the renewed Innis Library opening in fall 2025 at the McLean Centre for Collaborative Discovery.
“I am pleased to see this collaborative vision for McMaster University Libraries come to life,” said Susan Tighe, Provost and Vice-President (Academic). “This made-at-McMaster model brings together the strengths of all our campus libraries and creates a unified system that enhances access to resources, fosters innovation, and supports the academic and research pursuits of our campus and that of the North American research community. This is an important step in building a forward-looking foundation for our libraries.”
The creation of a single system for campus libraries was among the recommendations produced by the McMaster Libraries External Review in early 2024. The provost created the Libraries Budget Review Working Group in April 2024 to review the recommendations directly related to joining Health Sciences Library and McMaster University Library. The working group successfully identified a pathway approved by the provost together with Paul O’Byrne, Dean and Vice-President of the Faculty of Health Sciences.
Members of the working group were Dina Brooks, Executive Vice-Dean and Associate Vice-President (Academic) of the Faculty of Health Sciences; Vivian Lewis, Associate Vice-President and University Librarian; Jennifer McKinnell, Director, Health Sciences Library, and Melissa Pool, Associate Vice-President, Academic Planning and Finance for McMaster University.
The working group supported the concept of one library system under the banner McMaster University Libraries, noting it leverages existing resources and successful components of each organization, and incorporates a plan to review and evaluate the model over time.
The quality and quantity of services and resources provided by all campus libraries will remain unchanged under the new system.
“We view these changes taking place not as the final product, but as the foundation for future work,” said Dina Brooks, Executive Vice-Dean and Associate Vice-President (Academic) of the Faculty of Health Sciences, who was a member of the Libraries Budget Review Working Group. “Our desire is to expand and evolve the made-at-McMaster model over time, with a focus on forward movement and adaptability.”
Among the immediate priorities currently underway at McMaster University Libraries are consolidating the budgets of the two organizations for the McMaster Budget Committee starting in fiscal year 2027; drafting a new, combined, multi-year strategic plan for 2026 and an annual planning process; establishing a cohesive and collaborative process for building and maintaining key digital assets, and developing a consolidated strategy for collecting, storing and using library data for decision-making.
More information
Read the Libraries Budget Review Working Group update report.
For more information, please email Vivian Lewis, Associate Vice-President and University Librarian of McMaster University Libraries, or email Jennifer McKinnell, Director of the Health Sciences Library.
